Mablean Ephriam
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Mablean Ephriam | |
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prosecuting attorney | |
Children | 3 including Tajamika Paxton |
Mablean Deloris Ephriam,
Ephriam returned to television in fall 2014 with a new courtroom series titled Justice with Judge Mablean. The series, produced by
Legal background
Ephriam was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi but raised in Los Angeles, California, from the age of six. Although she had never actually served as a judge before presiding on Divorce Court, she came to the series with significant legal experience . She started her career as a corrections officer in the Women's Division of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Ephriam graduated from Pitzer College where she was awarded a four-year academic scholarship, and later attended night classes at Whittier Law School, where she earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1978.[4] In 1982, she opened her own law practice, dealing mainly with personal injury and family law cases. She soon became a Los Angeles County prosecuting attorney."Judge Mablean Ephriam Bio". JudgeMablean.com. April 2023.
Entertainment industry judge
Divorce Court 1999-2006
In 1999, the television courtroom series
While presiding over Divorce Court, Ephriam was noted for her humor. Her audience was frequently brought to laughter by Ephriam's striking and quirky voice and reactions of appall and bewilderment by the ex-couple's outrageous and absurd behaviors.
Ephriam's trademark phrase on Divorce Court was "Look deep before you leap," advising couples to examine each other's behaviors and attitudes carefully before they decide to marry. While Ephriam encouraged litigants to discuss sensitive issues to get to the heart of what was causing their divorce, she was quick to restore order in her courtroom when things got out of hand, and she scolded litigants for disrespectful behavior towards herself and each other in court.
In March 2006, it was announced that Ephriam would leave Divorce Court at the end of the 2005–06 season (her seventh behind the bench), reportedly because she and the show's producers were unable to come to an agreement on a contract extension. Among other issues, Ephriam unsuccessfully sought a salary increase. As an additional dimension of the contract discord, Ephriam alleged that she was forbidden from altering her hairstyle for an entire television season, because the network reasoned that her hairstyles were too time-consuming for their
Madea films
In Tyler Perry's
Ephriam made a short appearance in the film adaptation of the play Diary of a Mad Black Woman. She also portrayed the same judge character in both Madea's Family Reunion and Madea Goes to Jail. As a judge, her first name is pronounced "may-BLENE," as in the Chuck Berry song "Maybellene."
Justice with Judge Mablean
In the fall of 2014, Ephriam returned to TV with a new court room series, produced by
Other projects
Ephriam hosted an annual event on Father's Day called The H.U.F. Awards, where she leads a star-studded community celebration of otherwise unsung fathers. In June 2010, Ephriam expressed joy and appreciation for the event on The Jazz Joy and Roy syndicated radio show.
... I would love to get some more money to do what I really want to do, but just putting on this brunch for the fathers and allowing them to have a really wonderful Fathers Day, to share in the joy of good music and good food and good entertainment and being out with family, and all of us making a fuss over them, which doesn't happen for most of the fathers ... That gives me great pleasure and great joy. It is also a joy to be able to award scholarships at The H.U.F Awards. I am just so excited about the scholarship recipients! There is the press that we're not going to college--we are going to college. The young people who applied ranged in GPAs from 1.5 to 5 points. We want to encourage all of them to go to college and pursue their dreams.
Ephriam also appeared on the first season of
References
- ^ Goddess Design. "Mablean Ephriam Foundation [Domestic Violence]". Mableanephriamfoundation.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
- ^ "Judge Mablean To Rule On A New Court Show". Hollywood Reporter. 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
- ^ Anthony, Flo (host) (29 October 2012). "Mablean Ephriam". Life After. Season 4. Episode 5. TV One.
- ^ Goddess Design (2010-02-09). "Mablean Ephriam Foundation [Judge Mablean Ephriam]". Mableanephriamfoundation.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
- ^ "Canned 'Divorce Court' Judge Cries Racism". TMZ. 2006-04-08.
- ^ Byrd, Petri Hawkins; Bond, Markita (October 19, 2018). "Bonding With Byrd: Episode 65". YouTube. United States. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ "Judge Mablean To Rule On A New Court Show". Hollywood Reporter. 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
External links
- Mablean Ephriam at IMDb