Bio
Michael Michele is an American actress best known for her roles as Dr. Cleo Finch on the television series ER and as Det Rene Sheppard on the final season of Homicide: Life on the Street.
She is the elder of two daughters. Her father, Jerry, who is white, is an entrepreneur; her mother, Thersa, who is black, is a corporate manager.
In high school she played volleyball and basketball, and ran track.
After high school, she moved to New York and quickly got commercial work. This led to a role in Eddie Murphy's 1989 film Harlem Nights (1989). But that role dissolved when she spurned his advances and she filed a sexual harrassment suit against him. The suit was ultimately settled out of court.
She also had a starring role in the short-lived television series Kevin Hill, and a recurring role in New York Undercover.
Michele played the role of Veronica Porsche Ali in the 2001 film, Ali. She also appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, that aired early 2007.
She gave birth to her first child, son Brandon, with New York restaurateur boyfriend Jimmy Rodriguez on 21 December 2004, in New York.