All Shades of Brown in America, Celebrities Who Are Also of Puerto Rican Descent- 3

Sharisse “Shar” Jackson was born on September 04, 1976 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Her father is of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent. Her mother is of African American and Cherokee Indian descent.

Shar has been acting since she was 3 years old. She began modeling a few years later as well. She fell in love with acting and decided to pursue this as a career instead. She appeared in bit parts on different television shows in the ‘90’s. She is best known for her role in the UPN 9 television show Moesha as, “Niecy Jackson”.

She has also done some singing as one of the members of the pop group, “Mpulz”. In 2007 she was one of three hosts in a television talk show named, “The Ex-Wives Club.” The show was cancelled after only 5 episodes. A few of her song and movie credits are listed below.

Song

• The Journey (2001) with group Mpulz
• Let it Blow (2007)

Filmography

• Good Burger (1997) as Monique
• Love & Basketball (2000) as Felicia
• The House that Jack Built (2008) as Alexa

The saddest thing I find when it comes to Shar is after all of her accomplishments and the many years she has done her own thing with modeling, singing and acting it all got pushed aside by the media all because of something she had no control over. She was humiliated on National television and magazines for something her then boyfriend, the father of her two youngest children did. She became known as the woman Kevin Federline cheated on with Britney Spears. She was no longer Shar Jackson the funny, nutty friend Brandy had on the show, “Moesha ”, NO!... she became known as Kevin Federline’s, “Baby mama.”

After going through this so publicly she has tried to keep her head up and forge ahead. I give her a lot of respect for never selling her story and coming out on television or magazines bad mouthing Kevin or Britney. She could have made a whole lot of money by selling her side of the story when all of this was first happening but she held her own and kept it together the only way she knew how for her children and herself. With grace, class and respect she finally told her side of the story on the show called, "Life after..." KUDOS to you Shar!

Two video clips of the show are attached. Enjoy.

Peter Gene Hernandez was born on October 08, 1985 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

His father Peter a percussionist, has his own band with his siblings and is of Puerto Rican descent. His mother Bernie was a hula dancer and is of Filipino descent.

When Peter was about 3 years old his father decided to nick name him Bruno because he was so chunky and he reminded him of the wrestler from the 70's, Bruno Sammartino. The wrestler was a 5 foot 11 inch 265 pound man that held WWF and WWE Championships.

Bruno is one of six children who grew up in Hawaii surrounded by all types of music. Growing up he was always fascinated with doo-wop. One of his favorite artists 'til this day has been Elvis. He would impersonate him, The Temptations and Michael Jackson as a child. In 1992 at the age of seven, he had a bit part as Little Elvis in the movie, "Honeymoon in Vegas" which starred Nicholas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker.

After graduating Theodore Roosevelt High School in Honolulu, Hawaii he moved to Los Angeles, California. There he created his persona Bruno Mars. Bruno felt that he lacked style so he added the name Mars to the nickname his father gave him. He joined the production company called, "The Smeezingtons" in Los Angeles, California and began writing songs for other artists.

Some of the artists he has written songs for are:

• Travis McCoy
• Brandy
• Adam Levine
• Sean Kingston

He co-wrote:

• Nothin' on You (2010) with B.o.B.
• Billionaire (2010) with Travie McCoy
• F#ck You (2010) with Cee Lo Green

A month before the release of his debut album, Bruno was arrested for cocaine possession. He is supposed to appear in court the first week of February. Bruno can face up to 4-5 years in jail and also have to pay a fine of about $50,000.

The debut album was released on October 05, 2010 and reached the top of the U.S. Billboard 100 charts.

The 53rd Grammy Awards will be held on February 13, 2011 where Bruno has been nominated seven times.

Eustace Dunbar IV was born on May 15, 1974 in New York.

His father is of Jamaican descent. His mother is of Puerto Rican descent.

Huey spent most of his childhood in Lares, Puerto Rico. During this time he was exposed to the sounds of island music and other genres he became familiar with through his parents. His mother knew that he had a gift from a very early age so she encouraged him to pursue this somehow in his life. As an adolescent he spent time living in Manhattan (Harlem and Washington Heights) as well as Queens and sometime in the Bronx.

Huey became the lead singer in the group D.L.G. (Dark Latin Groove). The group’s debut was in 1996 with their self titled album. Their first single, “No Morira” a Spanish/Salsa remake of the 1991 ballad, “No Matter What” sung by George Lamond and Brenda K. Starr. Their fan base grew rather quickly because of their music’s diversity, infusing Salsa, Hip Hop/R&B and Reggae creating a new sound. It didn’t matter what ethnicity you were, once you got a taste of their music- that was it!, you just had to run out and buy the CD to pump in your car.

The second single, "Todo Mi Corazon" , was a Salsa remake of a ballad that Mexican artist Yuri Gonzaga released back in the late 80’s. D.L.G.’s remake of this song reached number one and earned the group a Grammy nomination. The group went on to release three more albums that were all embraced by countries that were not used to this type of genre at the time such as Argentina, Spain, Mexico, and others paving the way for future artists.

Huey decided it was time for him to do his own thing and left the group in 2000. He released his first solo album in 2001, "Yo Si Me Enamore ." He earned an RIAA Awards award for a certified gold and platinum album. He won a Latin Billboard Award for, "Best New Artist", and was also nominated for a Latin Grammy. He released his second solo album in 2003, "Music For My Peoples" breaking the mold and influencing new artists.

After being away for seven years, he decided to come back with his third solo album which he released in 2010, “Huey Dunbar IV”. It stood on the U.S. Latin Billboard charts for 13 weeks reaching number 4 in the Tropical Songs category. 

Victoria Justice was born on February 19, 1993 in Hollywood, Florida.

Her father Zack is of German, Irish descent. Her mother Serene, is of Puerto Rican descent. Her mother and stepfather Mark moved them to Los Angeles in order to help her pursue her career. Victoria is well known for playing, Tori in the hit series "Victorious." Some of her credits are listed below.

Television Series

• Zoey 101 (2005-08) as Lola Martinez
• Victorious (2010) as Victoria “Tori” Vega

Nickelodeon Movies

• Spectacular! (2009) as Tammi Dyson
• The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (2010) as Jordan Sands

Discography (Singles)

• A Thousand Miles (2007)
• Make it Shine (2010)
• Freak the Freak Out (2010) my favorite!

Christopher Charles Lloyd was born on April 30, 1982 in New Carrollton, Maryland.

His father is of African American descent. His mother is of Puerto Rican descent.

Lloyd was raised in Queens, New York with his two other siblings by his mother. His childhood friends are Marvin Bernard (Tony Yayo) and Curtis James Jackson III (50 cent) who grew up on the same block. His father was incarcerated most of the time while he was growing up. Lloyd dropped out of August Martin High School when he was 16 years old. He made a name for himself around the neighborhood rapping and making tracks on mix tapes with producers he knew.

In 2003, Lloyd became part of the rap group G-Unit (Guerilla Unit) a New York based Hip Hop group created by 50 cent and Tony Yayo.

Discography

• The Hunger for More (2004)
• Rotten Apple (2006)
• H.F.M. 2 (The Hunger for More) (2010)

Award

• Won Mixtape Artist of the Year at the 2004 Mixtape Awards.

Published Wednesday January 19, 2011