Tia Mowry

Tia Mowry was born in Gelnhausen, West Germany to Darlene Mowry (née Flowers), who managed her children's careers even when they were in the group Voices and also worked as a security guard, and Timothy Mowry, who was in the U.S. Army at the time of her birth and later became a custody officer/jailer with the City of Glendale Police Department when the family moved to California.

Darlene, who is Bahamian American, and Timothy, who is British American, met in high school in Miami, Florida. Both joined the U.S. Army, and both would eventually reach the rank of Sergeant. During a live taping of The Wendy Williams Show in 2010, Mowry announced that for years, she and her twin sister believed they were of Italian descent on their father's side, however, after researching their family tree on Ancestry.com, they quickly discovered that he was instead of British descent. Her family is "close-knit" and "deeply religious", as the sisters became born again Christians when they were eight.

She also has two younger brothers, actor Tahj Mowry and Tavior Mowry, who is not an actor. Tia is two minutes younger than her twin sister, Tamera.

Tia Mowry and her sister began entering pageants and talent shows while their family was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. At age 12, they convinced their mother to move to California with them so they could pursue acting. She agreed, on the condition that they land an acting job within the first month of their stay. In 1990, their family moved to California permanently, settling in Los Angeles, and she and her sister began appearing in commercials and small roles.

She is well known for playing Tia Landry, a twin separated at birth and reunited with her sister as a teenager in the show “Sister, Sister.” The series was developed for them after a producer spotted them on the set of “Full House,” a show on which their brother made regular appearances. “Sister, Sister” was initially on ABC but was cancelled by the network after two years and picked up by The WB, where it ran for another four years. During its run, they appeared on an episode of their brother, Tahj Mowry's show “Smart Guy.” They also did voice-over work for the Kids' WB cartoon series “Detention.”

After the show ended, both Mowry and her sister studied psychology at Pepperdine University. She also went to Europe to study humanities and Italian for a period. Both she and her sister appeared in the Rob Schneider comedy film The Hot Chick, playing cheerleaders. Mowry also did voiceovers for the Bratz cartoon series as the voice of Sasha. In 2005, Mowry and her sister both starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie “Twitches” and reprised their roles in its sequel, “Twitches Too” and before co-starred in the 2000 movie “Seventeen Again.”

She also appeared on an episode of her sister's television show, Strong Medicine, in January 2006, playing the role of Keisha, the twin sister of Tamera Mowry's character, Dr. Kayla Thornton. Mowry has a starring role in the BET television series “The Game” as Melanie Barnett. Mowry has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award and a NAACP Image Awards for best actress in a comedy.

In the “Blues Clues” episode Blue's Birthday, Mowry and her sister make a cameo appearance as two of the celebrities wishing Blue a happy birthday in her birthday card. Their only line is said in unison: "Happy Birthday, Blue!"

Beginning July 2011, the Style Network began airing, “Tia & Tamera,” a reality show which follows the day to day lives of the twins; Tia being pregnant and Tamera engaged planning her wedding.

Mowry and her sister Tamera both can sing. They have showcased their vocal abilities on episodes of “Sister, Sister,” including The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love", "Amazing Grace" and "I'm Going Down", which Tamera performed. They also sung the theme song during season five and six.

In May 2012, Tia published her first book, “Oh, Baby: Pregnancy Tales” and “Advice from One Hot Mama to Another,” about her pregnancy and being a working mom. In fall 2012, Mowry will be performing in the ensemble of the national tour of “Sister Act” with Tamera Mowry as Deloris Van Cartier and Louise Pitre as Mother Superior.