Yvette Denise Lee Bowser (born 1965)[1] is an American television writer and producer best known for creating the Fox sitcom Living Single. Early in her career, worked on The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World. With Living Single, she became the first African-American woman to develop her own primetime series.[2]
Yvette Lee Bowser | |
|---|---|
| Born | Yvette Denise Lee June 9, 1965 |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Television producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Known for | A Different World Living Single Half & Half Black-ish Dear White People Run the World |
| Spouse |
Kyle Bowser (m. 1994) |
Career
editBowser started on A Different World in 1987 as one of a number of apprentices, rising in prominence in the production company over the years and eventually becoming producer by the 1991–92 season.[3] She left the show to take a position with Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.
Bowser created her own company, Sister Lee Productions, which produced or co-produced her later shows, Living Single and Half & Half. She has said in an interview that she draws many of her characters and plots from her own and her friends' personal experiences.[4] She has said, "I just basically rip pages out of my diary to tell stories on TV."[5] In the case of Half & Half, for example, the writer based the characters Mona and Dee-Dee on herself and an older half-sister, and plot ideas came from her experience as the youngest child in a blended family.[5]
Through Sister Lee Productions, Bowser served as showrunner[6] for the critically acclaimed Netflix series Dear White People, adapted with Justin Simien from his film of the same name. [7][8][9][10] In 2020, she became the showrunner on the Starz original series Run the World, created by Leigh Davenport.[11][12]
Personal life
editYvette Denise Lee was born in Philadelphia in 1965.[13] She lived in the city's Carroll Park neighborhood until age 5, when she and her mother moved to California.[14] Bowser graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1983.[15] She attended with Holly Robinson, who was a part of the Hangin' with Mr. Cooper cast and later starred in For Your Love.[16] She also attended with her friend Lori Petty, whom she later cast in her sitcom Lush Life.[15]
After high school, Lee attended Stanford University where, in spring 1986, she pledged the Xi Beta chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[17]
Yvette Lee married producer Kyle Bowser in 1994. The two worked together on Living Single, Half & Half, and For Your Love.[18]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–1992 | A Different World | Producer, Program Consultant | 25 episodes |
| 1993 | Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | Producer | 17 episodes |
| 1993 | The Wayans Bros. | Executive Consultant | 17 episodes |
| 1993–1998 | Living Single | Creator, Executive Producer | 105 episodes |
| 1996 | Lush Life | Creator, Executive Producer | 7 episodes |
| 1998–2002 | For Your Love | Creator, Executive Producer | 84 episodes |
| 2002–2006 | Half & Half | Executive Producer | 91 episodes |
| 2008–2009 | Lipstick Jungle | Consulting Producer | 11 episodes |
| 2012 | The Exes | Consulting Producer | 12 episodes |
| 2012–2013 | Happily Divorced | Consulting Producer | 12 episodes |
| 2014–2016 | Black-ish | Consulting Producer | 3 episodes |
| 2017–2019 | Dear White People | Executive Producer | 30 episodes |
| 2018—present | Bluey | Co-Writer | 154 episodes |
| 2021 | Run the World | Executive Producer | 8 episodes |
References
edit- ^ Kranz, Rachel (2004). African-American Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs. Infobase Publishing. p. 23. ISBN 9781438107790. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ Gregory, Deborah. ""Yvette Lee Bowser: the sister who took 'Living Single' straight to the top! - African American television producer". Essence. December 1994.
- ^ Brown, Malaika. (April–May 1995). "Sisterhood televised: Yvette Lee Bowser and the voices she listens to - creator and executive producer of the TV show, 'Living Single'". American Visions.
- ^ Perkins, Ken Parish (March 29, 1998). "Yvette Lee Bowser's 'For Your Love' Breaks Sitcom Color Barriers". Fort Worth News-Telegram. The Des Moines Register (Des Moines, Iowa).
- ^ a b Walker, Nicole (March 15, 2004). "Two sisters, two different moms—TV's 'half & half' takes a fresh look at the blended black family". Jet. Archived from the original on January 23, 2005.
- ^ Young, Danielle (27 April 2017). "From A Different World to Dear White People: Meet the Black-TV-Series Whisperer, Yvette Lee Bowser". theroot.com. The Root. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ "Dear White People (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
- ^ "Dear White People: Season 1 reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- ^ "Dear White People Season 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
- ^ "Dear White People: Season 2 reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ Low, Elaine (30 January 2020). "Starz Gives Series Order to Yvette Lee Bowser Comedy 'Run the World'". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ Venable, Malcolm (14 June 2021). "Why Yvette Lee Bowser Wanted to Make 'Run the World'". msn.com. MSN. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ Yvette Lee Bowser Interview Part 1 of 4 - TelevisionAcademy.com/Interviews. Television Academy Interviews. August 8, 2023. Event occurs at 0:30. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the University of Pennsylvania, in 1965.
- ^ Shea, Kathleen (October 15, 1993). "A Single-minded Passion for Success". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 83.
- ^ a b Pennington, Gail (July 22, 1996). "Fox Makes Plans for 'Super' Season". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 6E.
- ^ Bobbin, Jay (March 15, 1998). "Couples Live 'For Your Love'". The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Florida).
- ^ "Xi Beta Legacy". Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Xi Beta Chapter. 2016. Archived from the original on July 3, 2105.
- ^ Holmes, Kristin E.The Bible's fresh voice, Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 4, 2006