Tamera Darvette Mowry-Housley (née Mowry) () (born July 6, 1978) is an American actress, television personality, and former singer. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tamera Campbell on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister, Sister (opposite her twin sister Tia Mowry). She has also starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Twitches and its sequel, Twitches Too, and played Dr. Kayla Thornton on the medical drama Strong Medicine.
She next starred in a reality television series following her and her twin sister's lives, titled Tia & Tamera, which began airing on the Style Network in 2011 and ended in 2013 after three seasons. From 2013 to 2020, Mowry was one of the co-hosts of the syndicated daytime talk show The Real, for which she also won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host in 2018 alongside then cohosts Adrienne Bailon, Loni Love and Jeannie Mai.
Early life Tamera Darvette Mowry was born in Gelnhausen in then-West Germany on July 6, 1978, to Darlene Renee Mowry (née Flowers), who later became her children's manager, and Timothy John Mowry, who became a custody officer/jailer with the City of Glendale Police Department when the family moved to California. She also has two younger brothers: actor Tahj Mowry and musician Tavior Mowry.
Her father has British and Irish ancestry and her mother is of Afro-Bahamian descent.On her talk show, The Real, Tamera discovered that her mother's descendants came from Ghana . During an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show in 2010, it was stated that for years, the Mowrys had believed that they had Italian ancestry on their father's side; however, after researching their family tree on Ancestry.com, they discovered that their father has British ancestry: "We're actually British." Mowry's parents met in high school, in Miami, Florida, both joining the U.S. Army and eventually reaching the rank of sergeant.Double Devotion – Today's Christian. Web.archive.org (January 9, 2008). Retrieved on 2012-07-06. Mowry has described her family as being both "close-knit" and "deeply religious," noting that the sisters became born-again Christians when they were eight years old.
Career Music Mowry and her twin sister, Tia, joined an R&B singing group in the early 1990s called Voices. The group debuted their first single, "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!", in 1992 and it charted at No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mowry's mom Darlene removed the twins from the group after a disagreement with management prior to the release of their debut album.
In 2012, Mowry provided guest vocals on Jerome Wiggins' single "I Will", which was released that December.
Television At the age of 12, the twins convinced their mother to move to California with them so they could pursue acting. She agreed, on the condition that they land an acting job within the first month of their stay. In 1990, their family moved to California permanently, settling in Los Angeles, and she and her sister began appearing in commercials and small roles. Mowry and her twin sister, Tia, co-starred as the main characters in Sister, Sister, a television show that aired from 1994 through 1999. Starring the two girls, Mowry played Tamera Campbell, who was adopted and separated from birth away from her twin sister. The show kickstarts from where the twins meet coincidentally in the mall. The comedy TV show shows the two sisters combining worlds with their adopted parents combining households. Tia is intelligent and from inner-city Detroit while Tamera is the boy-crazy twin from the suburbs.
In 2005, Mowry starred alongside her sister in the Disney Channel film Twitches. In 2013, Mowry became a co-host of the syndicated daytime talk show The Real alongside Adrienne Bailon, Tamar Braxton, Loni Love, Jeannie Mai. After premiering on July 15, The Real was picked up to series the following year. In 2018, Mowry and her co-hosts won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host for their work. In July 2020, Mowry announced that after six seasons she would be leaving The Real. She returned to the show as a guest on December 8, 2020. That same day, Mowry joined Home & Family as a new family member on the show, succeeding Paige Hemmis.
In 2021, Mowry competed in season 5 of The Masked Singer as "Seashell". She was eliminated on Week 7 alongside Bobby Brown as "Crab". This show also revived Mowry being a singer.
In the same year, it was announced that Mowry and former White House Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses would be hosting Baker's Dozen, a baking competition show for Hulu.
Throughout 2021–2024, Mowry has starred in various holiday and non-holiday Hallmark movies such as, The Santa Stakeout, Girlfriendship, Inventing the Christmas Prince, and Hallmark Mystery's Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major.
Other ventures Mowry and her twin sister, Tia, started a project called Need Brand as they entered motherhood. Milky! and Stretchy! are two of the products that can cater to motherhood. Milky! is a 2.5 oz. bottle with all organic ingredients that can help mothers produce milk. Stretchy! is a stretch mark cream for post-operation scars. Another sibling project of theirs was a four-book series called Twintuition: Double Vision and Twintuition: Double Trouble. She signed an overall deal with Crown Media in 2020.
Personal life
On May 15, 2011, after almost six years of dating, she married Fox News correspondent Adam Housley, in California's Napa Valley. Their first child, son Aden, was born on November 12, 2012. Their second child, daughter Ariah, was born on July 1, 2015. The couple owns a home in Napa Valley, near his family's vineyard.
The couple's niece Alaina Maria Housley was among the victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, on November 7, 2018.
According to the April 22, 2025, episode of Finding Your Roots, William Brewster, a passenger on the Mayflower who became the senior elder of the Plymouth Colony, is the 13th great-grandfather of Mowry.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes2002Sissy2005Hollywood HorrorAllison2012Redemption of a DogMichelle
Television Year Title Role Notes1990RosieTamera TannerEpisode: "Adventures in Blondiesitting"1991Flesh 'n' BloodPenelopeEpisode: "Beauty Is in the Eye of the Ticketholder"1992True ColorsLoraeEpisode: "In a Flash"Full HouseDeniseEpisode: "The Devil Made Me Do It"1994–1999Sister, SisterTamera CampbellMain role1995The All New Mickey Mouse ClubTamera MowrySeason 7, Episode 10(; Cameo)1996Are You Afraid of the Dark?Evil ChameleonEpisode: "The Tale of the Chameleons"1995–1996The Adventures of HypermanEmma C. SquaredVoice, main role1996The Jamie Foxx ShowTamera CampbellEpisode: "The Bad Seed"1997Smart GuyRoxanneEpisode: "Brother, Brother"1999–2000DetentionOrangejella LaBelleVoice, main role2000Something to Sing AboutLilyTV filmSeventeen Again Young Catherine "Cat" Donovan 2001–2005 Express Yourself Herself Interstitial series2004–2006Strong MedicineDr. Kayla ThorntonMain role2005TwitchesCamryn Elizabeth Barnes / Apolla DuBaerTV film2006–2007Family GuyEstherVoice, 3 episodes2007Twitches TooCamryn Elizabeth Barnes / Apolla DuBaerTV film2009RoommatesHope DanielsMain roleThe Super Hero Squad ShowMisty KnightVoice, episode: "A Brat Walks Among Us!"2010Double WeddingDanielle WarrenTV film2011Things We Do for LoveLourdesMain role2011–2013Tia & TameraHerself2012ReboundingVanessaTV filmChristmas AngelDaphney Conroy2013–2020The RealHerselfTalk show; co-host & producer (seasons 1-6)2014–2015Melissa & JoeyGillian3 episodes2016Talking DeadHerselfTalk show2017Hollywood DarlingsEpisode "Driving Miss Jodie" Daytime Divas2018 Help Us Get MarriedHostFacebook Watch Series2019 A Christmas MiracleEmmaTV film2020Christmas Comes TwiceCheryl Jenkins2020–2021Home & FamilyHerselfTalk show; Family Member, Lifestyle Expert2021 Baker’s Dozen Cooking show; host, judge Table Wars Judge, Host The Masked SingerSeashellContestant; unmasked in the Super 8The Santa StakeoutTanya MorrisTV film2022GirlfriendshipSamara Inventing the Christmas Prince Shelby Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge Herself Cooking show; host2023 Dream MomsDanielleTV film Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major Gethsemane Brown2024Scouting for ChristmasAngela2025Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Buried at C Gethsemane BrownTidings for the Season Lucy2026R.J. DeckerLouise VernonEpisode: "In Vanity Veritas"All's Fair in Love and MahjongCarlyTV filmHaunted Harmony Mysteries: Key to the Castle Gethsemane BrownHaunted Harmony Mysteries: Prelude to a Wedding Gethsemane BrownScrubs (2026)Dr. SteffieEpisode: "My Mentee"
Music videos Year Title Artist Notes 1999 "I Really Like It" Harlem World featuring Mase and Kelly Price Guest appearance
Awards and nominations Daytime Emmy Award
YearAwardNominated workResult2016Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host(shared with Tamar Braxton, Adrienne Houghton, Loni Love, and Jeannie Mai)The Realrowspan=2 20172018Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host(shared with Houghton, Love, and Mai)2019
NAACP Image Award
YearAwardNominated workResult1996Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress(shared with Tia Mowry)Sister, Sister1999Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series(shared with Tia Mowry)rowspan=2 20002011Outstanding Actress Actress in a Television Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic SpecialDouble Weddingrowspan=2 2013Outstanding Reality SeriesTia & Tamera2018Outstanding Talk Series(shared with Houghton, Love, and Mai)The Realrowspan=2 2019
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award
YearAwardNominated workResult1995Favorite TV Actress(shared with Tia Mowry)Sister, Sisterrowspan=3 199619971998Hall of Fame(shared with Tia Mowry)—
People's Choice Award YearAwardNominated workResult2012Favorite TV Celebreality Star(shared with Tia Mowry)Tia & Tamerarowspan=2 2018The Daytime Talk Show of 2018(shared with Houghton, Love and Mai)The Real
Teen Choice Award YearAwardPerformanceResult2012Choice TV Show: Reality(shared with Tia Mowry)Tia & Tamerarowspan=2 Choice Reality TV Star: Female(shared with Tia Mowry)
Young Artist Award YearAwardPerformanceResult1995Best Youth Comedienne in a TV Show(shared with Tia Mowry)Sister, Sisterrowspan=4 1996Best Performance by a Young Actress - TV Comedy Series(shared with Tia Mowry)1997Best Performance in a TV Comedy - Leading Young Actress(shared with Tia Mowry)2001Best Performance in a TV Movie (Comedy) - Leading Young Actress(shared with Tia Mowry)Seventeen Again
References
External links