If there is one role everybody knows LisaRaye McCoy from, its Diamond from the movie “The Players Club.” McCoy brought the character to life in 1998, telling the story of a single mother who had to work as a stripper to pay for college. Not only did she have to care for her child, she was also given the task to watch after her cousin, who was new at exotic dancing.
While the movie is known as a classic and got McCoy much notoriety, she says the role actually put her through an “identity crisis.” In a Tuesday, Jan. 25, interview with Page Six, she said, “I had an identity crisis after ‘Players Club’ because I felt like I had to have the long hair and look like my character Diamond in order to be recognized.”
The now 54-year-old added, “‘Players Club’ put me on the map… it made me a bona fide sex symbol, and when you are a sex symbol people think that you’re sexy all the time, and that stigma follows you.”
She added, “So I am forever Diamond.”
McCoy also said she was working with a trainer for a few weeks to get her body right for the strip scenes, which also helped her feel more confident and sexy when it was time to do them.
“I’m an older ‘Diamond’ now, but diamonds always shine, so I am here for it,” she said. “I did not know what sexy was at the time… I think it was best for me not to really know, because I probably would’ve tried to play it up in my role and messed it up.”
McCoy’s career began to blossom after she played Diamond in the film written and directed by rapper Ice Cube, and she went on to star in other films like “The Wood” and “Beauty Shop,” and was appeared in shows like “All of Us” and “Single Ladies.” She currently appears in season four of “A House Divided” on ALLBLK, the streaming service for AMC Networks.
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