Biography

Early life

Thomas was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 23, either 1968 or 1969 to Dennis Thomas, a member of music group Kool & the Gang, and Phynjuar Thomas, a stage actress. She grew up in Montclair, New Jersey and was an alumna of West Essex High School. In September 1984, at age 15, Thomas was crowned Miss Talented Teen New Jersey in Hal Jackson's Talented Teen Competition. The following year, she competed in the international pageant and won the title of International Queen.

Career

From 1988 to 1990, Thomas portrayed Justine Phillips, the girlfriend of Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show. She later appeared on various television programs during the late 1980s and 1990s including A Man Called Hawk and Thea. She had a role in Dream Date in 1989. In 1991, she had a small role in Hangin' with the Homeboys. Thomas also appeared in music videos for Mint Condition, Dru Hill and Chubb Rock. In 1993, she won the role of Myra Monkhouse in Family Matters. After the series ended in 1998, Thomas portrayed Callie Rogers Stark, an aspiring singer on The Young and the Restless. In October 1998, Thomas left the series.

Health and death

In August 1997, Thomas was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, intra-abdominal desmoplastic small-round-cell tumor. She underwent surgery to remove a lemon-sized tumor shortly before landing her The Young and the Restless role in the spring of 1998. In October 1998, she underwent surgery after a second cancerous growth ruptured. After being released from the hospital, Thomas flew home to New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving with her family.

On December 22 or 23, 1998, Thomas died surrounded by her family and friends in New York City at Manhattan's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, aged 29 or 30. On December 26, 1998, a Muslim funeral service was held, as per her request. She was buried in Montclair, New Jersey, near her home.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Dream Date	Sally Palmer	Television film
1991	Hangin' with the Homeboys	Telemarketing Operator
1998	The Young and the Restless	Callie Rogers Stark
1999	Unbowed	Anna	Released posthumously

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988-1990	The Cosby Show	Justine Phillips	8 episodes
1989	A Man Called Hawk	Ruthie Carver	Episode: "Choice of Chance"
1993-1998	Family Matters	Myra Monkhouse	55 episodes
1994	Thea	Keanda	2 episodes
1996	Duckman		Voice role Episode: "Exile in Guyville"
1997	Malcolm & Eddie	Brooke Bellamy	Episode: "Roofless People"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
1999	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series	The Young and the Restless	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]