Mara Brock Akil

About Mara Brock Akil

Who is it?: Writer, Producer, Miscellaneous Crew
Birth Day: May 27, 1970
Birth Place:  Los Angeles, California, United States
Birth Sign: Gemini
Residence: Beverly Hills, California
Other names: Mara Brock Ali or Mara Brock
Occupation: Screenwriter, producer
Years active: 1994–present
Spouse(s): Salim Akil (m. 1999)
Children: Yasin Ali Akil & Nasir Lukmon Akil

Mara Brock Akil Net Worth

Mara Brock Akil was born on May 27, 1970 in  Los Angeles, California, United States, is Writer, Producer, Miscellaneous Crew. Akil is a native of Los Angeles, but was raised primarily in Kansas City. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in journalism.Akil began her writing career on Fox's critically acclaimed "South Central." She later moved on to writing for the UPN series "Moesha," where she earned her Producer title after four seasons. She received the 1999 SHINE (Sexual Health in Entertainment) Award presented by The Media Project for her "Moesha" episode "Birth Control."Akil later served as Supervising Producer on the comedy series "The Jamie Foxx Show." For the 2000-01 television season, Akil created her first show, Girlfriends (2000), which she and Kelsey Grammer executive produce. 'Girlfriends' was presented with a 2001 SHINE Award for "The Burning Vagina Monologues" episode. It was also honored with 2002 and 2003 NAACP Image Awards nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.Akil draws inspiration for the storylines from her own group of good friends, including Felicia D. Henderson (creator of Showtime's "Soul Food") and Gina Prince-Bythewood (writer/director of New Line Cinema's "Love & Basketball").She is married to Executive Producer/Director Salim Akil. Recently, VIBE listed Akil on its "Top 100 Hottest People List" and Honey magazine named her as one of the "Top 25 Hottest Women in Urban Entertainment." She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and a board member of Center Theatre Group (Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson Theatre). She also enjoys mentoring young people, especially aspiring writers.She recently gave birth to her first child.
Mara Brock Akil is a member of Writer

💰 Net worth: Under Review

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Biography/Timeline

1988

She graduated from Raytown South High School in 1988. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and became a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. After she graduated from Northwestern in 1992, Brock Akil decided to put her career plans in journalism on hold to work as a manager at the Howard Street Gap in Chicago and look for opportunities to work within Chicago's entertainment industry. She decided to change careers after securing the role of Ms. Moore in the 1994 film With Honors. This role inspired Brock Akil to return to Los Angeles to start her career.

1994

Brock Akil first began writing for television in 1994 writing for the critically acclaimed but short-lived Fox series South Central. In 1999, she served as supervising Producer and Writer on The Jamie Foxx Show after writing for Moesha for four seasons. In 2000, Brock Akil created and executive produced (along with Kelsey Grammer) another UPN series, Girlfriends. She also created and executive produced Girlfriends′ spin-off series, The Game. In 2009, Brock Akil became a consulting Producer and Writer for the ABC suburban sitcom Cougar Town. She is the creator of BET's Being Mary Jane, which premiered in 2013.

2000

Brock Akil went straight to UPN and sold her idea for her hit series to the network. She shopped the series around to studios to start the filming process, but, even though the show sold to a major network, no filming company wanted to take the bait. She struck a deal with Kelsey Grammer, and his involvement with Paramount pictures was able to sign on as an executive Producer for the show. Girlfiends premiered on September 11, 2000, and became a part of UPN's Monday night prime time line up. Chronicling the life of Joan Clayton, played by Tracee Ellis Ross, and her four friends, the show ran for eight seasons, lasting through the production switch from UPN and the launch of the CW network. The show's two-part series finale aired on the CW on February 11, 2008.

2001

Staci Robinson, Writer and author of Interceptions, filed a 40 million-dollar lawsuit against Brock Akil and the CW network, accusing Brock Akil of stealing the concept of her hit CW comedy series from her novel that was unpublished when she showed it to her in 2001. Robinson claimed she thought of the show first because her novel chronicles the life of Stefanie Porter, a senior studying law at UCLA, who ceases her hopes of becoming a Lawyer to support the dreams of her boyfriend, star football player Ricky Powers.

2009

Following the launch of the CW network, Brock Akil created a spin-off series to her first show that follows the life of Joan's cousin, Melanie Barnett, played by Tia Mowry. She places her dreams of being a Doctor on hold and moves to San Diego to be a supportive backbone to her boyfriend, professional football player Derwin Davis, played by Pooch Hall. The series ran on the CW network for three seasons until its abrupt ending in 2009. The show was canceled for about two years until it was picked up by BET and began production in Atlanta. The Game brought in 7.7 million viewers in its Season 4 premier on BET. After adding six more seasons to the series, the network released a statement on its website stating that the show would conclude after production of the seventh and eighth seasons.

2013

With an already established relationship with the BET network, Brock Akil worked alongside her husband to co-write and produce their first show on BET. Being Mary Jane, starring Gabrielle Union premiered July 2, 2013, and became the couple's first hour-long scripted show. The show chronicles the life of Mary Jane Paul, a successful news anchor, and attempts to address the statistic that within the black community 42 percent of successful women will never marry.

2017

As of March 2017, Brock Akil left ICM Partners to join CAA.

2018

Brock Akil met Salim Akil while working on the set of Moesha, and the two married in 1999. Salim also went on to establish a career in the industry as a television Director. The couple has two sons; their first son, Yasin Ali Akil, was born on April 16, 2004, and their second son, Nasir Lukmon Akil, was born on November 16, 2009. She and her husband, Salim, currently are practicing Sufi Muslims. The Akils created and executive produced a scripted superhero series, Black Lightning, based on DC Comics' Black Lightning series. The show premiered on January 16, 2018.