Music , 1974. Hopkins started her career as a background singer in Detroit, singing background on
Golden World,
Motown,
Invictus Records, and
Hot Wax Records hits. She appeared on such classics as
Freda Payne's "
Band of Gold" and
Isaac Hayes' "
Theme from Shaft" and working with legendary artists like
the Four Tops and
Marvin Gaye. Hopkins and
Joyce Vincent Wilson were recruited by
Tony Orlando to form the vocal group
Dawn. As a recording act, Tony Orlando and Dawn would have much success throughout the first half of the 1970s, releasing 16 top-40 singles, three of which reached #1, and starring in a CBS variety show (titled
Tony Orlando and Dawn) from 1974 to 1976. In 1977, Tony Orlando and Dawn announced their retirement. She played Adelaide "Addy" Wilson, Nell's childhood friend, until the series finale in 1987. In 1989, Hopkins began starring as Rachel Baines-Crawford, the younger sister of Harriette Winslow (in reality, Hopkins was two years older than
Jo Marie Payton), in the ABC sitcom
Family Matters. She left the series after four seasons as a regular cast member, to star (with
Cindy Williams) as the co-lead of the sitcom
Getting By which aired for two seasons (one on ABC, the other on NBC) from 1993 to 1994. She later returned to
Family Matters, making recurring appearances in the sixth season and guest-starring in the Season 9 Christmas episode "Deck the Malls" in 1997. In later years, she appeared as
Richard T. Jones' mother in the romantic comedy
The Wood (1999), and played
Romany Malco's mother in the comedy film
The Love Guru (2008). She appeared in JD Lawrence's stage play
The Clean Up Woman in October 2008. From 2002 to 2006, she starred in the UPN sitcom
Half & Half alongside
Rachel True,
Essence Atkins and
Valarie Pettiford. She also had recurring roles on
The Hughleys and
Any Day Now. From 2010 to 2013, she co-starred alongside
Terry Crews and
Essence Atkins in the
TBS sitcom
Are We There Yet?. In 2014, she played
Martin Lawrence's mother on the FX sitcom
Partners. In 2016, she was cast as
Jerrika Hinton's mother in the ABC comedy pilot
Toast, produced by
ShondaLand. In May 2021, it was announced Hopkins had been cast in the role of Denise Tolliver on
The Young and the Restless, reuniting her with
Family Matters co-star
Bryton James. ==Personal life and other work==