CONNECT . MOTIVATE . INSPIRE .
NOVI BROWN NOT YOUR AVERAGE “SISTA”
BY ERICKA BLOUNT DANOIS
A ctress Novi Brown – was a at a crossroads when she and her mother decided to book a cruise to Rome. Novi was struggling to pay rent and was wondering if acting really was her calling. best known for her role as Sabrina Hollins on Tyler Perry’s “Sistas” – She had asked God when it would be her turn. She created a new name for herself as a result of her passion for astrology – the name Novi, an abbreviation for her November birthday. It proved to be prescient
when she found the name meant God’s gift.
Cassandra, remembers. “She started crying and said maybe I need to do something else. It really broke my heart. I told her I felt like it was going to work out in God’s time.” Forty-eight hours later her manager called, and said they wanted her to come to Atlanta, Georgia. “I couldn’t sleep, Cassandra remembered. “She booked the part a month later and she just started crying.”
The part was for the Tyler Perry show “Sistas,” a show Novi likens to a Black version of “Sex and the City.” Since then, she’s appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and has received great reviews for her character Sabrina. Her work on “Sistas” is a culmination of her work and her personal growth
On the cruise ship she got a call for an audition. She wasn’t prepared and wondered how she could do it on a raucous cruise ship. Her mother encouraged her to just do it. They found a quiet space and she completed the audition. “It was the worst audition I’ve ever done,” Novi remembers. “She started pouring her heart out,” her mom,
through the years. Novi and her mom
Cassandra Brown always drew attention wherever they would go.
3 6 | HBCU TIMES SPRING ISSUE 2024
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