Niecy Nash is now a name most people recognize, probably because she manifested it when she was nine years old. A visit to the Hollywood Walk of Fame with her father and seeing Ed Asner led the little girl to tell Asner to remember his name because his name would be on one of the stars. True to his word, on July 11, 2018, Nash received the 2th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, marking his contribution to the entertainment industry. His work also drove Niecy Nash's net worth to $639 million, and here's his journey.
Determination to act
Nash was only five years old when she watched television and saw a woman who inspired her to one day become an actress. She told NPR that she had seen the most beautiful black woman wearing a long red dress and butterfly-shaped eyelashes. Nash asked his grandmother the name and the grandmother told him it was Lola Falana. So little Nash said she wanted to be like Falana – black, fabulous and on TV. In his mind, Nash wanted to play dramatic roles, but it would be a while before his destiny was realized. Instead, she first had to embrace her funny side, which she didn't know she had. Nash recalled that she was always in trouble because she was a threat. She would be pinched in church or punished for reading on her report card that she talked too much. However, that could have been his way of coping with whatever life threw at him.
At 15, Nash watched his mother being shot with a double-barreled pistol by an abusive boyfriend on an Easter Sunday morning. Fortunately, Nash's mother survived, but eight years later tragedy struck again when Nash's brother was killed while in high school, a day before Nash was to celebrate his 23rd birthday. It was the straw that broke the camel's back for Nash's mother, and she went into a state of depression, vowing to go to bed and never get up. In her mother's darkest moment, Nash took on the challenge to cheer her up; after all, she had been told she was funny. The actor performed skits and impersonations until his mother went from lying on the bed to sitting up. Eventually, Nash's mother couldn't enjoy the skits alone, so she called neighbors to watch Nash perform. As Nash stood in the living room holding a karaoke microphone, ready to crack jokes for the guests, it occurred to her that indeed being funny was her gift, so she would use it to make others smile.
Push the limits
Therefore, his plan A was to be an actor and plan B was to make plan A work no matter what. However, it wasn't as easy as she thought. Nash said her first audition was her worst moment. She went to audition for "Boys on The Side" and after not having a clue that she was being fired, she worked up the courage to ask the casting director if he cast her. She insisted on whether she got the job, even going so far as to tell them her troubles of being broke and having a baby. They had to ask her to leave, and luckily she got the minor role of "woman in the restaurant". Nash gave birth to her first child at age 21, and two more children followed closely behind. Although Nash still bagged other minor roles, she still felt her destiny was not to be in comedy and she wanted to be the next Cicely Tyson.
She told her then-husband, Don, that she had given her body to three human beings for nine months each, and would also like to have nine months to herself. She began dragging her kids to auditions, and within those nine months, Nash ended up landing the roles that would define her career. She landed a recurring role on "The Bernie Mac Show," hosted "Clean House," and landed the lead role in "Reno 911!" She didn't know how to do sketch comedy, yet that's what she was supposed to do in "Reno 911!" but she pretended to push her way through it anyway. The actress has become so good at her craft that even Ryan Murphy wanted her in his cast for "Scream Queens." According to Interview Magazine, Murphy called Nash, saying he had a role that would be a perfect fit for Nash. When the actress found out that Jamie Lee Curtis would also take part in the project, there was no way she could refuse the offer. Her salary remains undisclosed, but it must have been worth it for her to take on the recurring role of Demise Hemphill.
Get out of his cage
For a long time, Nash had been told that acting was her calling and she should stick to it. However, her dream of being like Viola Davis or Kimberly Elise was still alive and she wanted to achieve it. According to Backstage, Nash appreciated that comedy brought her into the industry. Still, she had to be involved in the drama for her heart to be at peace. Therefore, when the opportunity presented itself, she took it. She auditioned for "Getting On," but Nash didn't feel the role she chose spoke to her as much as Didi Ortley. Despite the casting director at first opposing Nash's interest in playing Didi, the actress was convincing, and Nash was finally into the kind she had been grooming her whole life. Nash has been described as a modern triple threat since she can do sitcom, reality TV and improv, but whoever said that had yet to see the actress in a drama series. Yet even though Nash works hard for his money, perhaps good karma has allowed him to continue accumulating wealth. The actress once said she believes in pay it forward, which may explain why her cup never runs dry.
