Holly Robinson Peete - Career

Career

In 1969, she made her first TV appearance by playing a little girl named Sally on the very first episode of Sesame Street. At the age of 11, Holly worked for the children's show Kidsworld as a celebrity correspondent; she interviewed many actors and actresses for the program. As an actress, she has appeared on the television series 21 Jump Street (1987—1991), Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992—1997), For Your Love (1998—2002), and Like Family (2003—2004). In 1992 she portrayed Diana Ross in The Jacksons: An American Dream. Robinson most recently starred on the UPN comedy Love, Inc.. The show lasted just one season, and was canceled after the WB/UPN merger.

Robinson has also had a limited career as a singer and recording artist, including the introductory song to 21 Jump Street. She contributed a variety of songs to the soundtrack of the film Howard the Duck. (She appeared as a musician/singer in a minor role in the film.) She recorded the theme song "We Got Our Love" for the 1988 film Three for the Road. She and Dawnn Lewis, along with R&B quartet En Vogue, performed the theme song for Season 1 of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.

Robinson has been a spokesperson for Colgate Total toothpaste since 2008. Robinson and her husband currently co-host a talk show on Oprah & Friends Radio. In 2009, she co-starred in the ABC comedy pilot, The Bridget Show.

In 2006, she won, along with fellow writer Daniel Paisner, the Quills Award in Sports for the book Get Your Own Damn Beer, I'm Watching the Game!: A Woman's Guide to Loving Pro Football. Peete and her daughter Ryan Elizabeth co-wrote a children's book My Brother Charlie, which was released in March 2010.

In 2010, she participated in the third season of Celebrity Apprentice, playing for her own charity, the HollyRod Foundation, which provides support for families with autism. She set an "Apprentice" record for the most money made on a single task, and finished as the runner-up to winner Bret Michaels.

Robinson began co-hosting The Talk, a CBS daytime talk show, on October 18, 2010.

Robinson is known for expressing herself through her ethnicity and being vocal on especially issues of the African American race and autism, which one of her children, Rodney, has. In April 2011, Robinson hosted a weekly series on The Talk promoting autism awareness.

After serving on The Talk for its first season, Robinson, along with Leah Remini, were unceremoniously released. Failure to ever disclose why the two were let go brought on a great deal of audience criticism of the show, as well as protests from the stars' fans. While there was speculation that their former Talk co-host, Julie Chen, had involvement in the decision as she's married to the CBS President and CEO, Leslie Moonves, it was Sharon Osbourne, their other former Talk co-host, who explained their dismissals, stating: "Some people don't really know who they are. And you have to know who you are when you're in something like this. You can't pretend to be something you're not. You have to know your brand. You can't be all things to everyone." Additionally, Osbourne commented on the failure to let Remini and Peete know why they were let go, stating: "Why should we call them to discuss?"

Robinson hosted the 42nd NAACP Image Awards, alongside Wayne Brady, on March 4, 2011.