Early works In 1984, Rochon appeared as an extra in the movie
Breakin’, where she met the man who would later become her husband. From 1986 to 1988, while attending college, Rochon was one of the "Spudettes" featured in over 30 national spots for the
Spuds MacKenzie Budweiser/Bud Light TV commercials. She also appeared in the 1985 made-for-television film ''
A Bunny's Tale'' starring
Kirstie Alley and
Delta Burke, based on
Gloria Steinem's experiences as a
Playboy Bunny. She appeared as the love interest of
Gerald Levert in the video for "My Forever Love" by
Levert, and in
Luther Vandross' "It's Over Now" video. She also appeared in the music video for
Lionel Richie's single "
All Night Long (All Night)", in
Al B. Sure's video for the song "Natalie", and in
Tupac Shakur's video "
I Get Around" as one of the female dancers. She had many guest starring roles in a number of sitcoms, include
The Cosby Show,
Amen,
227,
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and ''
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. Rochon made her film debut in 1985, when she starred opposite Fred Williamson in Fox Trap
. In 1987, she played the role of Debby in the film The Wild Pair'', starring
Beau Bridges and
Bubba Smith. In 1989, Rochon acted opposite
Eddie Murphy in 1989's
Harlem Nights, as the memorable "Sunshine" character. She again worked with Murphy in the successful 1992 romantic comedy,
Boomerang. In 1995, she was regular cast member during the first season of
The WB sitcom,
The Wayans Bros. Breakthrough In 1995, Rochon landed one of the lead roles opposite
Whitney Houston,
Angela Bassett and
Loretta Devine in the adaptation of the
Terry McMillan novel and highly successful drama film
Waiting to Exhale. She played the character Robin Stokes, for which she was nominated for an
MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. In 1996, Rochon starred opposite
Timothy Hutton in the
Showtime cable network film
Mr. and Mrs. Loving, receiving a
Cable Ace Award nomination for Best Actress. Later that year, she played the female lead in the crime thriller film
The Chamber. The following year, she starred alongside
Jim Belushi and
Tupac Shakur in the crime thriller
Gang Related. In 1998, Rochon had the leading role alongside
Halle Berry and
Vivica A. Fox in the romantic drama
Why Do Fools Fall in Love, and well starred in
Knock Off with
Jean-Claude Van Damme, and
The Big Hit, as love interest to
Mark Wahlberg's leading character. In 1999, she appeared in
Any Given Sunday directed by
Oliver Stone. In 2001, Rochon made her return to television with one of leading roles alongside
Bonnie Bedelia,
Nancy McKeon,
Tracey Needham, and
Lisa Vidal in the
Lifetime crime drama series,
The Division. She left the series after a single season.
2000s-present In 2004, Rochon co-starred opposite
Katie Holmes in the romantic comedy film
First Daughter. She later had roles in films
Supremacy (2014) with
Danny Glover and
Derek Luke, and
Reversion (2015), playing
Aja Naomi King's character's mother. In 2017, she had a recurring role in the CBS crime drama series
Training Day, and in 2019 on the
Oprah Winfrey Network drama
David Makes Man. In 2024, Rochon was cast in the leading role in the BET+ crime family drama series,
The Family Business: New Orleans as Big Shirley Duncan. ==Personal life==