Jasmine Guy: The Legacy Carries On

A sassy attitude, stylish class, with a hint of southern slang and there’s no doubt you’ve come in contact with a southern beauty, like “Whitley Gilbert”. Hillman College’s wealthy southern belle from the “A Different World,” sitcom was infamous for her classy and sociable personality. When she’s not caught in a love war with on again-off again boyfriend “Dwayne” or finding wholesome trouble with best friends, she was highly involved on campus and always open to lend a helping hand. “Whitely Gilbert” couldn’t be shaped effectively if it wasn’t for the matchless talents of dancer, singer and actress Jasmine Guy.

Jasmine Guy is an immaculate triple threat in all aspects of the performing arts industry. According to TVGuide.com, her voyage began when she left home at age 16 to move to New York and was inaugurated in 1981 as a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. In no time Guy obtained a gig as a dancer on the TV series Fame in 1982. She then hit Broadway debuting in the 1984 revival of The Wiz. All of her success motivated her career in acting. She proceeded to audition for the popular 80’s sitcom, A Different World which broadcasted the ideal lifestyle and adventures of a predominately African-American college environment. Guy landed the unforgettable role as “Whitley Gilbert” where she soon won six consecutive NAACP Image Awards due to her grand performance of that character. Guy could closely relate to the everyday life of Whitley because she too was raised in a southern atmosphere.

Guy was born in Boston, Massachusetts but was raised in the southern parts of Atlanta, Georgia by her father, Reverend William Guy and her mother Jaye Rudolph. Her father was of African American decent and her mother was a Cape Verdean American. This eccentric blend formulated the unique and striking physical features of Guy. Guy attended Spelman College which also allowed her relate to the college lifestyle of her charcter on a “Different World,” Whitley. During her production of A Different World she had a baby girl, Imani Guy, was brought along into the Guy family tree. Aside of family and her returning sitcom, Guy found an interest in several other projects throughout the years.

In 1990 Guy took time to become more in touch with her vocals and debuted an album featuring singles “Try Me”, “Just Want to Hold You” and “Another Like My Lover. In 1997 she participated in a national tour of the musical Chicago, where she played Velma Kelly. Later she returned to the same role in the Las Vegas and Broadway productions. As a close friend to rapper and actor, Tupac Shakur, Guy reached out to his mother, Afeni Shakur, shortly after his death. Guy sat down with Afeni and talked about Tupac and his life struggles.  Through her findings and based off what she knew about friend Tupac Shakur, Guy created a biography novel of Afeni Shakur and called it “Evolution of a Revolutionary”.

Today, Guy still prolongs her legacy as she continues to exert and create projects. She currently plays the role as the grandmother of Bonnie in NBC’s sitcom, The Vampire Diaries. Her primary project has brought her back to her hometown, Atlanta where she inspires to embrace the Atlanta theater scene. “I think the work is here, the talent is here. We just need to learn as a community to embrace the arts,” she comments. “Each company has its own mission, and I feel it is very important to keep those companies alive. Atlanta can do that; it can feed onto the Broadway stage,” she tells atlantatheatrefans.com.

She is beginning the advance production of Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre with her new play God of Carnage. It’s directed by Kent Gash and is opens in January 2013. Guy informs the audience on what to expect of the production, “come expect to have a great time with self-reflection.” She explains that the play will “make you think, but you will have a good time. Don’t let the title fool you.” Jasmine Guy continues to wear many hats as she contributes her talents to the world. Her legacy will not be forgotten nor does it end now, it is still in the making at the pure age of 50.

-LaShawnda Gamble