Woman to Watch: Mara Brock Akil
Birthday: May 27
Occupation: Writer, Executive Producer
Hometown: Born in Los Angeles, raised primarily in Kansas City
Education: Northwestern University where she majored in journalism
Greek Life: Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Career Path in TV: Mara started her television career as a writer for the television series, South Central, then later moved to Moesha and The Jamie Foxx Show where she held both writer and producer responsibilities. But her most notable claims of fame were two shows she created and executive produced: Girlfriends and The Game. Girlfriends was a collaboration between her and Kelsey Grammar and launched before she was even 30. Though The Game had been cancelled off of the CW network in 2009, fans of the show launched an internet campaign that resulted in it coming back – this time on BET in January 2011. Mara also wrote and was a consulting producer for Cougar Town.
Family Life: Mara is married to Salim Akil, a director and executive producer, and they have two sons, Yasin and Nasir. Her sister, Kara, is an actress.
Awards and Accolades: Girlfriends: Won BET Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 2005, and was nominated for NAACP awards for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series in 2007, and Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002 and 2003. She also received the 1999 SHINE (Sexual Health in Entertainment) award for an episode of Moesha entitled, “Birth Control.”
Mara was also named one of the “Top 50 Hollywood Power Brokers” by Black Enterprise (2007) and as part of the “Top 100 Hottest People List” in Vibe magazine.
Recent News: She and her husband recently announced they are remaking 1970s movie, Sparkle.
You can see Mara and her husband Salim talk about The Game and its comeback here:
