Twin sisters Tia and Tamara Mowry first rose to fame as the lead protagonists in the ABC sitcom, Sister Sister (1994). Born in West Germany, the siblings began participating in various talent shows and pageants while they were still in grade school. At the age of twelve, they successfully convinced their mother to let them move to California, in attempts to pursue actingーsomething that they developed a passion for early on in their childhood. Eventually settling down in Los Angeles, Tia and Tamara slowly began appearing in a number of television commercials during the early 90’s. Later that same year, they made their television debut, playing a pair of identical twins in the comedy series, ABC TGIF (1990). Continuing to audition for various roles, the sisters later appeared in the popular sitcoms True Colors (1992) and Full House (1992). Not long afterward, Tia and Tamara received a huge breakthrough when they were cast as the principal characters in the ABC sitcom, Sisters, Sister (1994).Â
Nominated for numerous awardsーamongst which was a Primetime Emmy Award win, Sister, Sister proved to be popular among viewers upon premiering on television. The siblings’ breakthrough role on the small screen, it rocketed the two toward celebrity status during its run in the 90’s. To date, it remains to be one of their most well remembered portrayals on TV. For their portrayal of Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell, they also garnered several accolades including three Kid’s Choice Awards (e.g. Favourite Television Actress), two Image Awards (e.g. Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series), and several other nominations (e.g. Young Artist Awards). After the sitcom came to an end, Tia and Tamara found themselves playing yet another pair of lead roles, this time as voice-actresses, in the animated series, Detention (1999). Continuing to act throughout the 2000’s, they appeared in Seventeen Again (2000), The Hot Chick (2002), Twitches (2005), and Strong Medicine (2006), after which their acting careers began to diverge.
In terms of Tia, she went on to star in a number of television series including The Game (2006), Instant Mom (2013), Fresh Beat Band of Spies (2015), Rosewood (2016), and Mistresses (2016). Whereas he older sister Tamera, went on to appear in Family Guy (2006), Roomates (2009), The Super Hero Squad Show (2009), and Things We Do For Love (2011). While Tia has continued her career in the show business however, Tamera has taken a back seat to acting in the recent years, her last series being that of Melissa & Joey back in 2014. Instead, she has turned her focus onto reality TV, having been featured in  talks shows such as Ellen: The Ellen Degeneres Show (2014), Sidewalks Entertainment (2016), Talking Dead (2016), Whose Line Is It Anyway? (2016), and Hollywood Today Life (2016).
What has the twins been up to in the recent years? How have their careers diverged? What new projects have each of them been participating in? What happened to Tia and Tamera Mowry? Where are they now in 2018?
Tia and Tamera Mowry’s Early Life and Acting Beginnings
Born on July 7, 1978 in Gelnhausen, West Germany, Tamera Darvette Mowry and Tia Darvon Mowry are the daughters of Darlene Renee Flowers, and Timothy John Mowry, both of whom were members of the U.S. Army in the 70’s; Tamera is older by Tia by two minutes. Due to their parents’ military work, they spent their childhood in Fort Hood, Texas, where they participated in a number of local talent competitions and beauty pageants growing up.
At the age of twelve, Tia and Tamara convinced their mother to relocate to California, in attempts of pursuing actingーsomething that both sisters had grown incredibly fond of as a child. Later that year, the family moved permanently to California, where they settled down in the city of Los Angeles, the country’s entertainment capital.
From there, Tia and Tamera began putting themselves out there via auditions. Before long, they had made their small screen debut in a handful of commercials on TV. Later that same year, the sisters also made their official acting debut in the comedy series, ABC TGIF (1990). Following that, they landed a few small roles in the shows True Colors (1992), Full House (1992), and Are You Afraid of the Dark (1995). During that period, Tia also appeared separate from her sister in the series, Dangerous Women (1991) while Tamera appeared in the drama, Flesh ‘n’ Blood (1991). Not long after stepping in front of the cameras for the first time, the young stars received a major breakthrough when they were selected amongst hundreds of candidates to star in the ABC sitcom, Sister, Sister (1994).
Tia and Tamera Mowry’s Breakthrough in Sister, Sister
Despite being twin sisters, the two teens are depicted as having close to opposite personalities. While Tia Andrea Landry is known for being mature and highly responsible, Tamera is shown as being a highly impulsive girl who is not afraid to speak her mind. Following their fateful reunion, Tia and her single mother move in to live with Tamera and her father. In addition to the twin actresses, Sister, Sister also starred Jackee Harry, Tim Reid, RonReaco Lee, Deon Richmond and Marques Houston.
Originally premiered on ABC on April 1, 1994, Sister, Sister proved to be popular, having achieved an average rating of 11.2 during its first season. Throughout its four-year run, the show had managed to garner a devoted fan base, despite the fall in viewership in the subsequent years. The winner of a Primetime Emmy Award in 1995, the sitcom received countless accolades during its run on television including four Image Awards, three Kid’s Choice Awards and a Young Artist Award (amongst several nominations), many of which were directed toward Tia and Tamera. A major hit, the show ultimately kicked off the two’s acting careers. After a whopping 119 episodes, Sister, Sister wrapped up on May 23, 1999.
Highlights from Tia and Tamera Mowry’s Continued Acting Career
In the cartoon, Tia and Tamera provided the voice for Lemonjella and Orangejella LaBelle respectivelyーa pair of identical twins who are notorious for hacking into the school’s computer systems and deleting files; often speaking in scientific jargon, they have also been depicted as being competitive with one another. Other members of the cast included Tara Strong, Kathleen Freeman, Billy West, Carlos Alazraqui and Pamelyn Ferdin.
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Detention debuted on television on September 11, 1999. Geared toward younger children, the show was generally well received; it currently holds a rating of 7.8/10 on IMdb. It ultimately ran for a total thirteen episodes (the sisters appeared in seven); its finale aired on March 25, 2000.
In the fall of 2000, just a few months after Detention wrapped up, Tia and Tameraーwho were now in their early twentiesーplayed a couple of lead roles in the Showtime television film, Seventeen Again. Directed by Jeffrey W. Byrd, it centred around two bickering grandparents who after getting caught in a lab experiment gone wrong, find themselves transformed back into teenagers. Portraying the younger versions of the two elders, the sisters played the parts of Sydney and Cat Donovan. Although initially shocked at what had transpired, they eventually enjoy the idea of reliving their youth. The cast of Seventeen Again also included Mark Taylor, Tahj Mowry, Hope Clarke, and Robert Hooks.
Produced by Stewart St. John, Darlene Mowry and Brandon Bates, Seventeen Again first aired on Showtime on November 12, 2000. Two years later, it was released on home media in the fall of 2002; the film was also included as a bonus feature in the recent Sister, Sister complete box set which was released in 2016. Met with praise, the TV movie garnered the sisters a Young Artist Award nomination for “Best Performance in a TV Movie – Leading Young Actress” in 2001.
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures, The Hot Chick took in over $7.4 million across 2200 screens during its opening weekend, putting itself at number five on the US box office. Altogether during its theatrical run, it had managed to gross a worldwide total of $54 millionーmaking it a moderate commercial success, as it was produced on a budget of $34 million. Despite the amount that it reaped in however, the comedy was generally met with negative reviews, many of which noted the underwhelming script and the vulgarity of humour. Still, the movie is a noteworthy mention simply due to the fact that it was Tia and Tamera’s first time appearing on the big screen.
From the mid 2000’s onward, the two sisters’ acting careers began to diverge. While Tia appeared in a number of TV movies such as Twitches Too (2007), Double Wedding (2010), The Mistle-Tones (2012), Tamera landed herself some bigger roles on television in the series Strong Medicine (2004), Roommates (2009), Things We Do For Love (2011), and Melissa & Joey (2015). In the recent years however, it would appear that Tamera has been spending more time on reality TV whereas her sister has been continuing her career as an actress.
What’s Tia and Tamera Mowry Doing Now in 2018 – Recent Updates
Things are a little different for Tamera, who has been focusing almost solely on reality TV since the early 2010’s. Just in 2016, she graced the screens in Cupcake Wars (2016), Entertainment Tonight (2016), Talking Dead (2016), Whose Line Is It Anyway? (2016), and Cake Wars (2016). As for her latest project, she’s been co-hosting the talk show, The Real (2017).
If you’d like to stay up to date with the twin actresses, you can do so by following them on social mediaーyou can find Tia on Instagram at Twitter at @TiaMowry and Tamera on the same platforms at @TameraMowryTwo. While you’re at it, be sure to also check out their official Facebook pages!
