Nia Peeples' Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Pretty Little Liars Pam Fields The New WKRP in Cincinnati Sierra Smith Marker Lisa Crisis Center Lily Gannon Nasty Boys Serena Cruz

Main Movie Roles 2010 - Dante's Inferno Animated 2002 - Half Past Dead 1998 - Blues Brothers 2000 1989 - Deep Star Six 1987 - North Shore

BIOGRAPHY:

Nia Peeples was born in Hollywood, California, on December 10, 1961. Her family moved to West Covina, California, where she and her two sisters, Paula and Cynthia, grew up. At eight years old she began performing with her family, giving concerts for community groups and conventions and doing dances of different cultures, Polynesian, Spanish and Irish. She attended West Covina High School and was an "A" student and a member of the marching band, involved in cheerleading, tumbling, volleyball, student government, choral singing and singing for a rock 'n roll band. She starred in the school production of "South Pacific" as Bloody Mary. She got her first standing ovation for her performance.

She attended UCLA on a music scholarship, during which time she performed as Liberace (I)'s opening act in Las Vegas on weekends. She took one semester as a voice major, dropped out of UCLA and took three jobs in order to afford acting lessons. She studied singing with Gloria Rush and the Sanford Meisner acting technique at Playhouse West.

She accompanied a friend to a rehearsal one day and was spotted by the producers, who cast her in the play "Music Shop". This led to guest appearances in such TV series as "Hardcastle and McCormick" (1983) and "T.J. Hooker" (1982). Her first starring role came when she played a deaf girl opposite William Atherton in the HBO film A Single Light (1981) (TV). She auditioned for and won the part of Nicole Chapman in the series "Fame" (1982). Her hobbies include hiking, tandem surfing, rollerblading and skiing. She also does a lot of charity work. She is of Scottish/Filipino descent.


TRIVIA:

• Mother is a flamenco dancer, father is an artist.
• She was once engaged to her _"Fame" (1982)_ (qv) co-star, actor 'Carlo Imperato' (qv).
• Attended and was a mentor at the 2nd annual HatcH audiovisual festival in Bozeman, Montana, in October 2005. HatcH is a film and arts festival whose mission is to provide mentorship, education, inspiration, and recognition to the next generation of creative innovators.
• Children are Christopher (b. 1990) and Sienna Noel (b. 1998).
• Presenter of The Spirit Horse Award for Best Picture to 'Paul Feig' (qv), for _I Am David (2003)_ (qv), at the San Diego Film Festival 2003
• Mother Elizabeth Peeples is of Filipino, German and Spanish descent. Father Robert is of Italian, Scottish, Irish and Native American Heritage.