Chip was raised in a small town in
Virginia, by her Aunt and Uncle. By the
age of seven, she was transplanted to New York City, where she
lived with her mother in Harlem for nineteen years, and went to
public elementary and Junior High schools. She auditioned for
and won a place in New York’s infamous Performing Arts High
School. Near the end of her senior year, Chip
gave birth to a baby girl. That little girl later went on to
become Kim Fields, co-star of the popular NBC hit series “Facts
of Life” and years later co-star of the urban hit comedy,
“Living Single”.
When Chip’s mother died in 1976,
she and Kim moved from Harlem to L.A., where she had
previously enjoyed some notoriety while co-starring opposite
Pearl Bailey in the last National Tour and
Broadway run of “Hello Dolly”. What followed was a memorable
recurring role on “Good Times” as Janet Jackson’s abusive
mother, two years on NBC’s “Day’s of Our Lives”, a co-starring
role on the Spiderman television series, guest spots on several
sitcoms, a hilarious recurring role as Kim’s mother on “Living
Single”, and a co-starring role as Richard Pryor’s wife in the
feature film “Blue Collar”.
In 1982, Chip gave birth to another
stunningly talented daughter, Alexis, who has made quite a name
for herself in television co-starring on such shows as “Keenan &
Kel”, “Alex Mack”, “Sister/Sister”, “Rock”,
and “Moesha”.
Chip has directed television comedies such as Disney’s “Hannah Montana”, Nickelodean’s “Romeo” and “Just Jordan”, as well as UPN’s “All of Us”, “One on One”, “The Parkers”, and “Girlfriends”. She has been the number one celebrity acting coach for over twenty years working with such artists as: Mark Curry, Steve Harvey, Mo’Nique, Arsenio Hall, Baby Face, Queen Latifah, Kim Coles, Donnie McClurkin, Yolanda Adams, Khamani Griffin, Kirk Franklin, and Bow Wow - to name a few. A highlight of her career was coaching Bishop T.D.Jakes.
Married to four-time Emmy Award winning
Technical Director-Ervin Hurd, Chip has been blessed with two
more beautiful daughters: Nakeya and Tyna.
Chip is convinced that directing “Inspired By…The Bible Experience” is one of the most extraordinary blessings God has bestowed on her affording her the opportunity to work with over 400 of today’s top talent and members of the clergy.