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One Funny Momma Cocoa Brown is also, one BUSY momma! The comedian is starring as “Jennifer” on Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse (OWN), and just finished a recurring role on American Crime Story: The People versus OJ Simpson. She also tours around the country doing stand-up shows and has had roles in movies like Ted 2, and The Single Moms Club. But even with all this success, she tells me her favorite role is being a mom to her son, Phoenix. A woman after my own heart! I couldn’t wait to ask her how she balances the demanding schedule of a stand-up comic with motherhood.
(Side note, I want to be a stand-up comic so much, but just thinking about it makes me want to take a nap. It sounds like way more work than I’m ready for. #lazy)
Cocoa was very open about how in some ways her career changed after having her son, and in some ways it didn’t. I found myself wanting to jump through the Skype line and hug her when she was talking about how much she loves her child and her career. I get you Cocoa! I want women in entertainment, and specifically comedy, to know you CAN do both. I love my daughter more than life itself, but I also know it’s important to keep being my funny, wild, ridiculous self. We also talked about the challenges of being labeled a “plus sized” actress in Hollywood. We get a lot of auditions for “Bus Driver”, “Lunch Lady” and “Security Guard.” (All of which we nail of course.) But there’s so much more to women of size, women of color, and moms that she wants the world to know about. You have to listen to this episode to hear how inspiring her story is and where she plans to go from here.
I made Cocoa promise to be my friend forever which she didn’t think was weird at all. Yay! And we found out we used to live a few blocks from each other for several years and had no idea. This really is a small town!
Definitely take a minute to check out Cocoa’s website or see her in a show if you can. You’ll see why Tyler Perry adores her, Oprah thinks she hilarious, and why she’s earned the title One Funny Momma 😉
