Lisa Raye initially wanted to become a model, after doing fashion shows in school and local churches in Chicago. In 1996, after being persuaded to attend a local audition, Lisa Raye won the lead role in the Monty Ross indie film “Reasons.” That same year, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue more acting roles and immediately landed jobs on TV shows such as “In the House,” “Martin” and “The Parent ‘Hood.” During this time, Lisa worked with Tupac Shakur for his final music video “Toss It Up,” which was seen by fellow rapper Ice Cube who was then planning his directorial debut for “The Players Club.”

In 1998, Lisa Raye landed the lead role of Diana Armstrong in “The Players Club,” which was written and directed by Ice Cube. The following year, she appeared in the movie “The Wood” alongside Omar Epps and was voted by the readers of Black Men Magazine as one of “The 10 Sexiest Women of the Year.”

Lisa Raye welcomed 2000 with two movies – “The Cheapest Movie Ever Made” and the TV film “Rhapsody.” The following year, she was seen on “Date from Hell” and “All About You.” Also in 2001, Lisa Raye was voted by the readers of Black Men magazine as “2001’s Sexiest Woman.” She continued to appeared on several movies in 2002 and 2003 with titles such as “Go for Broke,” “Love Chronicles,” “Gang of Roses” and “Civil Brand” – the film that took home top awards at The Urbanworld Film Festival and American Black Film Festival.

In 2003, Lisa Raye landed a starring role in the TV series “All of Us,” playing Neesee James until 2007, the year she earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.” During her time on the show, Lisa Raye continued to appear on the big screen with movies such as “Super Spy,” “Beauty Shop,” and “Envy.” In 2005, she served as voice choreographer for the Disney Original Movie “The Proud Family Movie.” Her recent movies include “The Black Man’s Guide to Understanding Black Women” and “Contradictions of the Heart.”

Aside from acting, Lisa Raye has also appeared on several music videos, including Sisqo’s “Incomplete,” Ludacris’ “Number 1 Spot,” Calvin Richardson’s “True Love,” the Ice Cube-Lil Jon collaboration “Roll Call” and Ginuwine’s “Last Chance.” Lisa Raye worked with rapper Benzino for the single “Would You?,” which was featured on the movie “Redemption.”