Career
Coleman made her first lead in the independent feature entitled Mother of the River which was shot in the historic Charleston, South Carolina. The film won numerous awards at film festivals in Chicago. Two years later, Coleman appeared as Young Donna in The Family Channel Movie The Ditch digger's Daughters for which she was nominated for a Young Artists Award of Hollywood. During her sophomore year of high school, Coleman wrote, directed, produced, and starred in her own one-person play entitled "Voices from Within" with standing room only – audience numbering in the hundreds. On stage in Chicago, Coleman starred in productions of Noises Off, Polaroid Stories, The Real Thing and The Colored Museum.
In 2005, Coleman had the honor of working opposite one of her heroes – the legendary James Earl Jones when she played Leesha in the 2005 Hallmark TV Movie The Reading Room. She received a 2006 Camie Award for the role and represented the film at the NAACP Image Awards.
In 2006, Coleman rose to prominence in High School Musical, where she portrayed Taylor McKessie, the best friend of the new girl, Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens). Before then, she was a recurring guest star in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody episodes, "Forever Plaid", "Not So Suite 16", "Neither a Borrower Nor a Speller Bee" and "A Prom Story" along with Hudgens. Coleman has had seven other guest appearances on television including, Boston Public, Gilmore Girls, Malcolm in the Middle, Strong Medicine, 10-8: Officers on Duty, Married to the Kellys, and Veronica Mars. Coleman was also in the first ever Disney Channel Games in 2006, on the Blue Team (with Brenda Song, Corbin Bleu, Cole Sprouse, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jason Earles and Brandon Baker). She won with both teams.
Coleman appeared on Tour with High School Musical: The Concert. She showcased her ballroom skills in "Dance With Me", while she partnered with National Youth Latin Champion Jared Murillo. Drew Seeley was the soloist. She is the host of 3 Minute Game Show: High School Musical Edition on Disney Channel. She recorded a song called "Christmas Vacation" for the holiday album entitled A Disney Channel Holiday. In 2007, she appeared in High School Musical 2 and voiced the Winx Club character Layla/Aisha in the live-action film Secret of the Lost Kingdom. In 2008, she again repeated her role as Taylor McKessie in High School Musical 3.
In an interview, Coleman has stated that she would like to portray Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes in a biopic based on the lives of girl group TLC. She will play a depressed femme fatale, Chelsea Park, in a indie film called Crush, which takes place in the 1920s. She will also have a main role in the 2010 romance-comedy film Promise Rings. She was offered a role in another independent film, entitled Sleep Away, but turned it down because she was told there would be a nude scene her character would have to take part of. Coleman voiced the character Fontasia on the Fox animated series The Cleveland Show, starring Sanaa Lathan and Nia Long. She also made a guest appearance on the TV series Bones.
Read more about this topic: Monique Coleman
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