Nov 13, 1980

Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA

Monique Coleman is originally from Columbia, South Carolina where she
started acting in theatre and television at a very young age. Her training
began at the Workshop Theatre School of Dramatic Arts where she performed
in over 15 plays. An acting class taught by a guest teacher actually
turned out to be an audition, and resulted in her booking her first
commercial. Now the ball was rolling and Monique began auditioning for
anything she could in the Southeast region, landing several local a... ... (read more...) nd
regional commercials even a few supporting roles in films. Her first lead
was in the independent feature entitled Mother of the River which was shot
in the historic Charleston, South Carolina. The film won numerous awards
at film festivals in Chicago. Two years later, Monique appeared as Young
Donna in The Family Channel Movie The Ditchdigger's Daughters for which
she was nominated for a Young Artists Award of Hollywood. During her
sophomore year of high school, Monique wrote, directed, produced, and
starred in her own one-person play entitled Voices from Within standing
room only-audience numbered in the hundreds. In addition to acting,
Monique was very involved in her community and school while attending the
Heathwood Hall Episcopal School. She did everything from performing in
plays, to competing in forensic tournaments, volunteering with abused
children, running track, even cheerleading. After graduating from high
school, it was off to Chicago where she obtained her BFA in Acting from
the Theatre School at DePaul University. Education was a priority, and
though it was a break from her already established career, she finds her
training to be invaluable.

Monique currently resides in Los Angeles where she has accrued an
extensive resume in a short time. She has guest starred on shows such as
Malcolm in the Middle, Strong Medicine, 10-8 (playing the daughter of
Ernie Hudson and Vanessa Bell Calloway) and Veronica Mars. She ALSO
recurred on Gilmore Girls and Boston Public. Currently she can be seen
Mary Margret on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and on The Disney Channel
Summer Games. In 2005, Monique had the honor of working opposite one of
her heroes-the legendary James Earl Jones, in a Hallmark Movie The Reading
Room. She received a 2006 Camie Award for her portrayal of the role
Leesha, and represented the film at the NAACP Image Awards.

It has been stated by many that it takes a long time to become an
overnight sensation and Monique Coleman is an example of just that.
Pursuing and dedicating herself toward her dream for well over ten years,
the young actress is on her way thanks to the success of the Disney
Channel’s original movie High School Musical which helped to put her on
the map. Since the movie's debut in January, she has appeared on such
shows as The Today Show, Goodmorning America, CNN Showbiz Tonight and TRL.
She is one of Teen People's 25 hottest stars under 25, and has been
featured in Bop, Popstar, Tigerbeat, Cosmogirl,Word Up,Teen Vogue, The New
York Times and Newsweek as well as international publications. Monique has
signed on as Taylor in the much anticipated sequel to High School Musical,
which will go into production in 2007. Life is exciting for this very
special busy young actress, proving that dedication and hard work pays
off. A dream of Monique’s is to become a source of inspiration and
encouragement to young people and to always creating value no matter what,
looks like that dream is coming true too.