Kiki Shepard
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Chiquita Renee Shepard (July 15, 1951 – March 16, 2026), known professionally as Kiki Shepard, was an American television host, actress and dancer best known as the co-host of Showtime at the Apollo from 1987 to 2002.[1]
Early years
Shepard was born on July 15, 1951,[2] in Tyler, Texas,[1] the daughter of John Edward Shepard[3] and Dorothy Hortense (Simpson) Shepard. Her father coached high-school baseball and basketball[4] after having played semiprofessional baseball. Shepard sang, put on plays,[5] and taught American and English literature at a high school. Both parents were champion competitive dancers.[4] Shepard's older sister, Von Gretchen, was the 1974 Miss Black America; her younger sister, Cassandra Pia, works in the art industry.[5]
She attended Emmett Scott High School.[3] She ranked in the top division of her class there and received a $125 scholarship from the Zeta Phi Beta sorority.[6] She competed in the Tyler (Texas) Junior Miss pageant in 1968,[3] and in 1971 she competed in the Miss Denton (Texas) pageant.[7]
Shepard attended North Texas State University[7] and has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Howard University. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority[8] and graduated in the top 10 percent of her class.[5]
Career
Shepard began dancing worldwide in 1971. While she was a student at Howard[9] she became a charter member of the D. C. Repertory Dance Company. The troupe that began as an experimental workshop participated in the World Festival of Black Arts in Lagos, Nigeria[10] in February 1977.[9] Shepard said of the group, "We were dynamite! We communicated. We created an uproar in Washington. We fulfilled a need in the community."[10]
In 1976, Shepard performed at the Delacourt Summer Shakespearean Festival in New York and in Owens Song at the Kennedy Center. She was one of the dancers on the 1977 Academy Awards broadcast.[9]
She worked as an actress and voice actor. She performed in several Broadway theatre productions in the 1970s and 1980s.[11][12] They included Bubbling Brown Sugar (1976), Comin' Uptown (1979), Reggae (1980), Your Arms Too Short to Box With God (1980, 1982), and Porgy and Bess (1983).[13]
Shepard appeared in the film The Wiz (1978).[10] Her work on television included being co-star of Showtime at the Apollo for 16 years, hosting Live in Hollywood,[5] and portraying singer Trelawney in Thunder in Paradise.[4]
She co-starred in Single Black Female, a play that premiered in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2011.[14]
Death
Shepard was honored at the International Women's Day Gospel Brunch on March 8, 2026, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. She died from a heart attack in Los Angeles eight days later, on March 16, at the age of 74.[15]
Acting credits
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987–2002 | Showtime at the Apollo | co-host | 96 episodes |
| 1991–1992 | A Different World | Dr. Sutherland, Vanna Black | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Baywatch | Sophie Jones | |
| 1995–1996 | Baywatch Nights | Madame Trudor, Charlene | |
| 2001–2002 | NYPD Blue | Marta | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Everybody Hates Chris | Herself | |
| 2022 | Blackjack Christmas | Yollette | |
| 2024 | Mind Your Business | Mildred | 2 episodes |
| Grey's Anatomy | Erika Desai | 1 episode |
Theater
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1976 | Bubbling Brown Sugar |
| 1979 | Comin' Uptown |
| 1980 | Reggae |
| 1980, 1982 | Your Arms Too Short to Box with God |
| 1983 | Porgy and Bess |
References
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- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mogle, Danny (March 4, 2020). "Kiki Shepard gains fame as 'Showtime at the Apollo' host". Tyler Morning Telegraph. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/TheSourceMagazine/posts/pfbid0odT235MvvLLBdWGgADBHvkJFAmUZLV7BZZVd5wvfyCEJkbd4iznpEaPiG922QAiwl?__cft__[0]=AZaN9BwGA837y_g_hCkbn0hwtVxCNsBrSOFLJqCCfHOd8ZN19MIuDqumRNghVtizzdnmbRuBQdMzy5QmtsTgE4gKDVtej5mW9-9Iayk96PrOqVXrMiq-fWGXMh4N_H8UpZguL3YoV-krss3Bq5YdlEF4iZVbv3TJzGwhTvnawYJl_d9ct3IbhV-4Lh8o26KWcJY&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Tyler Junior Miss Program Completed". Tyler Morning Telegraph. November 22, 1968. p. 4. Retrieved May 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kiki Shepard In TV Series". Tyler Morning Telegraph- Tyler Courier-Times. May 6, 1994. p. 3. Retrieved May 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wilson, Harold (July 17, 2005). "Tylerite 'Live In Hollywood': Former 'Apollo' Host Finds Solo Stardom". Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. pp. 1 B, 9 B. Retrieved May 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sorority Chapter Reporting Awards". Tyler Morning Telegraph. June 5, 1969. p. Section 3, page 10. Retrieved May 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Miss Denton Prelims Leave Twelve To Vie For Crown". Denton Record-Chronicle. February 21, 1971. p. 1. Retrieved May 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Board Of Directors". The KIS Foundation. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Local woman to dance I on TV awards show". Chula Vista Star-News. March 27, 1977. p. 16. Retrieved May 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Salisbury, Wilma (March 19, 1978). "Dancers combine talent and desire". The Plain Dealer. p. Section 6, page 7. Retrieved May 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Clay, Karlton (May 2, 2025). "Dancer/Actress Kiki Shepard talks being 'Highly Favored'". WJBF. Archived from the original on May 3, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kiki Shepard". Playbill. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kiki Shepard". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gross, Dan (April 6, 2011). "'Bad Girl' to make stage debut". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 32. Retrieved May 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kiki Shepard, 'Showtime at the Apollo' Co-Host, Dead At 74". TMZ. 2026-03-16. Retrieved 2026-03-17.
External links
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