| Felicia "Snoop" Pearson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Felicia Pearson |
| Born | May 18, 1980 |
| Origin | Baltimore, MD, USA |
| Genres | Hip-Hop |
| Occupations | Actress, author, hip hop artist |
| Years active | 2004-present |
| Labels | Dumout Entertainment |
| Website | www.ra-management.com, www.myspace.com/bmoresnoop |
Felicia "Snoop" Pearson (born May 18, 1980) is an African-American actress, author, and rapper. She is best known for playing an eponymous character on The Wire. She has written a memoir, Grace After Midnight.
Contents |
Biography
Pearson was born to two incarcerated drug addicts and raised in an East Baltimore foster home. Born premature and weighing only three pounds, she was not expected to live. She was so small she was fed with an eyedropper until she could be fed normally.
Instead of attending school, Pearson worked as a drug dealer. At the age of 14, she was convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a girl named Okia Toomer and sentenced to eight years at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup, Maryland.[1] Pearson said her life turned around at the age of 18 when Arnold Loney, a local drug dealer who looked out for her and sent her money in prison, was shot and killed. It was he who had given her the nickname "Snoop" because she reminded him of Charlie Brown's beagle Snoopy in the comic strip Peanuts. While in prison, she earned her GED and was released in 2000. She landed a local job fabricating car bumpers, she says, but was fired after only two weeks when her employer learned she had a prison record.
Pearson is openly gay.[2][3]
Acting career
Pearson met Michael K. Williams, who plays Omar Little on The Wire, in a Baltimore club. He invited her to come to the set one day. He introduced her to the writers and the producers, and after a subsequent audition, she was offered a role in the series.
Music career
Pearson was featured in a song "It's a Stick Up" with Tony Yayo and Mazaradi FOX. The music video for the song was inspired by The Wire. She also is on the verge of releasing her new mixtape,I am The Feature and A collaboration mixtape with her Artist Numb3rs. Her first single is called "Im Famous".
Philanthropy
Pearson runs a youth drama organization Moving Mountains with her former Wire co-star Jamie Hector. She says the aim of Moving Mountains is to "stop youth violence, teach performing arts and help kids who really want to get off the streets and stay out of trouble". Pearson also volunteers as a prison visitor [4] and works on anti-violence and literary campaigns for youths as well as supporting The Stay Strong Foundation.[5]
References
- ^ Jaye Hunnie (2008-01-02). "Felicia's Journey". Baltimore City Paper. http://www.citypaper.com/arts/story.asp?id=15035. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
- ^ Teresa Wiltz (2007-03-19). "The Role of Her Life". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/15/AR2007031501664_4.html. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- ^ Dana Roc. "Inspiring People: HBO series The Wire's Snoop Pearson". danaroc.com. http://www.danaroc.com/inspiring_032006snooppearson.html. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- ^ bayontop.com
- ^ [1]
Sources
- All Hip Hop News. "The Wire Week: Felicia Pearson (Snoop)", AllHipHop.com. Retrieved August 16, 2007.
- The Wire Tap, BayonTop.com
- jasmynecannick.com
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
