Nona Gaye

From Harpo's Juke Joint

Nona Gaye
Born:	Nona Marvisa Gaye September 4, 1974 Washington, D.C.
Website:	NonaNet
Fanlisting:	Natural Motion
Discuss Nona Gaye

Nona Gaye is an American singer, actress and model. She is the first black actor to film a motion picture completely in "mo-cap", or motion capture.

Contents 1 Early life 2 From mic to screen 3 Awards & Nominations 4 Trivia 5 Notes 6 Links

Early life

Nona was born to R&B legend Marvin Gaye and Janis Hunter (the daughter of Cuban jazz musician Slim Gaillard) in 1974. "Nona was born with her eyes open," says mother Janis, remembering her daughter's birth. "She was looking around, very aware, very alert. A friend of mine said 'This baby has a very old soul.' She was so sure that Nona's soul had been here before."^[1] Three weeks after she was born, Marvin would present his newborn daughter to the world at a concert in New York city, telling the crowd, "This is my daughter, Nona, and she's going to be a big star!"

Gaye is a self-proclaimed "Daddy's girl", and remembers her father fondly. But she knew she wouldn't have him for very long - partially because Marvin, losing a battle with depression and drug addiction, told her so. "The last conversation I had with him, he said, 'Take care of your brother and your mom, because Daddy’s not going to here much longer."^[2] On 1 April 1984, Marvin was shot to death by his father, Marvin Sr. following a physical altercation. Janis was the first to get the news, having heard the announcement on the radio. Frantic, Jan ran past her children, pulling the phone into the bathroom to call the local police department. "I heard my mom scream in a way that was different from anything I'd ever heard before or since," Nona says. "And as soon as I heard it, I knew he was dead."^[3]

By age 13, Nona was dabbling in drugs to ease the pain of her father's murder, dropping out of high school a year later.^[4] Nona admits that she had no particular drug of choice. "Whatever was around. I indulged in a lot of things."^[5] Despite her destructive behavior, Nona got a recording contract when she was just 14, after impressing record executives at Atlantic Records with a rendition of her father's "That's the Way Love Is". Love for the Future was released in 1992 to strong reviews, but weak sales, with comparisons to father Marvin sinking the project as soon as it started. Shortly after being signed to Ford Modeling Agency in 1993, Nona caught the eye of entertainer Prince, and the two collaborated on a handful of songs, including the 1994 hit "Love Sign".

Nona entered rehab after a failed suicide attempt in 1996, one day after her mother admitted herself.^[6] The following year, she gave birth to a son, Nolan Pentz. Two years after her son's birth, Nona returned to the William Morris Agency to get back to work on her music career. After a brief discussion with Nona, her agents discovered that she was also interested in acting as well, so they suggested that Nona go out for an audition to get a feel for the audition process, even though many well-known actresses were auditioning for the same part in the same movie. "...they told me, ‘You don’t have experience and won’t get the part, but don’t be upset. Just get your feet wet.’ And that audition was for Ali."

From mic to screen

Nona was cast to play Khalilah Ali (nee Belinda Boyd), who married Muhammad at age 17. "I studied and went to mosques and wore the head scarf...I put my own feelings as a modern liberal woman aside and almost wanted to convert because I found a lot of things in it that I respected." Nona also met with the mother and sisters of Khalilah, along with Muhammad and Khalilah's children.

Released nationwide on Christmas day to mixed reviews, critics largely praised Gaye's performance, with comparisons made to actress Angela Bassett (who also portrayed a Muslim wife in 1992's Malcolm X). USA Today suggested Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for Nona, stating, "In a movie full of actors earnestly striving to pretend to be famous figures, Gaye chose instead to portray Belinda in only the clearest human light."^[7]

From 2001-2005, Gaye would appear in at least one film per year, with the exception of 2002. She replaced singer/actress Aaliyah to play Zee, the wife of Nebuchadnezzar operator Link (played by Harold Perrineau in the Matrix sequels in 2003. In 2004, she starred opposite Tom Hanks in the Christmas blockbuster The Polar Express, becoming the first Black actor to do a lead role completely in motion capture.

In 2005, Gaye played Karen, the assistant to district attorney Rick Cabot in Crash. Though Nona's role was miniscule, the nature of Karen's relationship with her boss caused a great deal of conversation and debate - so much that Crash director Paul Haggis and cast member Don Cheadle addressed the "did they/didn't they?" issue on the DVD commentary. Gaye also starred as Lola Jackson, a car thief turned businesswoman in xXx: State of the Union, with Ice Cube and Samuel L. Jackson. In the fall of 2005, she starred in The Gospel portraying the wife of a megalomanic pastor (Idris Elba).

In 2006, it was announced that Gaye was replacing Courtney B. Vance on the NBC show Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Assistant District Attorney Patricia Kent. Gaye left the show before filming started, citing "creative differences",^[8] and was replaced by Theresa Randle, who did two episodes.

Awards & Nominations

• Winner, 2001 Black Reel Awards

Best Supporting Actress, Ali

• Nominated, 2001 Alternative Film Guide

Best Supporting Actress, Ali

• Nominated, 2003 NAACP Awards

Best Supporting Actress, The Matrix Revolutions

• Nominated, 2005 Black Reel Awards

Best Actress, The Gospel

Trivia

• Bears a strong resemblance to Angela Bassett, as well as her father Marvin

• Was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1993

• Is left-handed, along with her son Nolan. Left-handed people make up only seven to ten percent of the world's population, and only 1 out of 4 left-handed children have a left-handed parent.

• Has done three movies with Jada Pinkett Smith, but the two have never been in a scene together

• Has done campaigns with Versace, Armani and GAP

• Though Gaye is often toted as a "pure" or "real" black beauty, Gaye's grandmother Barbara was Irish Catholic, and grandfather Slim was half Greek.

• Nona's father nicknamed her "Gnomepie" when she was three weeks old. It was shortened to "Pie" as Nona got older, and the nickname is still used today.

• Gaye is one of the few black actors to play an animated hero in a big budget film in "The Polar Express"; "xXx" costar Samuel L. Jackson also shares that distinction (he played Frozone in "The Incredibles").

Notes

Links

• The New York Daily News talks to Nona about "The Polar Express - 14 November 2004