At age 17, Mo'Nique began working as a plus-size model and took to the spotlight immediately. She got married at age 20, but tying the knot didn't quench her thirst for fame. On a dare from her brother she hopped onstage at a comedy club one night. The result? Mo'Nique brought down the house, and a year later, she was performing at "Showtime at the Apollo."

Unfortunately, Mo'Nique's home life was a mess. Her spouse turned violent which caused her to take off to Atlanta with their son Shalon. She did the comedy circuit rounds for several years in Atlanta but it wasn't until 1997 that things really turned around for her. She fell in love and remarried, and also landed a guest role on the sitcom "Moesha." Mo'Nique's talent was so appreciated that she impressed everybody and was soon cast in the hit spin-off "The Parkers."

Even though she may be best known for her role on "The Parkers" and as host of the long-running Showtime at the Apollo, she is also remembered for her stand-up acts in Baltimore, on Def Comedy Jam and Comic View. Mo'Nique also conquered the book world with her New York Times bestseller, "Skinny Women Are Evil."

She let's the wold know that she's big, beautiful and loving it... speaking of which, she launched her own line of clothing called Mo'Nique's Big Beautiful and Loving It in August 2000. It closed in 2002. Many know Mo'Nique can definitely dress and plus size women all over the world want to wear her clothes and are anxious to emulate the stylish Mo'Nique. Hopefully that project will get back up and running sometime in the near future.

And just to make sure she’s covering all aspects of the market from A to Z, Mo’Nique also has a baby doll and a signature fragrance as well as a comedy CD and movie credits to ad to her portfolio.

She's been featured in John Singleton's "Baby Boy," D.J. Pooh's, "3 Strikes," and "Two Can Play That Game" where she starred alongside Vivica A. Fox and earned a NAACP Image Award Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.

Mo’Nique has been inspiring women around the world with her "get the hell out of my way" attitude, but Mo’Nique is a hard-working woman in showbiz and always has her hands in a lot of projects.

She was recently showing her stuff as 'Jamiqua' in the movie "Soul Plane," where played the up close and personal security officer. She is also in the upcoming spin-off of "Barbershop" called, "Beauty Shop."

For the past couple years she's been entertaining us as the host of the annual BET Music Awards, and this year she had a big surprise for everyone as she and six other 'big girls' worked it out to Beyonce's "Crazy In Love" cut. The crowd was shocked, surprised and on their feet applauding the dance moves.

Her long running stint on UPN's sitcom "The Parkers," put Mo’Nique on the map as crazy Ms. Nikki Parker, but her personality, punch-lines and flair for fashion has made her a household name. The show has come to an end but Mo'Nique is here to stay.

She is definitely going to be around for quite some time and while she’s there she’s got some things she’d like to do: "I want to change the standard of beauty in this country. I was a fat baby coming out and I'm going to be a fat baby leaving. I've always been comfortable with that. When I was in school, I was always the most popular, and the best dressed. I had boyfriends. My point of view has always been, there are a million size 2's in Hollywood, but how many 22's?"