Mara Brock Akil
- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Akil is a native of Los Angeles, but was raised primarily in Kansas
City. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she earned a
bachelor's degree in journalism.
Akil began her writing career on Fox's critically acclaimed "South
Central." She later moved on to writing for the UPN series "Moesha,"
where she earned her Producer title after four seasons. She received
the 1999 SHINE (Sexual Health in Entertainment) Award presented by The
Media Project for her "Moesha" episode "Birth Control."
Akil later served as Supervising Producer on the comedy series "The
Jamie Foxx Show." For the 2000-01 television season, Akil created her
first show, Girlfriends (2000), which she and Kelsey Grammer executive produce.
'Girlfriends' was presented with a 2001 SHINE Award for "The Burning
Vagina Monologues" episode. It was also honored with 2002 and 2003
NAACP Image Awards nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Akil draws inspiration for the storylines from her own group of good
friends, including Felicia D. Henderson (creator of Showtime's "Soul
Food") and Gina Prince-Bythewood (writer/director of New Line Cinema's
"Love & Basketball").
She is married to Executive Producer/Director Salim Akil. Recently,
VIBE listed Akil on its "Top 100 Hottest People List" and Honey
magazine named her as one of the "Top 25 Hottest Women in Urban
Entertainment." She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and a
board member of Center Theatre Group (Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson
Theatre). She also enjoys mentoring young people, especially aspiring
writers.
She recently gave birth to her first child.
City. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she earned a
bachelor's degree in journalism.
Akil began her writing career on Fox's critically acclaimed "South
Central." She later moved on to writing for the UPN series "Moesha,"
where she earned her Producer title after four seasons. She received
the 1999 SHINE (Sexual Health in Entertainment) Award presented by The
Media Project for her "Moesha" episode "Birth Control."
Akil later served as Supervising Producer on the comedy series "The
Jamie Foxx Show." For the 2000-01 television season, Akil created her
first show, Girlfriends (2000), which she and Kelsey Grammer executive produce.
'Girlfriends' was presented with a 2001 SHINE Award for "The Burning
Vagina Monologues" episode. It was also honored with 2002 and 2003
NAACP Image Awards nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Akil draws inspiration for the storylines from her own group of good
friends, including Felicia D. Henderson (creator of Showtime's "Soul
Food") and Gina Prince-Bythewood (writer/director of New Line Cinema's
"Love & Basketball").
She is married to Executive Producer/Director Salim Akil. Recently,
VIBE listed Akil on its "Top 100 Hottest People List" and Honey
magazine named her as one of the "Top 25 Hottest Women in Urban
Entertainment." She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and a
board member of Center Theatre Group (Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson
Theatre). She also enjoys mentoring young people, especially aspiring
writers.
She recently gave birth to her first child.