Reunited and it feels so good!
Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks, Persia White and Jill Marie Jones, better known as the cast of the hit TV show Girlfriends, were all under the same roof at ESSENCE’s sixth annual Black Women in Hollywood luncheon. Along with presenting the Visionary Award to show creator Mara Brock-Akil, the group of four reminisced on their days of playing Joan, Maya, Lynn and Toni.
“I don’t know if you heard the Girlfriends screaming but it is so exciting,” Ross said of the reunion. “Honestly we love each other so much. We spent such important years of our lives together, and we just haven’t all been together, the four of us, since Jill left the show, which is insane. So it’s really exciting.”
It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since our favorite girlfriends left the air, but Jones said she reminisces about the good times on set like it was yesterday. “Our dressing rooms kind of felt like a dormitory because mine was across from Tracee’s and next door to Persia’s, and then catacornered was Golden’s. In between scenes and lunch breaks, we would open my door and turn my TV around and we’d have a little couch out there,” she said. “It kind of felt like college in a way. We have so many memories. Everybody was so amazing.”
White agreed, adding that none of her other roles have compared to the passion and laughter she felt while playing Lynn. “It was just a feeling that you don’t get with the average work in this industry,” she said. “I just did a couple of romantic comedy films and that was even fun, but it doesn’t push it like Girlfriends. They don’t let me push it like Lynn. They don’t let you be that silly, generally.”
Since the days of filming the show, the real-life friends have explored new projects in the acting world. Jones ventured into scriptwriting, Ross starred in and produced the BET series Reed Between the Lines, Brooks joined the cast of the CW drama Hart of Dixie and White landed a recurring role on the same network in The Vampire Diaries.
In a past interview with ESSENCE.com, Ross said she would love to see the series turn into a film. “I would love to do a Girlfriends movie. How much fun would it be to see what happens between Joan and Toni? Does Joan ever get married? I want to know! The Game got back on the air because of the fans, so I don’t know what all you people are waiting for, we need you,” she said.
There’s no word yet if a movie is in the works, but we will surely be impatiently waiting!
