Erika Alexander is a beloved television star most known for her work on the 90’s sitcom Living Single. Nowadays, fans can find her on Wu-Tang, An American Saga, and Run the World. The accomplished actress has a past as unique as the characters she has played on television. Speaking on her upbringing and the mysterious nature of her family, she once opened up to The Breakfast Club about her father and grandmother, who were healers that also dabbled in witchcraft.
During the discussion, she opened up about her experience in Hollywood. She opened up about her time working with Bill Cosby, letting it be known that she was never a victim, nor has she experienced any type of #metoo like situations while working with him. She recalls seeing things she thought were cruel at the time but did not question because she was “raised in a cruel world.” She goes on to say, “I think when you’re the biggest star in the world, and he’s not just creating television, he’s creating must-see-tv. After a while, things go to your head. You forget yourself. You forget that you’re representing who people think you are.” She goes on to say that she just did not expect the person she saw behind the scenes.
Speaking of her “cruel world,” she opened up about her parents and their lives. According to Alexander, both her parents were orphans who met in church. They were raised by evangelist Christians of the town who early on noticed that Alexander’s father had a gift. They lived in New Mexico when her father became ordained at six years old and became known for delivering scriptures while playing on the porch. Her father began to travel around healing people. They would pitch tents and have people come in for him to pray on them—people from all races across the country.
Unfortunately, her father would get sick at 35 and eventually pass away. Before he passed, Alexander said she made peace with him because her father was not very kind. She said in his final days; he would ask why God had not healed him as he had healed so many others. Alexander teared up as she wondered the same. She goes on to say that her grandmother was a witch who passed away from witchcraft. During her days, she would place goofer dust above the entrance of her cafe to enchant people. She would travel further down south looking for more and more powerful things to use in her voodoo to compete with neighboring witches. She would often leave Alexander’s father behind, and he was at one point taken in by a Mexican family.
At one point, her grandmother came back very sick from one of her trips. “She came back, and they said she was all twisted up with her head in between her legs barking like a dog.” The townspeople went to work trying to heal her and eventually did. Unfortunately, she decided to go back again on one of her excursions and unfortunately did not make it back alive. “They brought her back in a box,” said Alexander.
