Nicole Ari Parker, born on October 7, 1970, in Baltimore, Maryland, is an accomplished American actress and model. Raised in a single-parent household, she is the only child of her divorced parents, Donald Parker, a dentist, and Susan Parker, a health care professional. She attended Roland Park Country School and later graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with an acting degree.

Her acting career began with a supporting role in the television movie "Other Women's Children" in 1993. Her breakthrough came in 1995 with the independent film "The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love," where she played the leading role and gained critical acclaim.

This success was followed by notable performances in "Boogie Nights" (1997) and "Exiled: A Law & Order Movie" (1998).

One of her most significant roles was in the Showtime drama series "Soul Food" (2000–2004), where she portrayed attorney Teri Joseph. Her performance earned her five NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. Other television roles include "Second Time Around" (2004–2005) and "Empire" (2017–2020), where she played Giselle Barker.

Her film career is equally impressive, with roles in "Blue Streak" (1999), "Remember the Titans" (2000), "Brown Sugar" (2002), "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" (2008), "Black Dynamite" (2009), and "Almost Christmas" (2016). In recent years, she has been part of projects such as "Safe Room" (2022), "Chicago P.D." (2020–2021), and the HBO Max series "And Just Like That..." (2021–2023) as Lisa Todd Wexley.

Her personal life is marked by her marriage to actor Boris Kodjoe. The couple met on the set of "Soul Food" and married on May 21, 2005. They have two children: Sophie Tei-Naaki Lee, born in 2005, and Nicolas Neruda Kodjoe, born in 2006.

They co-hosted a talk show, "The Boris & Nicole Show," and are actively involved in philanthropic efforts through their Kodjoe Family Foundation.