Mara Brock Akil
Screenwriter
The recipient of NAACP Image and BET Comedy Awards for her television writing work on the series Girlfriends, she also contributed to episodes of South Central, Moesha, and The Jamie Foxx Show.
After attending Raytown South High School in Missouri, she earned a degree in journalism from Northwestern University (in Illinois).
Beginning in 2009, she joined the production and writing teams of ABC's Cougar Town.
Though born in Los Angeles, she was raised in Kansas City. She grew up in a Muslim family and later married Sufi Muslim director Salim Akil. She and Akil welcomed sons Yasin and Nasir in 2007 and 2009, respectively.
She and Frasier actor Kelsey Grammer co-created and produced UPN's Girlfriends.