Eve Jeffers Cooper

Known for her hard lyrics and sweet voice, Eve (who once described herself as a "pit bull in a skirt") was proof positive that a female lyricist could be successful in the male dominated rap industry. Reaching a more mainstream audience, the rapper charmed audiences playing the lead in her urban self-titled sitcom, "Eve" (UPN, 2003-06).

Raised by her mother and grandmother in Philadelphia, Eve was born with the gift to entertain. She was a member of rap group EDGP (pronounced Egypt) and was tagged the name "Gansta." After the Philly group split, Eve began working on a solo career under the name "Eve of Destruction."

She spent the better part of her days perfecting her craft, much to the detriment of her education. She stopped attending class and barely graduated high school. After her mother remarried, Eve felt the need to escape. She began working as a dancer in a Bronx strip club.

It was as a stripper that Eve met, rapper Ma$e. Ma$e encouraged her stop the disrobing and start rapping on a professional level. Eve's big break came when she used her stret smarts to trick producer Dr Dre into an audition. The rap impresario immediately liked what he heard and signed her to a one-year contract with Aftermath.

Unfortunately, Eve's contract expired before she was able to release an album. She then returned back to Philly and met artists from the Ruff Ryder label. After an impressive audition, Eve became the first female artist to sign with Ruff Ryder Records.

In 1999, she released her first album Eve: Ruff Ryders First Lady, which hit number one on Billboards Top 200 the moment it was released. Her March 2001 sophomore release, Scorpion, provided the raw emotion that Eve experienced in her past and exactly one year later, she released her third album Eve-olution, which was widely received as her best work to date.

After solidifying her place in the music circuit, Eve took her skills out of the studio and onto the big screen. In 2002 she made her feature debut in the action drama "xXx," starring Vin Diesel and landed the role of Terri in the smash summer comedy "Barbershop" (2002), a role she reprised in the 2004 sequel.

Following in the footsteps of rappers-turned-actors Ice-T and Ice Cube, Eve proved female rappers could hold their own on screen - even the more intimate small screen - by headlining her UPN sit-com "Eve," while still keeping her eyes focused on the even greener pastures of music and movie stardom. On the big screen, she joined the ensemble of the Queen Latifah-produced urban comedy "The Cookout" (2004).