When she’s not writing or working as an acting coach, Tiffany Black is on screen bringing characters to life in television and film.
In the new Lifetime original Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story, Black stars alongside Yaya DaCosta as Elizabeth, a character who reflects the painful legacy of generational trauma.
Is ‘Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story’ based on a true story?
Ripped from the headlines, Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story is based on the real-life memoir of Monique Smith, a Black woman who survived years of abuse and later uncovered that the family who raised her wasn’t biologically hers. It’s a story about trauma, identity, and the long road to healing. It speaks directly to themes that hit home in our community.
On working alongside Yaya DaCosta
In addition to starring as Monique Smith, DaCosta serves as an executive producer of the film. Black says that with her talent, the America’s Next Top Model alum is also a force to be reckoned with.
“I think Yaya has had such a presence, and she’s been one of the few people who has used reality TV as a springboard,” Black said, adding, DaCosta is an acclaimed actress who does fantastic work.
“So working with her, she’s grounding. She does a lot of VO [voice-over] in this movie, and her voice is warm, and it’s comforting, and that’s how her presence is on set,” Black continued. “We were always just checking in with each other. It was a beautiful dance of us. You know, ‘You get what you need from me? Do you want more depth from me?’ Because I’m playing her mother, but … I’m also playing her mother with another actress, who’s a child. So I’m having to, you know, go and span the decades, but I’m planning things with the child actress that we pay off when Yaya’s an adult,” she added. “It’s fun to be able to just craft the story even with things that aren’t written in the text, and like the other people be game for it. So, it was nice. I enjoy Yaya so much. I was a fan before, and to work with her was an absolute pleasure.”
The emotional preparation Black went through to bring Elizabeth to life
A massive thing for Black, a trained actor, was ensuring she approached her character with empathy rather than judgment. While those watching may foster ill feelings toward Elizabeth, Black wanted to ensure she tried to grasp some understanding of the layers that made her such a complicated woman.
“I use a few different techniques, but for this one, I feel like I leaned more on Ivana Chubbuck, which is what we teach at Tasha Smith’s acting studio,” Black shared. “You want to marry the character’s experiences to your own or things that you’ve witnessed. And, unfortunately, I have seen a few instances of child abuse and seeing mothers be very overwhelmed with the responsibilities that come along with motherhood. And I think that’s something that is unique to Elizabeth’s story as it pertains to Monique.”
She expressed, “She didn’t have the luxury of pregnancy, and I think that the process of growing a child in your body gives you time to leave your previous life without being a mother and usher you into this different space. You have nine, 10 months to do that. When you steal somebody else’s baby, you don’t have that process. So I think that I was trying to consider that and, again, give her empathy.”
On her work as an acting coach
When Black isn’t becoming characters we either love or hate, she’s helping to develop others’ acting chops. Recently, she was the acting coach to Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter SZA as she prepared to become Alyssa, the best friend to Keke Palmer’s Dreux in their buddy comedy film One of Them Days.
“SZA was so fun,” Black stated. “She is so fun. And she specifically asked for an acting coach, and that, to me, makes a difference.” She mentioned, “I’ve also helped some artists who didn’t know I was on set to help them. So now I gotta find a way to, like, hide that I’m giving you a note and trying to make you better because I don’t want to offend you. So I think it helps because she was not only open, but she wanted me there, and we hit it off very, very quickly. I enjoyed her so much.”
When asked if there’s a difference in coaching a musician who has no acting background versus someone who does, Black said it’s different at times for her.
“I feel like, because I love music, I know how to, like, take some of those musical terms and apply them to acting. Like, ‘Hey, we’re going to crescendo this thing.’ This thing grows as it continues. Ad-libs in a scene are like riffs in a song. So, I’m not talking to her in musical terms all the time, but when I need her to do something, like, I know kinda what to say,” adding, “Our personalities just mesh really well. Like you would just love her; she’s adorable.”
Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story premieres on Lifetime on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
