# Nicole Ari Parker
**Nicole Ari Parker** (Nicole Ari Parker Kodjoe; born 1970) is an American actress and model from Baltimore, Maryland, known for playing attorney Teri Joseph on the Showtime drama *Soul Food* (2000–04) and documentarian Lisa Todd Wexley on [HBO Max](https://www.edgepedia.org/hbo-max)'s *And Just Like That...*, the *Sex and the City* sequel series.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0662519/bio/) • [2](https://www.allure.com/story/nicole-ari-parker-just-like-that-interview)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970, Baltimore, Maryland, USA[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0662519/bio/) |
| Training | New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, graduated 1993; trained at Circle in the Square Theatre School[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker) |
| Breakthrough | Teri Joseph on *Soul Food* (Showtime, 2000–04), five seasons and 74 episodes[4](https://www.blackfilm.com/20080201/features/nicoleariparker.shtml) |
| Signature films | *The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love* (1995), *Boogie Nights* (1997), *Remember the Titans* (2000), *Brown Sugar* (2002)[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker) |
| Broadway | Debut as Blanche DuBois in *A Streetcar Named Desire*, Broadhurst Theater, 2012, directed by Emily Mann; Outer Critics Award nomination[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/nicole-ari-parker/profile/) |
| Marriage | Married actor Boris Kodjoe on May 21, 2005, in Gundelfingen, Germany; two children, Sophie and Nicolas[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0662519/bio/) |
| Awards | Seven-time NAACP Image Award nominee, including nominations for *Soul Food* (2001–05), *Remember the Titans* (2001), and *Brown Sugar* (2003)[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/nicole-ari-parker/profile/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker) |
## Early life and training
Parker grew up in Baltimore as the only child of Donald Parker, a dentist, and Susan Parker, a health care professional, who later divorced.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker) She attended Roland Park Country School, a private all-girls school where she was one of only a handful of non-white students, studied ballet, acted in local theater, and won a "Best Actress" award in a statewide Maryland high-school competition.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nicole-ari-parker/) • [7](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/nicole-ari-parker-44894.php) She was a former member of the Baltimore Actors Theatre and the Washington Ballet Company.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker)
At New York University she entered the Tisch School of the Arts, where an agent spotted her while she was performing "King Lear" in drag; she graduated in 1993 and went on to perform with the theater groups Naked Angels and Circle Repertory Laboratory.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nicole-ari-parker/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker)
## Film career
**Independent beginnings.** Parker made her screen debut with a leading role as Evie Roy in Maria Maggenti's *The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love* (1995), a critically acclaimed independent film about a lesbian teenage romance.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0662519/bio/) • [8](https://timecyclopedia.com/entry/nicole-ari-parker-kodjoe) In 1997 she played Becky Barnett, a young porn star and girlfriend of [Don Cheadle](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-cheadle)'s character, in [Paul Thomas Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-thomas-anderson)'s *Boogie Nights*; the cast earned a Florida Film Critics Circle Award for best ensemble and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for outstanding performance by a cast.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nicole-ari-parker/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker) A string of independent and supporting roles followed, including *Spark* (1998), *200 Cigarettes* (1999), *The Adventures of Sebastian Cole* (1999), a winner at that year's [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival), *Blue Streak* (1999), and *Harlem Aria* (1999).[9](https://actoragecheck.com/actor/Nicole-Ari-Parker/74615) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker)
**Mainstream supporting roles.** Parker played Carol Boone, wife of [Denzel Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/denzel-washington)'s coach, in *Remember the Titans* (2000), and Reese in the romantic drama *Brown Sugar* (2002) opposite [Taye Diggs](https://www.edgepedia.org/taye-diggs) and [Sanaa Lathan](https://www.edgepedia.org/sanaa-lathan).[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nicole-ari-parker/) Later comedies paired her as the level-headed counterpart to comic leads Martin Lawrence in *Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins* (2008) and Eddie Murphy in *Imagine That* (2009); she also appeared in *King's Ransom* (2005) and *Almost Christmas* (2016).[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nicole-ari-parker/) • [10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicole_ari_parker)
## Soul Food and television
Parker's breakthrough came as Teri Joseph, the eldest of three Chicago sisters and a conservative attorney, on *Soul Food*, Showtime's series based on the 1997 film of the same name ([Vanessa Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/vanessa-williams) had played the character on film).[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nicole-ari-parker/) The show ran five seasons and 74 episodes, and by one account it was the longest-running drama with a predominantly African-American cast in American prime-time television history.[4](https://www.blackfilm.com/20080201/features/nicoleariparker.shtml) Parker earned NAACP Image Award nominations for outstanding actress in a drama series for each of the show's seasons, 2001 through 2005.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker)
After *Soul Food* ended in 2004, she returned to television that fall co-starring with her husband, [Boris Kodjoe](https://www.edgepedia.org/boris-kodjoe), in the UPN romantic comedy *Second Time Around*, about a divorced couple's reconciliation; low ratings led to cancellation after 13 episodes.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nicole-ari-parker/) Her subsequent television work has been extensive: recurring and starring roles on *Empire* (as Giselle, 2015), *Chicago P.D.* (as Deputy Superintendent Samantha Miller, 2014), *[Murder in the First](https://www.edgepedia.org/murder-in-the-first-tv-series)*, *Rosewood*, *Younger*, *The Romanoffs*, *I'm Dying Up Here*, *Time After Time*, and *Star*, and a role as Xiomara Amani in *The Best Man: The Final Chapters* (2022).[11](https://www.metacritic.com/person/nicole-ari-parker/) • [5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/nicole-ari-parker/profile/)
## And Just Like That...
In 2021 Parker joined the *Sex and the City* sequel series *And Just Like That...* as Lisa Todd Wexley, a [Park Avenue](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-avenue) documentarian, mother of three, and new member of the core friend group.[2](https://www.allure.com/story/nicole-ari-parker-just-like-that-interview) The role brought her a new level of mainstream fame in her early fifties; a 2023 Washington Post profile described her as the series' breakout star while noting her two decades of prior work.[12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/06/23/just-like-that-nicole-ari-parker-is-ready-her-close-up/) In interviews Parker emphasized that the character was written as a full person, with a husband, children, a job, and opinions, and that the show deliberately created multiple Black women characters with different professions, tax brackets, and agendas rather than a single representative figure.[2](https://www.allure.com/story/nicole-ari-parker-just-like-that-interview)
## Theater
Parker has described herself primarily as a theater actress: "I'm really a theater actress. That's my passion, my dream, my training."[12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/06/23/just-like-that-nicole-ari-parker-is-ready-her-close-up/) Her stage work includes *House of Lear* and *The Madwoman of Chaillot* in New York, for which she won an award, and *Romeo and Juliet* at the Metropolitan Playhouse.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker)
Her Broadway debut came in 2012 as [Blanche DuBois](https://www.edgepedia.org/blanche-dubois) in [Tennessee Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/tennessee-williams)' *A Streetcar Named Desire* at the Broadhurst Theater, opposite [Blair Underwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/blair-underwood), in director Emily Mann's multiracial production; the performance brought an Outer Critics Award nomination.[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/nicole-ari-parker/profile/) • [12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/06/23/just-like-that-nicole-ari-parker-is-ready-her-close-up/) Parker said she intended to play the character as a "mental poker player" rather than simpering, and Mann praised the interpretation, though The New York Times's review was unfavorable.[12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/06/23/just-like-that-nicole-ari-parker-is-ready-her-close-up/) In 2014 she reunited with Mann as Cleopatra in *Antony and Cleopatra* at the McCarter Theatre Center.[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/nicole-ari-parker/profile/) In 2023 she played a role in the Off-Broadway production *The Refuge Plays*, a part far removed from her glamorous *And Just Like That...* character.[13](https://playbill.com/article/for-nicole-ari-parker-and-jessica-frances-dukes-the-refuge-plays-hits-close-to-home)
## Personal life
Parker met actor Boris Kodjoe on the set of *Soul Food*; they married on May 21, 2005, in Gundelfingen, Germany, and have two children, Sophie and Nicolas.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0662519/bio/) • [14](https://www.newbeauty.com/view/nicole-ari-parker-interview-2025) Their daughter Sophie was born with spina bifida.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0662519/bio/) Parker was previously married to Joseph Falasca in 2001; the marriage ended in divorce the same year.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker)
## Name confusion
"Nicole Parker" is a common name, and search results frequently merge the actress with other public figures who share it, including a Broadway performer best known for *Wicked* and a former FBI agent. The FBI agent named [Nicole Parker](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicole-parker) is a different person; Parker's closest connection to law enforcement is her fictional role as Deputy Superintendent Samantha Miller on *Chicago P.D.*.[15](https://reefbrief.com/features/nicole-ari-parker-biography-career/)
## References
1. [Nicole Ari Parker – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0662519/bio/)
2. [Nicole Ari Parker's 'And Just Like That...' Character Is as Multi-Dimensional as We Hoped – Interview, Allure](https://www.allure.com/story/nicole-ari-parker-just-like-that-interview)
3. [Parker, Nicole Ari 1970– (Nicole Parker), Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/parker-nicole-ari-1970-nicole-parker)
4. [WELCOME HOME ROSCOE JENKINS: An Interview with Nicole Ari Parker, blackfilm.com](https://www.blackfilm.com/20080201/features/nicoleariparker.shtml)
5. [Nicole Ari Parker Biography, Broadway.com Buzz](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/nicole-ari-parker/profile/)
6. [Nicole Ari Parker – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nicole-ari-parker/)
7. [Nicole Ari Parker Biography, The Famous People](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/nicole-ari-parker-44894.php)
8. [Nicole Ari Parker Kodjoe, Timecyclopedia](https://timecyclopedia.com/entry/nicole-ari-parker-kodjoe)
9. [Nicole Ari Parker Acting Credits, ActorAgeCheck](https://actoragecheck.com/actor/Nicole-Ari-Parker/74615)
10. [Nicole Ari Parker Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicole_ari_parker)
11. [Nicole Ari Parker, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/nicole-ari-parker/)
12. [And just like that, Nicole Ari Parker is ready for her close-up, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/06/23/just-like-that-nicole-ari-parker-is-ready-her-close-up/)
13. [For Nicole Ari Parker and Jessica Frances Dukes, The Refuge Plays Hits Close to Home, Playbill](https://playbill.com/article/for-nicole-ari-parker-and-jessica-frances-dukes-the-refuge-plays-hits-close-to-home)
14. [Nicole Ari Parker Talks 20-Plus Year Marriage, NewBeauty](https://www.newbeauty.com/view/nicole-ari-parker-interview-2025)
15. [Nicole Ari Parker: Career, Family, Ethnicity, Net Worth, Reef Brief](https://reefbrief.com/features/nicole-ari-parker-biography-career/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames P to Ph*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license