Bossip
Video
Actress
Jasmine
Guy
is
a
national
treasure
and
should
be
treated
as
such.
Luckily
she
is
these
days
as
she
took
home
her
very
first
Emmy,
for
Outstanding
Actress
In
A
Short
Form
Comedy
Or
Drama
Series
for
Chronicles
Of
Jessica
Wu.
Source:
Jakeem
Smith
Of
Jay
Productions
Agency
The
icon
who
starred
in
the
culture-shifting
comedy
A
Different
World
is
now
reflecting
on
her
win
and
her
storied
40-year+
career.
Below
Guy
tells
BOSSIP
about
what
this
Emmy
win
means
to
her,
dishes
on
being
part
of
the
Harlem
on
Prime
cast,
and
opens
up
bringing
Whitley
Gilbert
(and
her
signature
accent)
to
life.
Source:
Frazer
Harrison
/
Getty
BOSSIP:
Congratulations
on
winning
your
first
Emmy,
how
are
you
feeling
in
the
wake
of
all
this?
Jasmine
Guy:
I
am
so
happy
and
grateful
and
I
really
didn’t
think
I
was
going
to
feel
that
way.
I
didn’t
know
that
I
cared
that
much,
but
it
really
means
a
lot
to
me
in
so
many
ways,
and
I
feel
like
I
won
an
Emmy
for
A
Different
World,
for
Atlanta,
for
my
high
school.
All
the
people
that
raised
me
and
mentored
me
for
my
time
at
[Alvin]
Ailey.
I
guess
being
at
this
age
and
getting
it
is
so
different
than
when
I
thought
we
were
going
to
get
nominated
when
we
were
doing
the
show
and
I
was
in
my
twenties,
you
know?
Source:
Frazer
Harrison
/
Getty
Did
you
have
an
inkling
that
you
were
going
to
win
during
the
ceremony?
Well,
I
was
sitting
with
my
sister
and,
first,
she
told
me
to
close
my
legs
because
I
had
on
pants,
and
I
was
just
kind
of
in
a
relaxed
position.
She
said
“You’re
on
the
aisle,”
which
means
that’s
where
the
camera
goes
up
and
down
and
gets
audience
reactions.
So
I
was
right
there.
So
I
did
that.
And
then,
45
minutes
into
the
show,
she
said,
“What
are
you
going
to
say?
I
think
you’re
going
to
win!”
And
I
hadn’t
organized
it
like
that.
And
I
said,
“Okay,
talking
points.”
She
gave
me
talking
points,
I
organized
it
in
my
brain
and
then
I
said,
“Don’t
you
let
that
music
play!
[Don’t
cut
me
off]!”
I
was
like,
“This
has
to
be
succinct.”
Source:
Ella
Hovsepian
/
Getty
You
know
how
you
write
an
outline?
I
was
writing
it
in
my
head,
like,
“Thank
them,
and
them
specifically
for
these
things…”
And
so
when
I
did
receive
the
award,
I
was
able
to
calm
down
and
know
what
I
was
going
to
say.
And
then
we
had
a
party
afterward
for
The
Chronicles
of
Jessica
Wu.
The
production
gave
us
a
party,
and
then
the
Emmys
had
a
party,
too.
The
governor’s
party.
I
just
went
to
our
party.
I
didn’t
go
to
both.
I
was
good.
All
my
friends
were
at
the
production
party.
Darryl
Bell
came,
Jim
Pickens
was
there,
I
had
my
god
kids
there,
my
sister.
We
had
a
ball!
Source:
Ella
Hovsepian
/
Getty
Source:
Ella
Hovsepian
/
Getty
It
was
so
good
to
be
able
to
share
that
with
them,
because
I
had
the
actual
award,
too,
so
of
course
I
brought
it
to
the
party
and
everybody
got
to
feel
it
and
hold
it
and
see
how
heavy
it
was.
One
thing
I
always
wonder
when
people
win
their
awards,
like
their
Emmys,
is
where
do
you
put
that
in
your
house?
Do
you
have
a
trophy
case?
Is
it
up
on
your
mantle?
Well,
right
now,
my
sister
has
it.
She
has
to
mail
it
to
me
because
I
couldn’t
put
it
in
my
suitcase.
It
was
heavy.
I’m
going
to
put
it
on
my
piano.
It
will
be
the
only
thing
on
the
piano
and
it’ll
be
in
the
middle
of
the
window,
which
is
a
little
obnoxious.
I
probably
won’t
open
my
blinds,
but
it’s
the
only
space
in
my
apartment.
Source:
Ella
Hovsepian
/
Getty
I
have
used
my
awards
like
decor
in
my
house.
I
don’t
have
a
specific
area,
but
some
of
the
awards,
like
my
Soul
Train
award,
is
so
pretty.
It’s
this
African
mask
and
it
has
a
green
stone
base,
so
it
looks
like
a
statue.
You
don’t
really
know
it’s
an
award
until
you
get
up
on
it.
And
I
have
four
[NAACP]
Image
Awards
at
the
top
of
my
bookshelf.
The
other
two
I
won,
I
had
given
to
my
parents.
I
have
five
here,
and
my
dad
has
one.
When
my
mom
passed,
I
got
my
award
back.
But
I
don’t
know,
it’s
not
something
I’ve
thought
about
lately
in
the
last
couple
of
days,
because
I
don’t
want
to
be
driven
by
that.
I
don’t
like
the
feeling
of
being
left
out.
So
I
just
don’t
think
about
it
like
that.
And
so
it
was
a
surprise
in
that
it
happened
to
me
at
this
part
of
my
life
and,
really,
to
my
dad,
too.
We
both
kept
laughing!
Really?
I
don’t
know
why
we
were
laughing.
My
daughter
thought
my
dad
didn’t
get
it,
but
we
were
laughing
at
the
irony!
I
think
we
were
laughing
at
the
irony
of
it
and
what
a
way
for
me
to
be
able
to
say
thank
you
to
everybody
that
invested
in
me
along
the
way.
I
left
home
at
seventeen,
so
I
was
mentored
by
the
people
I
was
working
with;
the
Ailey
schools,
the
Broadway
shows
I
did.
So
I
appreciate
all
of
that.
Absolutely,
and
we
appreciate
you
and
your
storied
career
that
we
have
seen
over
the
years.
For
you,
when
you
look
back
at
your
roles,
what,
to
you,
has
been
your
favorite
to
play?
I
don’t
know
one,
because
there
are
a
lot
of
things
that
I’ve
done
that
people
haven’t
seen.
Yes.
Tell
us
about
them!
A
lot
of
my
favorite
work…
Everybody
doesn’t
see
the
plays
I
did,
and
the
work
I
did
here
in
Atlanta
with
True
Colors…
They
were
momentous
for
me,
those
plays.
And
I
got
to
do
roles
that
I
never
get
offered
when
I’m
in
L.A.
I
was
needed
here.
They
don’t
really
need
me
in
L.A.
It’s
like
a
bunch
of
oranges
that
fell
on
the
ground
and
nobody
eats
them
because
there’s
so
many.
I
had
value
and
I
had
something
to
offer
because
I
had
been
away
and
came
back.
I
went
to
high
school
with
Crystal
Fox,
so
the
two
of
us
being
able
to
work
the
way
we
have
and
be
able
to
give
back
to
the
community
we
lived
in…
I
left!
But
she’s
always
been
here,
so
sometimes
we
talk
about
that.
She
was
a
grade
behind
me
at
North
Side
[high
school]
and
very
gifted
then
as
well.
Source:
Jakeem
Smith
Of
Jay
Productions
Agency
It’s
a
journey
with
so
much
more
to
think
about
now
than
I
did
when
I
was
young
and
my
career
was
ahead
of
me.
So
it
was
more
about
what
I
wanted
to
do
with
my
life,
and
now
I’m
looking
back
at
what
I
have
done.
So
in
that
perspective,
it’s
a
very
different
feeling.
It’s
now
one
of
giving,
of
returning,
as
opposed
to
wanting
when
I
was
younger.
Yes.
And
the
Atlanta,
I
guess,
acting
scene
has
grown
and
changed
so
much
over
the
years.
We
have
Tyler
Perry
Studios
here
now.
So
first
of
all,
I’m
from
Marietta.
I’m
from
right
outside
the
city,
so
it’s
nice
to
talk
to
someone
who
is
from
here,
who
gets
it.
Now,
I
would
be
remiss
if
we
did
not
talk
about
A
Different
World,
obviously,
and
your
iconic
character
Whitley
Gilbert,
who
still
translates
to
this
day;
we
still
see
the
Whitley
costumes;
the
clips
are
live
on
social
media.
Looking
back
at
that
character,
when
you
first
read
for
that
role,
did
you
foresee
any
of
this
coming
to
where
it
is
today?
No!
And
that
was
my
third
audition!
I
had
auditioned
for
The
Cosby
Show
and
I
had
already
auditioned
for
A
Different
World.
Obviously,
I
didn’t
get
the
part
[on
The
Cosby
Show].
So
when
I
went
in
the
third
time,
I
was
like,
obviously
what
I’m
doing
isn’t
working,
and
that’s
why
I
made
such
a
broad
choice
because
I
figured
I
didn’t
have
anything
to
lose;
I
had
already
been
there
three
times.
I
was
reading
my
script
with
my
mom
and
I
said…
Because
we
were
awake
on
a
summer
vacation,
I
said,
“Is
this
funny?”
She
said,
“Well,
it’s
kind
of
funny.”
I
said,
“Mommy,
I
have
to
be
funny!”
I
said,
what
happened
to
Miss
Pinker?”
And
that
was
my
third-grade
teacher,
and
she
fell
out.
I
used
to
imitate
her,
my
teacher,
all
the
time
because
I
had
never
heard
that
kind
of
accent
before.
So
I
just
did
the
whole
thing
in
that
accent.
And
then,
when
I
got
to
the
audition,
she
had
two
names.
It
was
either
Whitley
or
Sydney.
It
said,
“A
black,
southern
belle.
And
I
said,
“What’s
a
black
southern
belle?”
I
really
didn’t
know
what
that
was
because
when
there
were
southern
bells,
we
were
picking
cotton,
so
I
didn’t
understand.
I
joked,
“What
do
you
think
white
people
in
Hollywood
think
is
a
black,
southern
belle?”
And
that’s
how
I
came
up
with
that.
In
the
scene
I
auditioned
for
she
was
hitting
on
the
professor
for
a
better
grade,
and
then,
by
the
time
I
got
the
role,
she
had
become
this
virginal
character.
So
there
were
still
things,
kinks,
that
were
being
worked
out
with
those
characters.
But
me
and
Kadeem
both
[Hardison]
were
the
comic
relief
when
they
brought
us
on.
Absolutely
and
you
guys
made
magic
on
A
Different
World.
It
was
awesome
to
see.
And,
like
I
said,
I
went
to
Hampton
University,
so
seeing
A
Different
World…
Oh,
really?
Yes.
It
was
the
best
decision
I
ever
made
in
my
life,
and
A
Different
World
definitely shaped
my
decision.
My
sister
went
to
Spelman,
we
picked
our
HBCUs
because
of
that.
I
love
that.
I
love
to
hear
that
and
I
love
to
hear
that
it
was
a
positive
experience.
Source:
Jeff
Kravitz
/
Getty
Absolutely.
It
was
beautiful.
We
truly
enjoyed
it,
for
sure.
Another
thing
that
I’m
truly
enjoying
is
seeing
you
on
Harlem
on
Prime.
You’re
playing
Grace
Byers’
mom,
talk
to
me
about
filming
Harlem
and
what’s
to
come.
I
love
doing
that
show.
I
have
so
much
fun.
When
COVID
hit,
I
had
only
done
two
episodes.
I
think
I
was
supposed
to
do
four,
and
that’s
the
first
thing
I
said:
“What
about
Harlem?
I
didn’t
get
a
chance
to
put
my
foot
in
it
yet!
They’re
not
going
to
pick
me
back
up
because
I
was
a
recurring.”
So
when
the
show
came
back
after
the
virus,
I
was
so
happy.
And
then
we
just
got
picked
up
for
a
third
season.
I’m
happy
about
that,
too.
Source:
Monica
Schipper
/
Getty
I
have
such
a
good
time
with
Grace
[Byers].
The
irony
there
is
that
I’m
playing
a
Jamaican,
and
when
we
get
offset,
I
start
talking
the
way
I
talk.
She’s
really
from
the
island;
and
she
has
the
accent,
so
it’s
a
flip.
I
had
no
idea
because
I’ve
only
heard
her
act,
so
it’s
been
American
accent.
And
I
said,
“Don’t
you
let
me
go
out
there
and
not
sound
right,
because
I
don’t
have
anybody
to
give
me
my
notes”.
And
that
makes
me
insecure,
especially
if
she’s
from
there,
because
I’ve
learned
that
accent
and
I’ve
played
that
a
Jamaican
before,
but
it’s
not
the
same
as
growing
up
there.
And
the
fact
that
she
was
switching
back
and
forth
so
easily
from
American
to
her
native
accent…I
don’t
want
those
Jamaican
mothers
telling
me
I
don’t
sound
like
them.
They
will
let
you
know.
They’ll
come
after
you.
They’re
going
to
let
you
know!
They
do
not
play!
