Vivacious Vivica A. Fox! What's next for the actress who has everybody talking

Jet, Nov 17, 2003 by Margena A. Christian

The name is a double entendre, Vivica A. Fox. It's catchy. The woman behind the name is just as intriguing.

Few Black actresses can boast of having starred in movies alongside three Black Oscar winners (Halle Berry--Why Do Fools Fall In Love, Cuba Gooding Jr.-Boat Trip and Whoopi Goldberg--Kingdom Come). Berry recognized Fox during her historic Oscar-win acceptance speech for Best Actress for Monster's Ball. Rap star 50 Cent gave Fox words of praise during his acceptance speech at the BET awards show.

Fox has the goods. With 19 movies and 14 TV shows on her filmography, what's next for the actress who has everybody talking?.

"I am doing mere producing," she tells JET. "I've made studios a whole bunch of money. I'm just learning that I green-light projects. I get fundings for projects that I should reap the benefits of what my name does ... There's a business behind the show. Once you learn more about the business going on behind the show, the longer you'll be able to stay in show business. Get very involved,"

In Quentin Tarrantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1, the size 6 Fox kicks butt! Her character, Vernita Green, is an exassassin who is now a housewife.

"I love strong women. It's a quality project The wonderful thing about Tarrantino films is that you get international exposure," explains Fox, who will star in Kill Bill: Volume 2 early next year. Her character's past will be revealed.

Fox's body was toned beyond belief while preparing for the aggressive role. "I was so in shape, so ready to fight. The fight scene was filmed for a week. I did 95 percent of my scenes. I went to China and studied Tae Kwon Do with Master Woo-Ping and his staff. I worked with him for four hours a day, five days a week. He trained Jada and Keanu for The Matrix."

Currently Fox is in Baltimore filming Beauty Shop, a film that she will produce. It is based on the long-running stage play by Shelley Garrett. She was asked to collaborate, on the project with Mark Brown, who worked with her on the movie Two Can Play That Game.

Motive, a suspense thriller, and Ride Or Die, a biker film, are other projects that Fox will produce. After completing work on Beauty Shop, she will head back to Los Angeles to begin work on the film Getting Played.

More films for the in-demand actress include a fairytale movie, Ella Enchanted, based on the young adult novel, where she went to Ireland to play a fairy named Lucinda. She also traveled to South Africa to film the upcoming movie Blast with Eddie Griffin. In it she is an FBI agent.

"I'm having a ball. I've been waiting for this moment all my life. I always knew my 30s would be great," says the 39-year-old. "I didn't know why back then. When I was younger, I would say, 'I can't wait to be 30.' I'm comfortable in my skin, happy in my skin and in my professional life. I'm just really happy."

She got her start in 1988 on the cancelled soap opera "Days of Lives." Work on another soap opera, "Generations, followed in 1989, Her role on Patti LaBelle's television series "Out All Night" in 1992 helped open more doors for her career.

Now, with two decades of" experience under her belt, Fox's name continues to be a draw at the box office. And, TV executives beckon for her to make a return to television.

"Right now I'm really happy doing movies just because I love that you work on it for two or three months. Then you go and work on something else. It's fresh air. You're not doing the same thing over and over and over. I'm not against TV; it's just that right now I'm really happy doing movies.

Her many films include Independence Day, Set It Off, Soul Food, Why Do Fools Fall In Love, Booty Call, Kingdom Come, Two Can Flay That Game, Juwanna Mann and Boat Trip.

Even though she is name, Fox says that being a actress in Hollywood continues to have its challenges.

"Quality roles are still far: between. It seems like wood you have your top actresses who are working all the time. There isn't just one. So the constant challenges of finding new quality roles and quality projects are still a task even with me being at the top of my game. You still gotta fight, gotta plug away, gotta break through barriers. Once again we are still fighting twice as hard."

The good thing, she says, is that Black Hollywood is like family. "The African-American community of actors are really close-knit. We all hang out and go to each other's baby showers and weddings. I learned from Halle, Whoopi and Cuba that an Oscar still doesnt mean that it takes you out of the race. Continue to run the race, continue to stay hungry. Keep moving."

One actor in particular she keeps a steady eye on at all times is Samuel Jackson. "Samuel Jackson is my role model. Samuel works all the time: He stars, co-stars and does small parts. He loves to work."

Newly divorced, Fox has weathered the storm in her personal life and is enjoying each day. She would prefer to focus on her career and not discuss her personal life, but that might be hard to avoid these days, considering she has been seen up close and personal with mega-rap star 50 Cent. She reveals, at JET press time, they are not in a relationship.