Who is Cheryl James?
Cheryl ‘Salt’ James was born in New York City, USA, on 28 March 1966 – her zodiac sign is Aries, and she holds American nationality. She’s a rapper and an actress, who has been credited with appearing in over 30 movies and TV series, while she’s probably known best for her portrayal of Salt in the 2021 comedy film “Coming 2 America”. It was directed by Craig Brewer, starred Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, and follows the African monarch Akeem who has returned to the US in search of his son; the movie won a single award.
Cheryl is also known for having been a member of the hip hop trio Salt-N-Pepa, now disbanded.
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Early life and education
Cheryl was raised in New York City alongside her two siblings, by their mother Barbara James who was a bank manager, and their father who was a transit worker.
She became interested in rapping while still attending a local elementary school, but didn’t start considering it as a career until she enrolled at Grover Cleveland High School. Cheryl was interested in various activities during her four years there, including acting with the school’s drama club, practicing creative writing, and learning to play various instruments.
Upon matriculating in 1984, she enrolled at Queensborough Community College, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1988.
Rapping career
It was in 1985 that Cheryl met Sandra Denton while they were attending the same college, and they formed the rap duo Super Nature; the name was changed into Salt-N-Pepa after Latoya Hanson joined them, making it a trio.
The girls released their debut album “Hot, Cool & Vicious” in 1986, but the following year saw Latoya’s departure, with Deidra Roper taking her place. In 1988, they released their second album “A Salt with a Deadly Pepa”, followed by their third album in 1990, entitled “Blacks’ Magic”. The girls then released two more albums, “Very Necessary” in 1993 and “Brand New” in 1997, before disbanding.
Cheryl has performed a couple of times since then, as a solo rapper, but hasn’t released any songs or albums.
Career as an actress
Most of Cheryl’s acting credits are her appearances in her and other people’s music videos, while she’s also appeared in a couple of movies.
She made her debut appearance with her portrayal of a supporting character in the 1992 adventure fantasy comedy “Stay Tuned”, directed by Peter Hyams, and which starred John Ritter, Pam Dawber and Jeffrey Jones. The film follows a man and his wife who have been cast to star in a horrible TV show; it was nominated for two awards. In 1993, Cheryl appeared in the mystery comedy drama “Who’s the Man”, and in 1999, she was cast to play Detective Valerie Sanchez, in the crime thriller “Raw Nerve”.
Her following role came 12 years later, when she played Salt in the 2011 biographical drama “Queen of Media”, and in 2016, Cheryl appeared in an episode of the comedy series “Family Time”.
Most recently, in 2017 she played Testimonial in the comedy movie “Sandy Wexler”, directed by Steven Brill, and which starred Adam Sandler, Jennifer Hudson and Kevin James. It follows a talent manager who’s working in Los Angeles, California in the ‘90s – the movie won one of the three awards for which it was nominated.
Other credits
She can be heard singing songs in numerous movies and TV series, while some of the most popular amongst these include the 1996 action crime comedy “Bulletproof”, the 2016 action adventure comedy “Deadpool” and the 2019 action science fiction adventure “Captain Marvel”.
Cheryl has one writing and four producing credits. She produced 10 episodes of her own “The Salt-N-Pepa Show” in 2007, and in 2010, she wrote and produced various episodes of the series “Let’s Talk About Pep”. Her other two producing credits were nine episodes of the series “Ladies Night” in 2019, and the 2021 movie “Salt-N-Pepa”.
She has made a guest appearance in numerous talk-shows, most recently in “Today”, “The Wendy Williams Show” and “Entertainment Tonight”.
Awards
Cheryl won a 1998 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Award for Outstanding Music Video, for “God’s Property Feat. Kirk Franklin & Cheryl James: Stomp”.
Husband and children
Between 1984 and 1989, Cheryl was in a relationship with Hurby Azor, the Haitian musician and music producer who was Salt-N-Pepa’s manager during the entirety of their career.
In 1990, Cheryl began dating the American music producer Gavin Wray, and in 1991 she gave birth to their daughter Corin, while their son Chapele followed in 1999. On 24 December 2000 (Christmas Eve), Cheryl and Gavin married in a private ceremony, attended by only the closest of their friends and family members; however, Cheryl filed for divorce in 2014, and it was finalized four years later.
Cheryl hasn’t spoken of any other men whom she has perhaps been with, however, there are rumors circulating the internet, claiming that she’s today dating a non-celebrity American man, who prefers to be left out of media, but this hasn’t been confirmed.
As of November 2021, she appears to be single, was once married and has two children.
Hobbies and other interests
Cheryl is quite active on Instagram, and appears to be enjoying the attention which she’s receiving from her close to 200,000 followers. She’s uploaded more than 600 pictures onto the network, most of which have been taken during her everyday life.
She’s a fan of fast cars, and her favorite brand is Porsche.
Cheryl is passionate about travelling, and her career has taken her all around the world. She’s visited nearly all US states, as well as many Asian and European countries, while her favorite country to travel around is Germany.
She’s a dog-lover, and her two pet dogs can be seen featured in her Instagram pictures.
Late at night, Cheryl enjoys watching movies starring her favorite actor and actress, Will Smith and Meryl Streep, such as “Independence Day”, “Seven Pounds” and “Kramer vs. Kramer”.
Age, measurements and net worth
Cheryl’s age is 55. She has long black hair and brown eyes, her height is 5ft 5ins (1.65m) and she weighs around 130lbs (60kgs).
As of November 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $14 million.
