1. Erika Rose Alexander was born on November 19,1969 and is an American actress, writer, producer, entrepreneur and activist who played the roles of Pam Tucker on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show from 1990 to 1992, and Maxine Shaw on the Fox sitcom Living Single from 1993 to 1998.
Erika Alexander has won numerous awards for her work on Living Single, including two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.
Erika Alexander is one of six children born to Robert and Sammie Alexander, a schoolteacher and a children's book author, respectively.
Erika Alexander was discovered at 14 by independent film company Merchant Ivory when she was attending the fifth week of a six-week summer acting class at the New Freedom Theatre.
Erika Alexander was cast in Bill Gunn's The Forbidden City, the last play directed by Public Theater impresario Joseph Papp.
In 1990, Erika Alexander starred opposite Whoopi Goldberg in the civil rights epic drama film The Long Walk Home.
Erika Alexander was then cast as Pam Tucker on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, starring on the vastly popular series from 1990 until the show's finale in 1992.
That same year, Erika Alexander starred in the ABC comedy-drama series Going to Extremes, which centered on a group of American students at a medical school on a fictitious Caribbean island named Jantique.
Later in 1993, Erika Alexander began starring as fan-favorite, super attorney Maxine Shaw in the Fox sitcom Living Single, a role she played for five years until 1998.
In 1998, Erika Alexander starred as "Young Flora", acting along with Cicely Tyson and her former Living Single co-star Queen Latifah, in the CBS miniseries Mama Flora's Family, based on a novel by Alex Haley.
In 2001, Erika Alexander starred in the comedy film 30 Years to Life, receiving a Black Reel Award for Best Independent Actress for her performance.
In 2002, Erika Alexander played as probation officer Dee Mulhern in the Showtime drama series Street Time, which ran for two seasons.
Erika Alexander had recurring roles in Judging Amy, In Plain Sight, Low Winter Sun and Let's Stay Together.
In 2006, Erika Alexander played the role of Shanti, a technical science engineer in the science fiction action film Deja Vu opposite Denzel Washington.
Erika Alexander later starred opposite Benjamin Bratt and Jeremy Ray Valdez in the 2009 drama film La Mission.
From 2012 to 2015, Erika Alexander had a recurring role as Carol Larabee, Mike and Vanessa's neighbor, in the ABC comedy series Last Man Standing.
From 2016 to 2017, Erika Alexander starred as Constance Irving in the Amazon original drama, Bosch.
Erika Alexander had recurring roles in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar in 2016 and Freeform fantasy drama Beyond from 2017 to 2018.
Erika Alexander received an NAACP Image Award nomination in 2019 for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy or Drama Series.
Also in 2019, Erika Alexander began starring in the Hulu drama series, Wu-Tang: An American Saga.
Erika Alexander appeared in the 2019 horror-thriller film I See You and played the lead in the Blumhouse horror-thriller American Refugee.
Erika Alexander later appeared in the comedy-drama film, Wildflower, and the drama film Earth Mama.
Erika Alexander received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance nomination for her performance.
In 2012, Erika Alexander co-created and co-wrote a science-fiction graphic novel, Concrete Park, with then-husband Tony Puryear.
Erika Alexander is a co-founder of Color Farm Media, an entertainment, innovation, and social impact company; in 2020, they released John Lewis: Good Trouble, a documentary focusing on civil rights leader John Lewis.
Erika Alexander actively campaigned for Hillary Clinton and toured college campuses with Chelsea Clinton during the 2008 Democratic Party primary.
From 1997 to 2017, Erika Alexander was married to artist and screenwriter Tony Puryear.