Janet Hubert biography

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Profile

Actress. Born on January 16, 1956, in New York, New York. Janet Hubert-Whitten is best known for playing the upper-class Aunt Viv on the hit comedy series Fresh Prince of Bel Air. She spent her early days growing up on Chicago??s South Side. At the age of nine, she moved with her family to a rural Illinois town. Hubert-Whitten won a scholarship to the famed Julliard School in New York City, but the transition from small town to big city proved to be too much for her. She went home after a year.

Returning to New York, Janet Hubert-Whitten joined the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. She also landed acting work on daytime television and on stage. In the 1980s, she was Betty Buckley??s understudy for Grizabella in the musical Cats for a time. But her biggest break came as part of the cast of the sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel Air, starring hip-hop recording artist Will Smith (as a character named Will Smith). Much of the humor of the show was the class and culture clash between Smith, a streetwise teen from Philadelphia, and his upper-class aunt, uncle, and cousins living in one of California??s richest, most elite neighborhoods. Hubert-Whitten played Vivian Banks, aunt to Smith, wife to Philip, and mother to Carlton, Hilary, and Ashley.

In 1993, Janet Hubert-Whitten was dismissed from the show, not long after the birth of her first child. The producers said that they were unable to reach a contract agreement. But she countered, saying that was forced off the show after she announced her pregnancy with the producers cutting her number of episodes and salary. Hubert-Whitten threatened to take legal action. Daphne Maxwell Reid took over the role of Vivian for the show's remaining seasons.

Since then, Janet Hubert-Whitten has appeared on such shows as Gilmore Girls, Friends, and The Bernie Mac Show among others.

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