Yvette Nicole Brown

Yvette landed her first television role -- a two episode gig playing Toni's sister, Sherri Childs, on Girlfriends -- by chance. She was called in to audition, by casting director Robi Reed, from a post card submission. She had no credits and no agent. That stroke of serendipity at the beginning of her career, taught Yvette that you never know how God is going to move in your life and career. Booking a series regular role, two months later, on the first pilot she auditioned for further proved the point. That show, ABC's The Big House, only lasted a few episodes; but that experience proved to be a blessing, as well. Through it she learned the transient nature of the business and to always "travel light."



Yvette has since appeared (and often recurred) on shows as varied as Entourage, The Office, That's So Raven, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Half & Half, Sleeper Cell, House, Two and a Half Men, That 70's Show and Boston Legal -- where she got to show off her singing skills in a performance of "Big, Blonde & Beautiful" from Hairspray.



Younger viewers may know Yvette from her recurring role on Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh, where she plays movie theater manager, Helen Ophelia Dubois. Landing the role was another serendipitous experience. The role of Helen was to be a one-time role; one that Yvette auditioned for while on hiatus from The Big House. That one-time role turned into four years of employment and introduced Yvette and her silliness to the best group of fans in the world... kids! The cast of Drake & Josh recently reunited in 2008 for the holiday movie, "Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh," a film that broke Nickelodeon viewership records and was seen by over 8 million viewers the night it debuted.



Yvette has also had a successful career in commercials. She's appeared in over 30 national spots. You may have seen her in ads for Big Lots, Pine Sol, Citibank, Fiber One Yogurt, Dairy Queen and Home Depot among others. Look for her in new spots for Hallmark, Hamburger Helper and LG in 2009.



In addition to her commercial and television work, Yvette also has a burgeoning film career. She made her film debut in the romantic comedy, "Little Black Book," working alongside Brittany Murphy and Oscar winners, Holly Hunter and Kathy Bates. Her next film, Michael Bay's futuristic thriller, "The Island" put her on the set with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. Supporting parts in other films, including "Dreamgirls" and "The Kid and I," -- where she first met and worked with childhood hero, Henry Winkler -- soon followed. In 2008, she was in the box office hit, "Tropic Thunder" (directed by Ben Stiller) where she worked with Matthew McConaughey and the family film, "Meet Dave" where she realized a childhood dream by sharing the screen with Eddie Murphy.



In 2009, you can see Yvette in the family film, "Hotel For Dogs" (with Emma Roberts and Don Cheadle), the romantic comedy, "The Ugly Truth" (with Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler), the independent feature, "500 Days of Summer" (with Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and the action/thriller, "Repossession Mambo" (with Jude Law, Alice Braga and Forest Whitaker).



You can catch Yvette, every week starting in the Fall, starring alongside Joel McHale and Chevy Chase in "Community" on NBC. "Community" joins the Thursday night "comedy done right" lineup starting in September at 9:30pm (following "The Office"). In October "Community" moves to the hopefully still blessed 8pm time slot... former home to "The Cosby Show" and "Friends".



A proud native of East Cleveland, Ohio, Yvette currently lives in Los Angeles, California... and hopes to have a dog.