10 hottest couples

Ebony, Feb, 2002 by Lynn Norment

DESPITE the lights, cameras and glitz of Hollywood, love and romance are thriving. On movie sets, at video shoots and behind closed doors, famous and talented men and women are meeting and singing and dancing and acting and falling in love. In some cases, that love has endured since high school; for others, it is as fresh and new as a few months old.

At glittery celebrity events and awards shows, we see the twinkle in the eyes and sparkle in the smiles of some of our favorite stars as they make a grand entrance hand-in- hand, heart-in-heart.

This year's EBONY 10 Hottest Couples includes some fresh new relationships, such as popular R&B crooner Kenny Lattimore and pretty singer Chante Moore, who connected after a concert in New York City last summer and have become a loving twosome. There's also the handsome, talented Usher Raymond, who in recent months has been hot on the scene with Chilli of TLC. Making love work on two coasts are cerebral actors Laurence Fishburne and the beautiful Gina Torres. Then there are the invigorating Jill Scott and her new husband, Lyzel Williams, and the youthful actors Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps. Among the longtime loves are Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Tisha Campbell-Martin and Duane Martin, and Faith Evans and her husband, Todd Russaw. Master P and his wife, Sonya Miller, were teen sweethearts and now command a musical empire. Also featured among the 2002 10 Hottest Couples are All-Star baseball player Gary Sheffield and his beautiful and talented wife, gospel singer DeLeon Richards.

On the following pages, EBONY reveals how these couples met and fell in love. Their stories provide inspiration for those who are so caught up in their busy lives that they feel they don't have time for love. These couples are making names for themselves in music, in movies, on television and in Major League Baseball, but they are also making time for love.

Tisha Campbell-Martin & Duane Martin

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Caption: Actors Tisha Campbell-Martin and Duane Martin have been a couple, for 11 years, married for six, and in August they became parents of their first child, Xen Martin. Back in 1990 they met during a six-hour audition for a television pilot. The next day, Duane tracked her down through her agent, and soon after they got together and robe bicycles on Venice Beach, ate ice cream and talked for several hours. Sparks flew and they became good friends. Years after being virtually inseparable, Duane got down on one knee and proposed at their favorite eatery. The waitress cried and other customers applauded, though one haughty woman cringed and said, "I can't believe he's proposing in a Denny's." Tisha says what she likes best about her husband is that he makes her laugh. "I love it," she says. "He's my best friend and we have lot of fun together." Campbell stars in the ABC stitcom My Wife and Kids with Damon Wayans, and Martin recently finished production on the film The Groomsmen.

Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Caption: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have been a loving twosome on the Hollywood celebrity scene since 1995. Before they were married four years ago, they were often seen at glamorous events arm-in-arm, and since they have married and now have children--Willow, 1, Jaden, 3, and Trey, 9, Will's son from his previous marriage--they are still making the rounds, often with kids in tow. And they appear to be as happy as ever. Adding to their bliss is the fact that Smith, 33, has evolved into one of Hollywood's biggest stars. His new movie, Ali, is getting rave reviews. (Jada has a role as one of Ali's wives.) Smith's first three actions films, Bad Boys, Independence Day and Men in Black, grossed more than $600 million total. His success on the silver screen came after he had conquered rap music with hit after hit and several Grammy Awards, and television with his starring role on the popular, long-running The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sitcom. Pinkett Smith 30, has starred in a number of films, including Menace II Society, A Low Down Dirty Shame, The Nutty Professor and Bamboozled. She also has a role in the forthcoming Matrix sequel. Will admits he asked Ali director Michael Mann to cast Jada as his wife so he would not have to do a love scene with another woman. That's love.

Kenny Lattimore & Chante Moore

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Caption: It seems that these two love birds were meant to be together. When handsome young crooner Kenny Lattimore attended the Will Downing/Chante Moore Los Angeles concert last summer, he had his heart set on connecting with Chante. When the pretty singer announced to the audience that she was going to sing her hit song, "Chante's Got A Man At Home," despite the fact she didn't, the crowd cheered and Lattimore told his father, who was visiting from D.C.: "Look how fine she is, and she can sing too! I'm going to meet her." After the show, he and his father went backstage, but could not find Chante Weeks later, Lattimore went to her show in New York, and this time he did find Chante. "Dad had been to her D.C. concert and obviously told her a lot of stuff I said, how I was clowning about her," he says. A few days later, they got together, talked a lot and "bonded and Became really good friends." Lattimore says he and Chante are really close, "But we are not engaged, and she's not pregnant," he says, dispelling rumors that they are expecting a child "She is really wonderful actually," he says of Chante. "I like the fact that she is so real. She seems to take it all [celebrity] in stride. She's consistent. She's honest. She makes me enjoy life more just being in her presence. And she loves God. That is the ultimate. That makes her love me in a way that is not superficial."