Golden Brooks Just Celebrated Her 50th Birthday And We're Shook
Twenty years ago, Mara Brock Akil gifted the culture with a sitcom that would single-handedly repurpose what it meant to see successful black women on prime time television. This gift ended up being the brilliantly black super-show,Girlfriends. Girlfriends changed the landscape of what it meant to be black women, as it depicted who we are when we step into our whole selves, giving us permission to step outside the confines of corporate America and simultaneously listen to our music, drink chai lattes, date as much as possible, and be black AF at the same damn time. We all loved us some Joan, Toni, Lynn, and the infamous Maya Denise Wilkes, and we still do.
Maya, played by Golden Brooks, immediately became a standout favorite, cementing her place as a cultural phenom who must be protected at all costs (liiiike, I'm serious--whatever that cost is to make sure sis is good, I'm writing the check).
Most recently, Brooks had us all out here collectively screaming "Oh, hell, yes!" as she took to Instagram to celebrate her jaw-dropping 50th birthday. And ladies, we were shooketh by the fact that she is somehow cheating the aging process, by not aging at all.
Since we don't believe there's a such thing as talking about Girlfriendstoo much around here, what better way to celebrate with her, than detailing how precious she is to black women.
So, Happy Birthday, Queen Golden! Here's 5 things about Golden Brooks we should all celebrate:
Golden understands the importance of using her platform to amplify the voices of black women.
Brooks is notorious for using her platform for good. Her social media is filled with references to in-demand messages, from getting out to vote, to wearing masks, all the way to the demand for justice for Breonna Taylor. In her latest movie, The Waiting Room, a BETher initiative to promote Breast Cancer Awareness, Brooks takes the time to visit the conversation of the importance of conducting self-checks. She shared with the New York Post:
"Sadly, [breast cancer] is a condition that really hits African-American women. It's a scary moment when you hear the diagnosis that you have breast cancer. Early detection is everything. As women, we just have to really be on it—so it's good to get those Pap smears and mammograms."
The Waiting Room takes a look at a broken relationship between Cynthia (Brooks) and her daughter, that's tested after Cynthia receives a cancer diagnosis and struggles to cope with the disease.
She adores her daughter (who is a real life Barbie, and the perfect blend of mom and dad).
In 2009, Brooks gave birth to her daughter, Dakota, who she often shows off on Instagram. Dakota, who's dad is DB Woodside (The Temptations, Suits, Lucifer) is an exact replica of both mom and dad, making her one of the luckiest girls in the world.
In a caption on Instagram, she wrote:
"I know you still like me to carry you like you're still a baby when you're sad, I know your favorite pass time is still snuggling up with me for our movie nights and I CANNOT believe my Dakota Woodside is going to the 6th grade!! So proud of you baby girl. These kids have seen a lot in these past few months. More than most in their lifetime. You handled it all like a boss kid!"
Golden often references Maya on her social media.
Nostalgia for the win! Listen, I don't know if who enjoys reminiscing about Maya more: me or Golden, but her social media is filled with enough hilarious Maya references and Girlfriends shout-outs to hug our worlds. Seeing her have fun with a character that we all hold as a staple, is almost too much to handle. She often repost fan clips of watching the show or checks in to see what episodes people are watching for the day.
"We made magic! ONE of my favs was this episode! With my talented @traceeellisross We ALL did the damn thang!! Will be forever grateful to ALL the gang!! Thank you guys for sharing all of these amazing clips!!"
Ah, my heart.
She gives us looks!
Don't let the age fool you, sis is not new to any of this. Brooks keeps up updated with various flawless selfies and pic posts through her social media accounts. One says, "Just taking in the LOVE." Another, "Just smile because..."
Golden is loving and supportive of everyone in black culture.
In addition to her Girlfriends, daughter, selfies, and awareness posts, Brooks is all about supporting and loving on those around her, particularly in the black culture. From Kobe, to Naya Rivera, to promoting friend's businesses. She sends prayers (Sinbad), wishes special birthdays (TV Husband, Khalil Kain), and more, Golden shows how much of a gem she really is.
Being a light in dark times, is such an underrated characteristic.
--
Thank you for everything, Golden!
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Featured image via Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com
Charmin Michelle is a southern native and creative spirit who works as a content marketer and events manager in Chicago. She enjoys traveling, #SummertimeChi, and the journey of mastering womanhood. Connect with her on Instagram @charminmichelle.
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'Queen Charlotte' Star Arsema Thomas Worked At The United Nations Before Landing Her Breakout Role
Actress Arsema Thomas (Arséma Adeoluwayemi Hamera) may be new to the acting scene, but the star's standout performance in Netflix's limited series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is already leaving a lasting impression among many.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, a prequel to Bridgerton, follows the young queen's life as her marriage to King George of England sparks an epic love affair and a societal shift.
In the drama, Thomas portrays the role of a young Lady Agatha Danbury, a close friend and confidant of Queen Charlotte, and it also depicts Lady Danbury's journey.
The series showcases the struggles Lady Agatha Danbury experienced in her lifetime. The list includes being forced to partake in a loveless marriage to a former African king Herman Danbury, becoming a widow, and possibly losing her estate and title following her husband's death.
Since Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story debuted on Netflix earlier this month, it has dominated the streaming service's top ten charts and piqued fans' interest in the show's stars, including Thomas.
Although many may not know a lot about the Atlanta native, who goes by she/they pronouns, and how she became one of the breakout stars in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, still, with the recent promotional tour Thomas has been doing for the show, she has shared some shocking details about her life.
Thomas' revelations within the past several months include details about her educational pursuits, previous work experience, her African culture, the steps she took to prepare for her role as Lady Agatha Danbury, and many more.
Arsema On Her African Heritage
Thomas, who is Nigerian and Ethiopian, is the daughter of diplomats.
The 28-year-old's parents, consisting of an Ethiopian mother and a Nigerian father, worked in the government to improve Africa's economic development.
Due to her parents' professions, the actress moved around a lot and lived in various countries like Kenya, Benin, Comoros, Uganda, and India, which exposed her to social issues. In an interview with Teen Vogue, Thomas opened up about having conversations about politics and government at a young age.
"Dinner table conversations were about politics, about African governance. I realized that in a lot of the countries I lived in, the effects of colonialism and imperialism were so blatantly obvious. That became the driving force for what I thought I should be doing as an adult," she said.
Later Thomas would ultimately reveal that her parents' work had inspired her to become a "doctor or something" because she wanted to make them proud.
Arsema Attended Carnegie Mellon University and Yale University
Prior to pursuing acting, Thomas revealed to Shondaland that she was a college graduate.
In 2016, she received her bachelor's degree in biophysics from Carnegie Mellon University. Following her graduation, Thomas interned at a mobile health clinic and a refugee camp in Kenya for over a year.
Around the same time, the star would continue her education by getting her master's in epidemiology and health policy at Yale University. Thomas disclosed that despite the educational success that she has achieved, acting became her main priority when she realized that this is something she could envision herself doing "100 percent of the time." This decision led Thomas to relocate to Paris, South Africa, and then to London to study drama.
"I packed up everything and moved to Paris because I wanted to do acting 100 percent of the time," she stated. "It was always something I had wanted to do, [but] I didn't think I would be able to. I thought it was going to be a hobby or a thing that I'd have to suppress in myself for the rest of my life."
Thomas would land her first role in 2021 as a guest star on the television series One Touch. Shortly after, she would participate in the 2022 film Redeeming Love as the character Rebecca. The rest would be history because, around that time, Thomas would receive the life-changing role of Lady Agatha Danbury in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
Arsema On How She Prepared for Her Role In Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
When the opportunity for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story came along, Thomas took various steps to transform into Lady Agatha Danbury.
The actress, who has admitted to never seeing Bridgerton in the past, told Cosmopolitan UK's Up Close series that because she wasn't familiar with the fictionalized character, she decided to find things that she thought Lady Agatha Danbury would resonate with.
It includes reading books about women by well-known female authors who have made history in their own right, creating a Spotify playlist with music that Lady Agatha Danbury could listen to, and having waist beads made for her character.
"There was a lot of stuff I needed to get into this role because the character is fictional. So I read a ton of books about women or by women, that I thought that Agatha Danbury would resonate. So I read 'Ain't I A Woman' by Bell Hooks. I read Angela Davis' autobiography. I read Assata Shakur's autobiography, 'Tar Baby' by Toni Morrison, 'Eyes Are Watching God,' and 'Vaga Bonds' by Eloghosha Osunde. I made an extensive Spotify playlist, and I got waist beads made for Agatha," she explained.
Further in the interview, Thomas mentioned that she had waist beads made for Lady Danbury and wore them throughout the filming process because it helped ground her as she portrayed the character whom she described as entirely different from who she is as a person.
"It was a Nigerian woman threading these beads, and I asked her to thread beads specifically for this character, and I wore it throughout the entirety of filming," she said. "Because it was just kind of was a physical grounding point to this woman that is really, really actually far from who I am as an individual."
Thomas shared that talking to her grandmother, who had a similar background to Lady Danbury, such as having an arranged marriage at a young age, also helped her prepped for the role.
"I also talked to my grandmother a lot. I didn't realize how similar she was to this character. Because she was also married off when she was quite young," she revealed. "It was really interesting to kind of talk to someone in my life who I've known, who’s gone through something that is essentially the stripping away of their freedom, and someone who doesn't have any resentment or harbored anger towards the situation."
Arsema Worked At The United Nations
Thomas' work experience is an interesting one. Despite interning at three different health organizations, she previously worked at United Nations Population Fund, according to her Linkedin profile.
United Nations Population Fund's site states that the organization is part of the United Nation's "sexual and reproductive health agency." The gathered information on Thomas' profile says that she was an associate for the company from 2017 to 2018.
Some of Thomas' responsibilities included conducting "policy analyses" for United Nations Population Fund's sustainability and "supporting the regional desk specialist" in the program's division.
Arsema Speaks Five Languages
On top of Thomas' overwhelmingly impressive resume, the actress also speaks five languages.
According to the African publication Bella Naija, Thomas speaks English, Amharic, Yoruba, French, and Spanish. Although Thomas hasn't publicly talked about what inspired her to become multilingual, many can assume it is because of the various locations she has lived in throughout her life and her interest in learning.
Thomas may be a rising star now, but with the facts provided above, the actress has displayed through her work ethic and drive that she can soon become a household name.
Thomas' latest work Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, is now streaming on Netflix.
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