OPINION: Tia Mowry Hardrict: A Multifaceted Queen
“I am a strong woman. I don’t sit around feeling sorry for myself, nor let people mistreat me. I don’t respond to people who dictate to me or try to bring me down. If I fall I will rise up even stronger because I am survivor and not a victim. I am in control of my life and there is nothing I can’t achieve.” #womenshistorymonth #women
When I think of Tia Mowry, the lyrics to her popular 90’s sitcom Sister, Sister theme song comes to mind. “I got my own mind! I do my own style, in my own time.” These lyrics take me to a place of nostalgia because I grew up watching her on my television screen. Whether I was doing homework while watching her character Tia Landry go through the woes of high school and college on the reruns of Sister, Sister on Disney Channel; or seeing her character Melanie Barnett aka “Med School” dealing with balancing her relationship with a star football player and her career dreams on The Game, a popular 2000’s spin off of the show Girlfriends. With her career spanning from the ‘90s to now, the longevity Mowry has in the entertainment business is undeniable.
Tia Mowry-Hardrict is popularly known as being an identical twin with sister Tamera Mowry-Housley (side bar: isn’t it cute that their new initials T.M.H are still twinning even through marriage?), without a doubt has made her mark in the acting world. But Mowry has also made a name for herself as a well-rounded career woman. She’s a chef and lifestyle guru, as seen on her YouTube series “Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix”, a self care queen as promoted through her Anser vitamin line, a mommy, wife and author.
One might ask, how does she do it all? The answer, I perceive, is due to resiliency. Although she is successful now, Mowry still faced roadblocks in her career that ultimately would open her eyes to the reality of being a Black woman in the entertainment business. During a segment with Entertainment Tonight titled “Unfiltered”, she shared with viewers a time she wished she would have spoken up. “It was around Sister, Sister days and the show was extremely popular,” she started. “So my sister and I, we wanted to be on the cover of this very popular magazine at the time and it was a teenage magazine,” she said. The actress emotionally continued explaining, “We were told that we couldn’t be on the cover of the magazine because we were Black and we would not sell. But here I am as an adult and it still affects me how someone could demean your value because of the color of your skin… and I will never forget that.”
To be told your look and essentially what identifies you as a Black woman like your hair and skin complexion is not marketable or is not accepted, at any age is hard to process. But to be told those things as a teenage girl, who could have been facing insecurities like any other girl during that time and while in the limelight, had to be hard. Any moment a person faces that is like this one, can be very damaging and can cause long term effects.
Unfortunately, this was the first of many trials Mowry would face. In 2006, she was diagnosed with endometriosis. Endometriosis is a disorder where tissue that normally would line the uterus grows outside of it. Oftentimes, this condition can cause infertility. As an effort to combat her health issues, she changed her diet and began searching for supplements that she could include in her regimen. Faced with a dilemma again, Mowry didn’t see any vitamin brands that represented her so she created her own.
Anser, a brand of supplements that affirms “self care isn’t selfish”, is a clean brand that is free of fillers, genetically modified organisms or GMO’s and gluten. Between multivitamins, elderberry gummies, weight loss and beauty supplements, as well as heart health powder, Mowry made sure to include a solution to address any concern one may have. Last summer, I was experiencing excessive tiredness. What I was feeling could’ve been caused by my body coming down from an always on-the-go high, or simply feeling tired from mainly being idle for months. Once I began taking the Anser Women’s Multivitamin daily, I was back to my normal level of energy and was less tired. So not only has Mowry proven to be great on screen, but she’s trustworthy when it comes to bettering our health, and what sis is advocating for is tried and true!
Mowry’s aesthetic on all her platforms suggests followers to be authentically them, take care of themselves and to do it in the most convenient way. As an ode to her brand, I believe for women, it is also important to prioritize self-love and self-care. That includes curating who inspires you to be a better version of yourself.
During this Women’s History Month, as I think of the women who inspire or have made an impact on me, I think of the sustainability Tia Mowry has had. Her career spans several decades and she continues to thrive in whatever lane she chooses to work in. If there’s one thing I learned from her, it is that we women can have it all and be successful at it too.