• Malik Yoba is an American actor, singer, and occasional rapper.
• He is best known for his role as Detective J. C. Williams in the crime-drama series “New York Undercover”, which brought him three National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards.
• He was a member of the Negro Ensemble Company, and after matriculating from high school, Malik enrolled at Howard University.
• Malik has three children and was married to actress Cat Wilson from 2003-2006.
• He has a net worth of over $3 million.
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Who is Malik Yoba?
He is an actor with over 90 credits to his name, however, Malik Yoba, is probably still known best for his role as Detective J. C. Williams in the crime-drama series “New York Undercover”, which brought him three National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, in 1996, ’97 and ’98.
To learn more about this talented actor and occasional singer, keep on reading.
Early life, parents, and education
Born Abdul-Malik Kashie Yoba on 17 September 1967, his zodiac sign is Virgo. His hometown is The Bronx, New York City USA, he holds American nationality, and his ethnicity is of mixed African-American, Sunni Muslim, and Jamaican descent.
Malik was raised by his mother Mahmoudah Young Lanier and father Erutan Abdullah Yoba, alongside his five siblings, all of them being secretive when it comes to their personal matters, except the eldest – Abdur-Rahman Yoba – who is also an actor, although not as successful as his brother (he has only two acting credits to his name).
Malik had an interest in acting from an early age, and was a member of the Negro Ensemble Company, a theatrical home. Upon matriculating from high school in 1985, he enrolled at Howard University, becoming a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. an historically African-American fraternity; Malik graduated with a BA degree in 1989.
Roles in movies
Without the help of agents and any previous experience in acting, Malik landed the lead role as Yul Brenner in the 1993 movie “Cool Runnings”, also starring Doug E. Doug, Leon, and John Candy, which was nominated for the Young Artist Award- Outstanding Family Motion Picture – Comedy.
The movie followed the story of a Jamaican sprinter, who after being disqualified from the Olympic Games, with the help of a dishonored coach formed the first Jamaican bobsled team; it’s loosely based on a true story.
Malik’s next role came in 1995, when he was cast to play The Creeper in the comedy-drama “Smoke”, which had 21 award nominations, winning 12. Later that year, Malik had a small part in “Blue in the Face”.
Two years later, he was seen in “Cop Land” and “Soul Food”, followed by his role as Poppa in the 1998 comedy “Ride”, which didn’t gain much success.
The early 2000s saw Malik co-starring in “Vote for Me!” (2002), “Criminal” (2004), “Kids in America” (2005), and “They’re Just My Friends” (2006). It seems that 2007 was a good year for Malik since he was seen in three hit movies, entitled “Rockway”, “Why Did I Get Married?”, and “Feel the Noise”.
He reprised his role in the 2010 sequel “Why Did I Get Married Too?”, and later that year, he starred as Dereck Scott in “My Girlfriend’s Back” opposite Tangi Miller; this comedy had no nominations, and was poorly rated by the audience (2.6/10).
Worth mentioning is his portrayal of Staff Sergeant Hart in the 2012 thriller drama “Allegiance” also starring Seth Gabel, Pablo Schreiber and Aidan Quinn, which was nominated for the Hollywood Film Award- Best Feature Film.
Malik followed with his role as Detective Roberts in the 2013 musical crime-drama “Caught on Tape”, starring Cedric the Entertainer. Next, he was seen in “Men, Money & Gold Diggers” (2014), “Lucky Girl” (2015), and “Where Hearts Lie” (2016) before he was cast to play Mr. Leon in the TV movie “Bad Dad Rehab” – this drama followed the story of four guys who sign up for Deadbeat Dad Rehab with Mr. Leon, who helps them to understand that fatherhood isn’t just about making babies, but becoming a man. Malik’s role in this movie brought him the NAMIC Vision Award for Best Performance-Drama.
In the following years, Malik co-starred in “Til Death Do Us Part” (2017), “Take Point” (2018), and “Awake” (2019). He starred as J. C. Williams in the 2019 TV movie “New York Undercover” based on the eponymous TV series, which although having no nominations, the audience rated it 8.9/10.
Most recently, Malik was seen as Professor in “Vampiras: The Brides” (2022), and later that year, as Sam Johnson in “The Good Nurse”, which had six award nominations and won two.
Roles in series
Malik made his first television series appearance as Fisher in an episode of the series “Where I Live” in 1993. He followed by his most notable television series role, as Detective J. C. Williams in “New York Undercover”. From 1994 through 1999, Malik was seen in 89 episodes of this saga about undercover cops, who solve the hardest cases involving drugs, murders, rape, robbery and corruption. His co-stars were Michael DeLorenzo and Patti D’Arbanville, and the series had 16 award nominations, winning nine.
In the following years, Malik was seen as Corey Granville in 20 episodes of the series “Bull” (2000-2001), followed by numerous guest roles in several hit series. Malik then had a recurring role as Brock Harris in the series “Girlfriends” (2003-2007), although he was seen in less than 10 episodes.
In 2009, he was cast to play Ted Shaw in the series “Defying Gravity”; he starred opposite Ron Livingston and Andrew Airlie, in this science-fiction drama about eight astronauts living in an international spacecraft on a mission through the solar system, which was nominated for the Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series.
From 2011 to 2012, Malik portrayed Bill Harken in the series “Alphas”, followed by his roles in “Empire” (2015) and “Justice: By Any Means” (2016), before he was cast to play Jason Atwood in “Designated Survivor” (2016-2017).
From 2018 through 2021, Malik was seen as Wavy in the series “The Last O. G.”, which followed the story of an ex-con, who after 15 years in prison is shocked by how much the world has changed; the series had 14 award nominations and won four.
Most recently, Malik was seen as Manny in “The Equalizer” in 2022.
Spouse and children
Malik was the subject of various rumors, mostly concerning his first marriage. It’s known that he was married to Trisha Mann, but it isn’t clear when the two married and when they divorced. They have one child together, a girl named Dena.
However, Malik has two more children, namely Pria and Josiah. Their mother is Terry Vega, with whom Malik was in a long-term relationship.
In 2003, Malik married actress Cat Wilson, perhaps known best for her role as Gwendolyn in the movie franchise “Trapped in the Closet”. The two separated in 2006, and it seems that Cat was the one who initiated the separation.
In 2019, Malik stated that he likes transgender women, which caused some controversy.
As of January 2023, it seems that Malik is single.
Age, height, and net worth
This 55-year-old actor stands at the height of 6ft 2ins (1.88m) and weighs around 180lbs (82kgs).
If you’ve wondered how rich Malik Yoba is, according to sources as of early 2023, his net worth has been estimated at over $3 million.
