Garcelle Beauvais (1966- ), also known as Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, is an American television actress and former model. She is best remembered for playing Fancy on “The Jamie Foxx Show” in the late 1990s. She was also assistant district attorney Valerie Heywood in “NYPD Blue”. In 2007 she appeared in Playboy magazine and had twins – all at the age of 40!
She had her twin boys in October 2007: Jax and Jaid. She also has an older son, Oliver (1991), from her first marriage.
Some commenters at Bossip.com did not like how white her twins look. Since they are test tube babies, it is possible that they are not hers by blood. Assuming that they are, they might get darker as they get older.
They were delivered early because she started having headaches that would not go away. The doctors said she had pre-eclampsia, which could have killed either her or the babies. After they were born, she lost her baby fat almost right away. She says it is because her shoot for Playboy forced her to get into shape before she was expecting the twins.
She started in film, not television. She was even in “Coming to America” (1988) as a rose bearer. I remember her in the water tower scene in “Wild, Wild West” (1999). But she has never had a lead in a film that made it big. Her success has come instead in television:
- 2005: Nora Gage in “Eyes”
- 2001-2004: assistant D.A. Valerie Heywood in “NYPD Blue”
- 2000: Ms Maya Bradley in “Opposite Sex”
- 1996-2001: Francesca “Fancy” Monroe in “The Jamie Foxx Show”
- 1994-1995: Cynthia Nichols in “Models Inc”
Her break came with “Models Inc”, but she is best remembered as the female lead in “The Jamie Foxx Show”. In 2008 it is still on American television in endless reruns.
She was born in Haiti to a well-to-do family, the youngest of five sisters and two brothers. Her parents split up when she was young. At seven her mother brought her to America. Garcelle went to boarding school in Massachusetts while her mother studied to be a nurse in New York. At 16 the family moved to Miami where she acted in high school plays.
At 17 Beauvais came to New York to become a model, where she signed with Ford Models. You saw her in print ads for Avon, Mary Kay and Clairol and in catalogues for Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. I remember her from those days: there are only so many black models in those catalogues. She has also done some fashion modelling for Calvin Klein and Isaac Mizrahi.
In the 1990s she was in television ads for Diet Coke and American Express.
Although she was born in Haiti, she has American Creole roots: her family came to Haiti from New Orleans after the civil war. They did not mix much with the Haitians.
She speaks French, Haitian Creole and English. She learned English at seven from watching “Sesame Street”.
She has married twice. Her first husband, of six years, was Daniel Saunders, a producer. In 2001 she married Mike Nilon, an agent.
See also:
Beautiful lady!
She was also the leading lady in the videos for R. Kelly’s “Down Low” and Luther Vandross’ “Take You Out”.
I believe that the father of her eldest son, Olivier, is black. But then again, maybe I’m wrong. It’s hard to find out. The internet isn’t very reliable.
Her twins are test tube babies? Really? I thought they were conceived the natural way?
I also remember those comments on that black gossip site. They were actually quite disgusting. Do you think that internet comments represent society or just a small portion of cowardly folks who have a faceless outlet to voice their shockingly mean spirited and ignorant views?
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I take that back about her first husband. I cannot confirm that he is white. But it is true that she had her twins through in vitro fertilization. I read an article about her pregnancy.
I doubt those Bossip commenters represent society as a whole. Those who get worked up over that kind of stuff are more likely to comment.
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Some links to articles about Garcelle’s in vitro:
http://blackcelebkids.com/2008/03/28/garcelle-beauvais-and-babies-in-jet-magazineinterview-highlights/
http://www.fertilityproregistry.com/blog/2008/01/celebrity_infertility_garcelle.html
I have always been taken with Garcelle Beauvais’ stunning beauty. I like seeing her on the screen, too. She has a natural ease about the way she cloaks herself with a character. It’s a mystery to me why she has not found Hollywood leading role success.
By the way, as a matter of chronology, the Playboy shoot preceded the pregnancy with her twins.
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Ahh …okay.
So, I have a question. By reading the articles Blanc2 nicely linked above, Garcelle had in-vitro, meaning that her ovaries were manually mixed with her hubby’s sperm? So, if that’s the case, how could there be a possibility that her twins are not biologically hers? I’m confused.
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In in vitro the mother’s eggs are used, but not always. For example, if she wanted to give him sons but her eggs were not working out she could use someone else’s (she has four sisters) and let the world assume what it wants. She has a son of her own, so it is unlikely she would do it for herself, but if her husband has no children then she might.
If you can find where they say they used her eggs or where she says they are hers by blood, then I will accept that. Otherwise you are jumping to conclusions, conclusions she might want the world to jump to.
In vitro did not work on her at first. It took three tries. Maybe that is common, but maybe it was because her eggs were not working out for whatever reason.
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I LOVE her ever since I saw her on the Jamie Foxx show and she has Haitian roots, Yeah!!!!!!!!!
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Just confirming that her son Oliver is black
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the mean sprited comments are so horrendous, and i feel personally it’s because she is a black woman who is with a white man, let’s face it most black communities have double standard, while they may not like a black man with a white woman, they will keep their trap shut. but when it is a black woman with a white man i notice (personally) that the community does like to disparage the union as unnatural and shameful (on the womans part).
it may not be the reason but, i am just throwing the idea out there. anyone else agree??
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She has a son of her own, so it is unlikely she would do it for herself, but if her husband has no children then she might.
So if she already has a son then she couldn’t possibly not want another one. I know, I know you didn’t say that but you might as well have.
If you can find where they say they used her eggs or where she says they are hers by blood, then I will accept that. Otherwise you are jumping to conclusions, conclusions she might want the world to jump to.
Does it say that they DIDN’T use her eggs. If it didn’t then you seem to be leaning on the side of assumptions; that seems just as guilty as jumping to conclusions
In vitro did not work on her at first. It took three tries. Maybe that is common, but maybe it was because her eggs were not working out for whatever reason.
Maybe it was just because the technology is not perfect. You know, it can’t trump nature. There are no magical eggs out there even it they came from a 23 year old with perky size DD breast, a 22 inch waist and blond hair and blue eyes.
Her twins are just as beautiful as mine and I had them when I was 39…no invitro, totally natural. God I love my uterus..and my eggs too!!
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I believe that in vitro is generally attempted first using the couple’s own sperm and eggs. If that doesn’t work, then the couple discusses using third party sperm and/or egg donors. I’ve never seen any data on the Nilon twins either way, but their color doesn’t strike me as inconsistent with biological parentage by Garcelle and her husband.
As to whether black folks or whites are more or less accepting of WM/BW marriages, there are idiots and narrow minds in every segment of society. At the same time, every segment also contains generousity, kindness, grace and acceptance beyond words.
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Congrats on the bundles of joy, Iron Butterfly! My mother actually gave birth to me at an advanced age (34) as well.
And I agree with your post. It never even occurred to me that those twins could possibly not be this woman’s biological children. But then again, who knows. All in all, I’m just glad that she and her husband are the parents of two healthy boys. And that she still looks great.
Louise,
You know, I might have to disagree. Black men get MUCH OPEN FLACK for dating non-black women. Much. Personally, there’s been instances in my even own life where if I’m casually talking to a white woman, there’s a few black people “ice grilling” me. LOL. It may be more common to see black men date outside their “race” than black women but I don’t know where it’s seen as more acceptable.
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I think most likely they did use her eggs, but I do not know that for sure.
Although it is not impossible for her to have such white children – especially given her family’s history – it still made me take a second look when I first saw her with her sons.
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Even, with the supposed American Louisiana Creole history, you have to take that with a spoon of “benefit of doubt”. I’m telling you unless it is verifiable that her family originated from the States before heading back to Haiti, I wouldn’t fully go with that.
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anyhoo, it is cruel and silly the insinations about the parentage of her twins, she loves them and if they aren’t her own gentically they are hers by the virtue of love. They could be hers, with any two parents looks are really a roll of the dice, you can take almost all your looks from one or the other rather than be mixture of both ( which is most common admittedly) but i presume they may be hers.
leave her(and her unbelievably pale babies) alone.
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Thank you mynameismyname. I love those guys with all of my being!
My mother is brown skinned (I am light skinned) and my mother’s natural birth sister is white skinned. Same parents. Their older brother is very dark skinned. Everybody is Black. Like someone said, you never know what the genes are gonna’ do.
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Mynameis…
I totally agree with you. I seriously doubt this lady is anything BUT Haitian. A friend of mine (who is of Haitian descent) used to tell me I looked a lot like her, and that was before I knew who she was. She’s popular amongst Haitians. Beautiful twin boys as well … too bad they look nothing like her.
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In the 1700s and 1800s a good number of people moved back and forth between Haiti and New Orleans, especially right after Haiti became independent and right after the South lost the civil war. The New Orleans that we know has been heavily Americanized.
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Sure, that’s true. Yet, is it verifiable that Beauvais’ family was part of that wave? I’m telling you, man, much of the info about many of these celeb’s (the black ones, in particular) ethnicity-and everything else- is false. Take my word for it. I research and write for a living, it’s my job to take down hard-boiled facts.
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A good example of the untruths about a lot of celeb’s ethnicity would be Mariah Carey. Pretty much every online and print source notes Carey’s father as “half-black, half-Venezuelan” or “Afro-Venezuelan”, etc. In reality, Carey’s father is a black American man who originates from Alabama. She’s actually mentioned that she could possibly be related to Nat King Cole (her grandmother’s surname was Cole as well and Nat King originates from Alabam as well).
One of her dad’s great grandfathers was originally from Venezuela and most likely black. This all came from Mariah’s mouth, in various interviews. Not anonymous internet sources or from the hands of a clumsy journalist.
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WoW! I didn’t know that. I do remember her saying that she was Half black Venezuelan. But I thought her father was from Venezuela.
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I don’t know what her genetic makeup is but she likely has a large percentage of European admixture for her sons to come out white looking like that.
If she were indeed mostly black (80% or 90% African ancestry for example) then her twins would not be looking that white despite the father being white.
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That’s not necessarily true, LLUP.
I remember seeing a West African man with his son (whose mother was a white American) once at a local event around here. His young son appeared as white as any white child. I would heavily presume that that West African man is devoid of any European or non-black African admixture.
Google “Anthony Ogogo”, a UK boxer, his father is Nigerian (his mother English) yet he’s quite racially ambigious.
It happens. You can’t control how children will look, no matter who the parents are or what they look like.
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Yeah I guess. but at the same time I think you’re assuming (unless you’ve seen his father) that he’s black as charcoal.
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LLUP,
What does color have to do with genealogy? If his father is Nigerian, he’s very most likely purely black Africa. Not too admixture with sub-Saharans.
The point is, no matter how little or how much admixture one may or may not have, you can not predict the physical outcome of offspring. Anything can happen, in that regard.
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Most people wind up somewhere between their parents, but it is possible to be lighter or darker than either one. It happens.
It is not like mixing paint but more like blindly taking marbles from two jars and then not even using all of those (recessive genes).
If your parents are both half white and half black and by chance you mainly got their white genes and not their black ones, then you would wind up looking whiter than either one.
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Mutations are rare, so nearly all of the genes that make up white people are also found in the black people of Africa. White people, after all, came from black people.
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My guess is that Garcelle is 70% European. On top of that she could easily be 10% Native American. If so, then she is only 20% black, making her children only 10% black – not always enough to show up and make you look black. It is possible to be 25% black and still look white.
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Garcelle is 70% European? How do you figure??? 🙂 That woman is easily predominatly, or at the very least, significantly, African. You can never guess admixture levels just by looking at someone. That’s like saying that you can predict someone’s entire future just by merely looking at them.
Like I said before, predominately/purely African can easily have white-looking kids. It’s not unheard of or unseen. Can’t control genetics. What do you make of really black-looking interracial offpsring? “Oh, that white parent must be 40% African, for that child to look so much like any other black person”? 🙂
Genotype and phenotype …just can’t always correlate.
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Right, you cannot tell by just looking. I think you saw that DNA study the BBC did of famous Afro-Brazilians:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6284806.stm
So there is no telling.
The 70% was merely my guess, but I wrote about it to make the point that her having white-looking children is not as much of a stretch as some might think. Most people who are 20% black look black – Tiger Woods is 25% black according to himself. But people less than 10% black are mostly white looking. In general, of course.
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I don’t think she’s 70% white. That’s an incredibly high amount. If she were 70% white she would look like a white person.
A black person doesn’t need to be 70% white to have white looking children.
Look at some of Quincy Jones kids. He has 34% euro admixture and some of his kids look white (their mothers are white).
Point being it doesn’t necessarily take that high of % (70%) for a biracial person to look white.
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All you people defending her would rip michael jacksons apart for his kids even thou his kids look blacker than Garcelles
his youngest
his two oldest
and i know what people would say ” the mother said they weren’t his” thats a lie that the media made up
http://popdirt.com/debbie-rowes-attorney-denies-british-tabloid-report/43947/
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oh and heres a picture of jackson son prince as a baby notice he looks similar to garcelles son
here another one of the youngest
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The oldest son looks like his for sure.
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Being a hatian american, strictly of hatian decent its pretty sad to see how ignorant some people are. The comment that given her backround its unlikely that thost are her children has got to be the stupidist thing ive heared. Yes the majority of hatians are black( of African ancestry) but there are also hatians that have mixed with other races therefore we come in all shades, and there are many hatians in Haiti who have light complexions and different features. Dont be so ignorant!
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I think the comments here guessing her admixture are not only presumptuous and embarrassing…they’re also ill-informed.
Skin color doesn’t tell ANYTHING about the “predominant” gene representation of an individual.
Also, I do agree with the young woman above that African Americans are particularly hostile toward Black women who are involved in interracial relationships. This is very unlike France, in which everyone is free to be in different relationships regardless of “race” and gender…both men AND women do it there freely without judgment, (As opposed to the US in which it’s considered acceptable or expected for Black men, but not for Black women.)
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Qauala hit it right on the head and said exactly what I’ve been saying beforehand but…
I don’t believe that black men with non-black women is widely accepted in the U.S. In fact, I feel that black men with non-black women, especially white women, are more stigmatized than black women with a non-black man. Who can deny that?
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Abagond, don’t take it bad but you are absolutely wrong if you think that what makes your looks is the percentage of whiteness or blackness in your blood. The genetics laws only obey to dominance and recessiveness. No matter how 50% or 25% or 70% white a person is for example, if what is considered to be “white traits genes” on him are recessives and “black traits genes” are dominants, this person will look black. Same thing on a 25% white mixed raced person who will look “white” for example if white characteristic genes are dominants.
On the other hand, recessive genes can be dominants in the next generations. Like Garcelle, I come from an Island (Madagascar), and islanders are really used to look different among your own siblings or family. We have had soo many race interactions that no one is shocked or surprised if a fair-skinned and straight-haired mother gives birth to a dark and freezy baby. We even even have dark-skinned/blue-eyed or green-eyed people without one of the parents having to be 100% caucasian. Not too many of us, but still not rare. It doesn’t happen out of the blue, it’s because of mixed ancestors and genes we inherited for centuries!
I’m always amazed when I read really ignorant comments from either genuine ignorant people or the racist ones.
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I think the whole “controversy” about her children is stupid and disrespectful. Speaking of which, I can see a resemblance, especially with the lighter boy.
I am sorry to hear her husband was a cheater. Kids need strong home and it’s not the way of providing it.
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Whoa, Garcelle was cheated on? Oh no I thought those two had one of the strongest marriages going, wow, you never know what really goes on behind closed doors do you? I’ll look it up, but if anyone has a link then pls… I’m a big fan.
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http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/garcelle-beauvaiss-husband-cheating-allegations-04-09-2010
http://www.artuji.com/garcelle-beauvais-nilon-says-husband-cheats/5161 (pictured with kids, btw)
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I was on another forum and many people were saying what Garcelle did, by sending out mass e-mails to her husband’s co-workers, was tacky and immature. I commented that I don’t blame Garcelle for being angry as hell. I know how I would react if I knew my husband was having an affair. Some people mentioned that the affair should have been kept out of the public since it was a private matter. Really now? Garcelle’s husband obviously didn’t care. He could have subjected her to potentially deadly infections. I say call him out.
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Garcelle is beautiful and her babies are adorable. She deserves better and so does her children.
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I was surprised when I saw her man he not cute at all and as fine as Garcelle is. I don’t blame her for doing what she did we all do silly or bad things when we have been hurt hope she and her babies are doing better.
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Thanks, how sad, why do these men cheat in the first place??? 😦
Are they bored with the daily grind and routine at home? Aren’t they attracted to their wives? Do they want more variety? Or Tiger’s lame excuse that their wives have gone off sex! What on earth is going on??
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They should humiliate the homewrecking hussy as well, wonder who she is. How could he go from Garcelle to..whoever she is!
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I read somewhere that Garcelle sent those co-workers those scathing emails because she probably counted them as her friends and probably felt they knew about the affair and let her be humiliated.
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Leigh you’re right, very often in these cases friends and co workers are complicit in an affair. I’d be very surprised if none of them knew. Someone has to cover for the jerk.
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I feel for Garcelle and her children. She was married for nearly a decade and then her husband steps out on her for about half that. What a horrible thing to do to someone you supposedly love.
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It seems like 2010 is the years of cheaters getting caught Tiki Barber left his wife who is pregnant with twins for some young blonde hussy. Almost every single media outlet reported the story reffered to her a “hot blonde”
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Yeah, sure she’s blonde and young, but hot? Personally, I don’t find her all that.
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I don’t get it. She’s one of those dime a dozen blondes. What’s the appeal? *shrugs*
Anyway, the relationship between Tiki and his new woman won’t last. If Tiki can cheat on his 8 months pregnant wife with twins, he’ll sure as hell cheat on Miss. Hot Blonde.
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Sad. I was rooting for them.
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Sad news, especially since they have children.
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leigh204
Yeah, sure she’s blonde and young, but hot? Personally, I don’t find her all that.
I dont find her all that either his wife looks better to me. Miss “blondie” is 23 and looks every bit of 35, which is probaly a result from all the whoring around with other women’s husbands.
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Tiki and I’m sure Garcelle is far more attractive than those “other women”. The two wives look a lot younger than their age.
What’s up with all of this cheating? I even see this in my workplace. It is ridculous.
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What’s up with all of this cheating? I even see this in my workplace. It is ridculous.
It is ridiculous. The question is why do these men even get married in the first place? SMH
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Because they want their cake and eat it too!
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I very much loathe cheating. My father cheated on my mother throughout the years of their marriage. She tried looking the other way because she came from a culture that men and women stay married no matter what. The final straw was when he father a child who’s only three months younger than my sister. They eventually divorced, but it wasn’t only due to the cheating. He was very abusive (physically and emotionally) as well. I remember asking my father why he did the things he did to my mom and why he hurt the entire family with his dalliances. He responded, “I’m a man. I did what I thought was right for me. Besides, your mother was always too tired and too busy.” Oh, I was so angry. My mother worked two full-time jobs while raising us! So selfish. And I think that’s what it all boils down to…being selfish. It’s about what I want or what I need.
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Leigh,
I’m sorry that your mother, siblings and you had such an experience.
That’s exactly right! Men who do that are selfish and put their wants before others. I hate that “I’m a man” excuse! True “men” take care of their significant other, home and responsibilities. It is not written anywhere that a requirement for being a man is to cheat.
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@islandgirl:
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@islandgirl:
Thank you. You’re so kind. *hugs* I’m okay, though. My mother and sister as well. What’s that saying again? What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger? That’s how I feel in this case.
A big amen to that! Cheaters, whether men or women, should realize that they’re hurting people. What they do has consequences and, really, is it all worth it?
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I know this post it old and a year late but I just have to comment on the stupidity and ignorance of peoples views on mixing races. Why is it that when a black man/woman has a child with a white man/woman, people automatically assume the baby MUST look black or have a darker complexion?? Do people not believe that a black man/woman can produce a white looking child?? Think about, the couple is INTERRACIAL.. Which means that there is a 50% chance that the child can come out white or black. Yes majority children come out a mixture of both skin tones BUT genes can not be controlled naturally. A B/W couple CAN produce a WHITE child just as well as a B/W couple producing a BLACK child. Black women can birth white babies just like white women can birth black babies. Damn people stop being so stuck in a racist, narrow-minded society and wake up..
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Abagond:
Tumtum05
Garcelle is half-black, which is why her sons are so white. If a mixed blackwoman has a child with a non-blackman, the child is multiracial, not black. Only black and half-black people can birth a black baby. As for Garcelle, I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time. She’s one of the most beautiful and talented women in Hollywood, Period! Currently, she’s on Franklin & Bash, a new lawyer type drama on TNT that has been on air for about a month or so. I usually don’t watch lawyer shows, but I decided to check out an episode because Garcelle is on the show. The show was cool and all, but not my cup of tea. That being said, I hope the show is successful because television and film is not the same without blackwomen. The more sistas, the better.
Tyrone
Reality Mode
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Even though I am happily married to a decent and family oriented middle class white, I will always cheat! no joking, when I see a lovely black woman all my defence just disappear because I know exactly what I am getting. Sorry wifey?
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@Tyrone
How is she half Black? Garcelle looks full Black to me although she may have some mixture down the line.
”As for Garcelle, I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time. She’s one of the most beautiful and talented women in Hollywood, Period! ”
I agree. I have always been a fan of her.
” television and film is not the same without blackwomen. The more sistas, the better”.
Nice comment.
Tyrone, I respect your opinion but i don’t fully agree with you.
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Tyat nonsense about a louisiana creole connection was started on an american creole website. Some ignorant person created that story about her creole people not mixing with the haitians and others keep repeating it. Haitian creoles moved to louisiana during the Haitian revolution…not the other way around.
Garcelle is 100% haitian.
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In Haiti she would probably be called a marabou i.e. a dark skinned person with straight hair. According to Médéric Louis Élie Moreau de Saint-Méry, the chronicler of St-Domingue society, marabous are people with 1 white and 3 black grandparents.
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