I have to admit, Nicole Ari Parker and Boris Kodjoe are even more beautiful in person. Not to sound cliché, but their inner and outer beauty radiates when they stand in a room together. And as much as you want to hate Nicole Ari Parker, the actress who met her husband on the set of Soul Food, you just can’t. Same goes for him. And on the helm of Boris Kodjoe’s primetime NBC premier of Undercovers, the couple along with their two little ones seem happier than ever. In fact the two were spotted at the 62nd Emmy Awards show looking sexier than ever, her in a Michelle Blanchard gown and him sporting a look from his own custom suit clothing line Alfa.
I first met Boris Kodjoe when I stepped into their Atlanta home for an interior design photo shoot. Having no idea the owners of the house, I was overwhelmed when this ridiculously attractive man barefoot and in a tank top came walking to say hello with a bowl of cereal in hand. I was googly eyed, and when he left, I couldn’t get over how amazing this man was. Who was he?
It wasn’t until months later, after publishing the spread, that I was formally introduced to the Hollywood couple Nicole Ari Parker and Boris Kodjoe. This time the lens was directed at them and their power couple status in Atlanta. Since meeting and falling in love on the set of Soul Food, the two married, had two little ones and still find time for their multidimensional careers. I became close with the couple immediately. They were so much fun to work with (a real breath of fresh air), and it was hard not to look up to and admire their success, devotion to family, love, cultural backgrounds and experiences and just all around beauty. They even laughed when I admitted to grilling their (at the time, three-year-old) as to who mommy and daddy were.
(Drew Brown, Nicole Ari Parker, Boris Kodjoe, Elizabeth Schulte-Roth and Elissa Rosen (me) at a party in Atlanta in late 2008)
I know, I sound a little star-gazed, but trust me, they have a presence that is nearly impossible to ignore. They are just as lovey-dovey off camera as they are in the pictures you have seen. With Kodjoe’s renewed Hollywood status, they may be spending more time in L.A., but they will always have a have a home (literally and figuratively) in Atlanta.
In fact, it is Atlanta, where their first born, Sophie, was born with Spina Bifida, a neurological defect. In 2008, the couple launched Sophie’s Voice Foundation to elevate the quality of life for adults and children diagnosed with spina bifida and to raise awareness about prevention. After hearing their story about the struggles and pain their young daughter had already been through, I was shocked to learn was the same smiling little girl I had met that first day in their home. Already so smart and mature, little Sophie definitely has her own voice and a bright future ahead. And to think, she had already been through more medical procedures than many every have to deal with. Visit Sophie’s Voice Foundation web site to get more information about what the couple has done and how you can help.
And don’t forget to tune in at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays for the series premier of the drama-comedy Undercovers.
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September 22, 2010Capture This: Melissa Koehler Lifestyle Photography
