Lifetime is giving shine to many of Hollywood’s married leading ladies in February. “Betty and Coretta,” the new Lifetime original biopic starring Angela Bassett and Mary J. Blige, will premiere on the network during Black History Month. Bassett plays Coretta Scott King and Blige plays wife of Malcolm X, Betty Shabazz, in the film which focuses on the bond shared by the two women and their lives following their husbands’ murders. The movie airs Feb. 2 at 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, actress Salli Richardson Whitfield plays the leading role in “Pastor Brown” where she plays a young woman confronted with her past as she takes over pastoring her father’s church following his death. Actress Nicole Ari Parker plays her sister in the film and actress Tisha Campbell Martin is also a part of the cast. “Pastor Brown” airs Feb. 16 at 8 p.m.
Actor (and Angela Bassett’s husband) Courtney B. Vance will star alongside actor Tom Hanks in the Broadway production of Nora Ephron’s “Lucky Guy.” Vance plays an editor in the play which is the story of columnist Mike McAlary (Hanks). Vance is a two-time Tony Award winner, and “Lucky Guy” marks his first return to Broadway in 20 years.
Actor Boris Kodjoe and Duane Martin, both stars of the new BET comedy “Real Husbands of Hollywood” hit the red carpet along with Kevin Hart and other members of the show’s cast at the Hollywood premiere of Real Husbands this week. The show, which also stars Nick Cannon, JB Smoove and Robin Thicke debuts on January 15.
Remember singer Bilal who started getting hot in the early 2000s with his debut album First Born Second and R&B/Neo Soul hit Soul Sista? He’s now 33 years old, a father and a husband, and trying to spread the message of financial responsibility to the masses. Bilal learned the lesson the hard way, spending his earnings on expensive things early on and then taking a nine-year hiatus after a falling out with his label. Today he is trying to set a good example for his kids as he works to release his music independently, and takes pleasure in the little things in life. “It’s all about my family now,” he says. “Most of my money goes to them: their schooling, the roof over their heads – their happiness.”
President Obama talked about having little worry over daughters’ Sasha and Malia’s dating futures because of the example that he and Michelle have set for their girls. “They’ve seen how Michelle and I interact,” he says “— not only the love but also respect that I show to their mom. So I think they have pretty high expectations about how relationships should be, and that gives me some confidence about the future.
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