Neecole Cockerham

Berkeley-born actress, Neecole Cockerham was the first African American woman to grace the television ad campaigns of the fashion stalwarts Banana Republic. She continued on and garnered principle roles for industry giants like Sears, IBM, & recently Comcast. Neecole's marquee looks, which are not to Hollywood's standard, have cast her in over 90 national commercials. She maintains the same humility she had before appearing in Vogue, O Magazine, Harper's Bazaar, Martha Stewart & Billboards for Dockers, Kraft & Other Major Print campaigns. Born to Eugene Cockerham Sr. a carpenter and Takietha a U.C Berkeley Aerospace Studies employee. Neecole began performing early on, she gathered family and neighborhood children in the downstairs den of her family home in Berkeley, CA and began doing shows of different characters of sketch comedy skits, complete with wardrobe changes. Shaped as a promising adolescent at the Bay Area based, Berkeley Arts Magnet, Neecole furthered her fervor for the theatrical arts at Cal State Northridge where she studied Acting for Television under the consummate professional, Lillian Lehman. She, additionally, studied with Eden Harmon at the acclaimed acting school Estelle Harmon's Acting School. Eventually, she was accepted to the acting for television program at W.P.C. in New Jersey. This East Coast training led her to her first leading role in a student film, "In the Woods", which played at the Argentina Film Festival. During her stint back east she established herself as a valuable player onstage at the Ian Ziering sponsored Black box Theatre, which produced "For Colored Girls Who Consider Suicide When the Rainbow Wasn't Enuf" (Ntozake Shange). The notoriety of Neecole's performances also landed her a reprise of one scene at "Crossroads" at the Ruby Dee and Ozzie Davis Playhouse. No longer moonlighting as an aspiring actress, Neecole took to the silver screen headlining as the lead in Christine Crokos's, "Heroine Helen", an acclaimed entrant at the Urban World Film Festival (New York City, 2001). Maintaining her drive for greatness, Neecole has co-starred alongside Melanie Brown ( Scary Spice) in Water Woman Production's "Love Thy Neighbor", which garnered honors for best short at Chicago International Film Festival in (2006). Other projects include: promos for E!'s "Chelsea Lately" show (co-star); MTV'S "Faking The Video" (role of Omarion's of B2K's manager); NBC's "Significant Others" (co-star); WB's "Do Over"; ESPN's "The Life" (pilot). And the most recent role of the hilarious La Noca Hill In "Jesus' Secretary (2009) which has garnered her Best Actress nod from the Cellesty International Film Festival. Her newest instillation is a witty one women serio-comedy titled "I Am Not My Mama" (2012). The show was given birth to on Hollywood's theater row at The Complex Theatre. Ever the optimist, Neecole bides her time through genuine passion for the thespian craft by studying her skills, recently with David Rotenberg (2013) Master Scene Study, so that she may continue to push her limits as an artist.