Early life and education

Brown was born in East Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from Warrensville Heights High School in 1989. Brown studied communication studies at the University of Akron and graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Communication in 1994. She became a sister of the Delta Pi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha as an undergrad at the university.

After graduating, Brown took acting classes in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Career

Brown appeared as "Yvette" in the music video "1-4-All-4-1" by the East Coast Family, a Michael Bivins project, for Biv10 Records. Brown said of the experience, "It was a great run, but I guess music was just never meant to be for me."

Brown first appeared on commercials before entering television shows and films a few years later. She has since played roles on television shows such as The War At Home, Malcolm in the Middle, That's So Raven, and the US version of The Office. She also had a recurring role as movie theater manager Helen Dubois in the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh. Brown reprised the role in the season 2 episode of Victorious titled "Helen Back Again". She also provided the voice of Cookie on The Hub's Pound Puppies.

In 2009, Brown began starring as Shirley Bennett on the comedy series Community. On September 30, 2014, Brown announced that she would be leaving the show after five seasons in order to take care of her ailing father. In her announcement she said, "My dad needs daily care and he needs me. The idea of being away 16 hours a day for five months, I couldn't do it. It was a difficult decision for me to make, but I had to choose my dad."

She has appeared in television commercials for Hamburger Helper, Big Lots, Pine-Sol, Comcast, Aquapod, Shout, Fiber One, Yoplait Yogurt, DiGiorno Pizza, Dairy Queen, and Time Warner. She has appeared on episodes of The Thrilling Adventure Hour as "The Troubleshooter" in the Sparks Nevada, Marshall On Mars series.

In 2012, Brown appeared as a celebrity contestant on GSN's version of The Pyramid with her fellow Community co-star Danny Pudi.

In 2014, it was reported that Brown is set to recur on the upcoming USA Network series Benched. In addition to Brown, the cast also includes Molly Shannon, Eliza Coupe, and Jay Harrington. Shortly after her exit of Community, Brown's role of Dani on the CBS sitcom The Odd Couple was upgraded to series regular.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	His Woman, His Wife	N/A
2003	180 Miles Away	Other woman	Short film
2004	Little Black Book	Production assistant
2005	Island, TheThe Island	Harvest Nurse
2005	Kid & I, TheThe Kid & I	Bunny
2006	Dreamgirls	Curtis' secretary
2007	Neighbor, TheThe Neighbor	Receptionist
2008	Meet Dave	Old Navy saleswoman
2008	Tropic Thunder	Vivica (Peck's assistant)
2008	Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh	Helen Dubois	Television film
2009	N.C.B.S	Flashback wife	Short film
2009	Hotel for Dogs	Ms. Camwell
2009	(500) Days of Summer	New secretary
2009	Ugly Truth, TheThe Ugly Truth	Dori
2010	Repo Men	Rhodesia
2013	Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters	Gray Sister #2
2014	Yellowbird	Ladybug (voice)
2016	Smartass	Officer Neesy	In post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	For the People	Server	Episode: "Lonely Hearts"
2002	Do Over	Woman	Episode: "Investing in the Future"
2003	Girlfriends	Sherri Childs	2 episodes
2004	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Stewardess	Episode: "Opening Night"
2004	Big House, TheThe Big House	Eartha Cleveland	6 episodes
2004	Two and a Half Men	Mandy	Episode: "Just Like Buffalo"
2004-07	Drake & Josh	Helen Dubois	15 episodes
2004	7th Heaven	Leah Morris	Episode: "Gratitude"
2005	Fat Actress	Woman in restaurant	Episode: "Big Butts"
2005	That's So Raven	Monica	Episode: "Too Much Pressure"
2005	That '70s Show	Sgt. Davis	Episode: "You're My Best Friend"
2005	Hot Properties	Oprah-Head	Episode: "Waiting for Oprah"
2006	Malcolm in the Middle	Female security agent #2	Episode: "Bride of Ida"
2006	House	Ellen Stambler	Episode: "Sex Kills"
2006	War at Home, TheThe War at Home	Airport security	Episode: "The West Palm Beach Story"
2006	Half & Half	Ceci	2 episodes
2006	Pepper Dennis	Angela Howell	Episode: "Pepper Dennis Behind Bars"
2006	Sleeper Cell	Fatima	2 episodes
2007	Office, TheThe Office	Paris	Episode: "The Return"
2007	Loop, TheThe Loop	Isabelle Miller	Episode: "Yeah, Presents"
2007	American Body Shop	Ms. Durant	Episode: "Pilot"
2007	Entourage	Daily Variety agent	Episode: "Gary's Desk"
2007	Boston Legal	Doris Thumper	2 episodes
2008	'Til Death	Roxie	Episode: "Raisinette in the Sun"
2008	Privileged	Pam	Episode: "All About the Haves and the Have-Nots"
2009	Kath & Kim	Clerk #1	Episode: "Competition"
2009	True Jackson, VP	Coral Barns	Episode: "Company Retreat"
2009	Rules of Engagement	Mrs. Alberts	Episode: "Voluntary Commitment"
2009	Roommates	Madam Saphire	Episode: "The Tarot"
2009	iCarly	Art student	Uncredited; episode: "iMust Have Locker 239"
2009-15	Community	Shirley Bennett	Main cast (seasons 1-5), recurring (season 6); 99 episodes Gracie Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Comedy Series or Special
2009	Sherri	Church lady	Episode: "There Is No 'I' in Church"
2010-13	Pound Puppies	Cookie (voice), Sparky (voice), Mrs. Brewster (voice), Fluffy (voice)	Main cast; 65 episodes
2011-13	Family Guy	Various voices	3 episodes
2011	Victorious	Helen Dubois	Episode: "Helen Back Again"
2011	Chuck	Buy More employee	Episode: "Chuck Versus the Hack Off"
2012-14	Soul Man, TheThe Soul Man	Robin	3 episodes
2012-13	Match Game	Herself	Panelist; 4 episodes
2012-16	Talking Dead	Herself	Panelist; 8 episodes
2013	Shake It Up	Madame Tiffany	Episode: "Psych It Up"
2013-16	Hollywood Game Night	Herself	4 episodes
2013	Once Upon a Time	Ursula (voice)	Episode: "Ariel"
2014	Psych	Hazel Lazarus	Episode: "A Touch of Sweevil"
2014	Melissa & Joey	Calista	Episode: "I'll Cut You"
2014	BoJack Horseman	Beyoncé (voice)	Episode: "Our A-Story Is a 'D' Story"
2015-present	Odd Couple, TheThe Odd Couple	Dani	Main cast
2015	Game Shakers	Kimberly	Episode: "Tiny Pickles"
2015-present	DC Super Hero Girls	Amanda Waller (voice)
2016	The Young and the Restless	Reporter Lois	Episode: "#10892"
2016	Whose Line is it Anyway?	Herself	Season 12 Episode 4

[ Source: Wikipedia ]