Lela Rochon
Born	Lela Rochon Staples April 17, 1964 (1964-04-17) (age 45) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other name(s)	Lela Rochon Fuqua Lela Rochon Quinones
Spouse(s)	Antoine Fuqua (1999-present) Adolfo Quinones (1984-1987 - divorced)

Lela Rochon (born Lela Rochon Staples; April 17, 1964) is an American actress who is best known for her role as Robin Stokes in the movie Waiting to Exhale.

In 1996, Lela was chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the "50 most beautiful people in the world".

Personal life

Rochon was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Zelma, a nurse practitioner, and Samuel Staples, a business owner and graphic artist.¹ She graduated Cerritos High School in Cerritos, California. She attended California State University, Dominguez Hills where she earned a BA in Broadcast Journalism, with minors in Sociology and Theatre.

From 1984–1987, she was married to breakdancer Adolfo Quinones. The two met on the film set of Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. In 1998, she and director Antoine Fuqua were engaged and they married on 9 April 1999. After a miscarriage^{citation needed}, daughter Asia Rochon Fuqua was born on 28 July 2002, followed by son Brando in May 2004. Fuqua has son Zachary from a previous relationship.

Career

From 1984–1986, while in college, Rochon was one of the "Spudettes" featured in over 20 spots for the Spuds Mckenzie Budweiser/Bud Light TV commercials. She also appeared in the 1985 TV film, A Bunny's Tale (starring Kirstie Alley and Delta Burke) based on Gloria Steinem's experiences as a Playboy Bunny; and appeared as the love interest of Gerald Levert in an early music video for the group Levert, and on Luther Vandross's "It's Over Now" video. She also appeared in the music video for Lionel Richie's single "All Night Long (All Night)". Rochon starred for one season on The Wayans Bros. television series in 1995 and she has had small roles in several films including Any Given Sunday and First Daughter. After a memorable walk-on part (as Christie, the sexy girl with the ugly feet) in the successful Eddie Murphy/Halle Berry romantic comedy Boomerang, Rochon became a feature actress in films like Waiting to Exhale and Why Do Fools Fall in Love.

Filmography

• Breakin' (1984)
• Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984)
• A Bunny's Tale (1985)
• Stewardess School (1986)
• The Cosby Show (1987) (TV series)
• Harlem Nights (1989)
• Boomerang (1992)
• The Meteor Man (1993)
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1994) (TV series)
• The Wayans Bros. (1995) (TV series)
• Waiting to Exhale (1995)
• Mr. & Mrs. Loving (1996)
• The Chamber (1996)
• Gang Related (1997)
• Why Do Fools Fall In Love? (1998)
• Knock Off (1998)
• The Big Hit (1998)
• Any Given Sunday (1999)
• The Division (2001) (TV series)
• First Daughter (2004)
• Running Out of Time in Hollywood (2006)
• Balancing the Books (2008)
• Blood Done Sign My Name (2010)

References

External links

• Lela Rochon at the Internet Movie Database