About

About Phyllis Yvonne Stickney - the Empress of Entertainment

Short:

Phyllis Yvonne Stickney is a legendary comedian, actress, author, director, and cultural trailblazer whose career spans more than four decades of excellence. Known for her commanding presence, sharp comedic intelligence, and deeply rooted cultural awareness, she has long been celebrated as one of the most dynamic voices in Black entertainment.

Born in Arkansas and artistically shaped in Harlem, Phyllis rose to prominence in the late 1980s and became a defining figure of 1990s Hollywood. Her work in film, television, and theater includes iconic projects such as New Jack City, Malcolm X, What’s Love Got to Do With It, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Women of Brewster Place, and A Different World. Her comedic range and Afro centric flair earned her recognition as both a fearless performer and a cultural truth teller.

Beyond the stage and screen, Phyllis is a two time AUDELCO Award winner, an Essence Magazine honoree named one of the 200 African American Women Who Changed the World, and a lifelong community advocate. Her activism in Harlem led to the transformation of a once abandoned building into a cooperative of thriving homes, a testament to her belief that art and action go hand in hand.

Today, Phyllis continues to perform, create, design, write, and inspire. Whether through live comedy, storytelling, handmade jewelry, or collectible art, her work remains rooted in joy, truth, and cultural legacy. She is still funny. Still fine. And still setting the standard.

Extended:

Phyllis Yvonne Stickney is a legendary figure whose four decades in arts and entertainment have shaped film, television, theater, comedy, literature, and culture. Known for her artistry, intellect, and unmistakable presence, she has built a career defined by excellence, innovation, and impact.

Phyllis began her education at the University of Delaware and continued her formal training in New York City at the Institute of New Cinema Artists. Hollywood soon took notice. What followed was a remarkable body of work that spans iconic films, groundbreaking television appearances, and unforgettable stage roles.

Audiences know Phyllis from film classics such as New Jack City, Malcolm X, Die Hard With A Vengeance, The Inkwell, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, What’s Love Got To Do With It, Gun Hill, and many more. Her recent work includes appearances in Shameless and the BET series The Ms. Pat Show. She also made television history on A Different World, portraying one of the first African centered characters on a major network sitcom.

Her comedic brilliance has been documented in HBO’s The History of Blacks in Comedy, and her range continues to stand unmatched. Whether she is embodying an elite Jamaican matriarch, an articulate attorney, or a comedy club firebrand, Phyllis brings depth, intelligence, and truth to every performance.

ESSENCE Magazine honored her as one of the 200 African American Women Who Changed the World. She has performed comedy in Israel, danced in Senegal, studied cabaret production in Germany, and continues to serve as an international ambassador of the arts.

Beyond acting, Phyllis is an accomplished director, author, producer, and cultural curator. She directed the stage production Been There Done That with Judge Mathis and Fred Hammond, becoming the first in the genre to sell out the Paramount Theater at Madison Square Garden. She is the author of Loud Thoughts for Quiet Moments and a contributor to the anthology Nine Black Comedy Plays. Her written work also lives on through her performance recordings and live readings.

Phyllis has produced shows such as Calling All Comics, Are You Kidding Me, WTFUDGE, Laughter and Lyrics in Jamaica, and The Upper Room Poets and Playwrights Workshop in New York and Los Angeles. She hosted The Comedy Connection at the world-famous Cotton Club and has toured her one-woman show P S I’m Still Standing.

Her influence expands far beyond the stage and screen. As a community activist in Harlem, she helped residents reclaim their building from drug activity and transform it into an award-winning cooperative with 52 livable units. She has spoken at the Essence Music Festival, African American Women on Tour, and numerous empowerment platforms, and she has trained youth and adults through programs she created, including Life Beyond the Block, Get Wit It, and Alternative Careers in the Arts.

Phyllis is also a designer and creative entrepreneur. Her couture lines, Culture Chic and Anointed Adornments, were created for fuller figured women and for women of distinction in leadership spaces.

Respected by legends, loved by audiences, and admired by peers, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney is a consummate artist whose work bridges generations and cultures. Her storytelling leaves an imprint, her comedy elevates the collective spirit, and her advocacy inspires communities to rise. Today, she continues to create, teach, perform, and offer her artistry to the world through film, live events, custom jewelry, and exclusive vintage prints.

Phyllis Yvonne Stickney is comfortable, capable, and commanding in any venue. Her legacy is living, expanding, and ready for its next chapter.