Anika Noni Rose in Botswana

source: Mmegi

Bloomfield's Anika Noni Rose went a long distance for her latest role, playing a co-starring role with Jill Scott in the HBO series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, based on the books by Alexander McCall Smith. "I had read several of the books before I was cast, and I read the script," Rose said in a session at press tour. "For me, when something resonates with me, I can hear the voice as I'm reading the script. So for me, she came to life immediately from these pages."

Rose, who won a Tony for her role in Caroline, or Change and is best-known as a member of the trio in Dreamgirls, was not familiar with the accent in Botswana, where the series was set and shot. So she improvised.

"I auditioned with a South African accent, because it was one that I knew and I wanted them to be able to hear that this was something that could fit on my tongue," Rose said.

She got the role as Mma Makutsi, the strange secretary to Scott's character Precious Ramotswe in the series co-produced by[continue reading]

R&B Singer and Actress Jill Scott Is Pregnant

source: People.com
By Lisa Ingrassia
Originally posted Friday January 09, 2009 07:25 PM EST

Jill Scott is pregnant with her first child, the R&B singer and actress revealed to reporters at the Television Critics Association conference in Los Angeles on Friday.

Promoting her new HBO series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, based on the popular novels by Alexander McCall Smith, Scott said she discovered that she was pregnant just before leaving for Botswana where she filmed the show.

"The first trimester I spent in Botswana," said the star, who is due April 25. "That was one of the biggest challenges of my life. First trimester! You're sick every morning. It was seven hours time difference, the heat, the bugs, the 14 hour days."

Still, the actress, who is engaged to drummer Lil' John Roberts, says she's glad she went [continue reading]