Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known mononymously as Mo'Nique, is an American comedian and actress.

She transitioned to mainstream roles starring in the UPN series The Parkers (1999–2004) and the films Phat Girlz (2006) and Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008).

Mo'Nique graduated from Milford Mill High School in Baltimore County in 1985[4] and attended Morgan State University.

[6] Before she was an actress, Monique worked as a customer service representative at the phone company MCI in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

She was featured on many leading stand-up venues such as Showtime at the Apollo, Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam, and Thank God You're Here.

[9] In 2005, Mo'Nique played a significant role in Tony Scott's thriller Domino, co-starring Keira Knightley and Mickey Rourke.

In 2006, Mo'Nique was cast as the lead in Phat Girlz, a comedy about an aspiring fashion designer struggling to find love and acceptance.

Mo'Nique, Ella Joyce (Roc); Wendy Raquel Robinson (The Steve Harvey Show and The Game) and Vanessa Bell Calloway (What's Love Got to Do with It), were the first all black celebrity cast to perform The Vagina Monologues.

Produced by YYP & Associates, the show was directed by playwright and director Yetta Young as well as co-produced by Kellie R. Griffin, Lisa D. Washington and Anita Cal.

Mo'Nique is the author of the best-selling book Skinny Women Are Evil: Notes of a Big Girl in a Small-Minded World.

She was the hostess and executive producer of Mo'Nique's Fat Chance, a beauty pageant for plus-sized women, on the Oxygen cable network.

In 2007, she had a guest-starring role on the hit television series Ugly Betty as L'Amanda, Mode's weekend security guard.

[13] She was featured in soul singer Anthony Hamilton's video "Sista Big Bones", the second single from his album Ain't Nobody Worryin'.

"[15] In 2009, Mo'Nique appeared in the film Precious, directed by Lee Daniels, portraying an inner-city teenager's abusive mother.

She next starred as Ma Rainey in the biographical film Bessie in 2015, for which she received critical acclaim, earning her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

[22][23] In 2022, it was announced that Mo'Nique will be starring in the Lee Daniels' horror/thriller The Deliverance with Andra Day, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Omar Epps, Miss Lawrence, and Tasha Smith.

In October 2005, Mo'Nique gave birth to twin sons Jonathan and David Hicks two months before their due date.

In a New York Times profile, she mentions that she and Hicks have an open marriage: We have an agreement that we'll always be honest, and if sex happens with another person, that's not a deal breaker for us, that's not something where we'll have to say, 'Oh God, we've got to go to divorce court because you cheated on me.'

[37][38][39] In 2018, Mo'Nique accused Netflix of racial and gender bias against her after she was paid $500,000 for her comedy special to air on the streaming service.

She compared herself to Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, and Amy Schumer, who each received multimillion-dollar deals.

In the suit, she listed fellow comedians who were paid millions for their specials, including Chappelle, Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy, Ellen DeGeneres, and Ricky Gervais.

For her performance in The Parkers, Mo'nique has received four NAACP Image Awards in the category of Most Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.