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Tika Sumpter announces her decision to go off contract at ABC’s “One Life to Live.”
Earlier tonight, “One Life to Live” star Tika Sumpter announced she is going off contract with the show as of July 30th.
In a three minute heartfelt video to all of her fans, the actress explained her reasons for wanting to go off contract. “I decided this because it’s just time to move on for me. And it’s just time for me to try other things. You come at a cross roads in your life when you know it’s just time to go on.” Sumpter says the decision was a “hard one” and thanks for the fans for all of their support over the years. The actress says she’s “super excited” about the future and hopes her fans will understand and support her decision. Sumpter informed her fans earlier in the week that she would be making an important announcement today.
Sumpter joined the cast of “One Life to Live” in 2005 as the feisty Layla Williamson, the sister of Llanview Assistant District Attorney Evangeline Williamson (Renee Elise Goldsberry). Over the years, Layla’s coped with being the black sheep of the Williamson family and living in the shadow of her more successful older sister. She’s gone from a head strong and immature aspiring actress to an accomplished and driven business woman. She’s loved and lost, swearing off falling in love ever again until she fell in love with her sister’s former boyfriend Cristian. Though the two were obviously attracted to one another, they both had reservations starting a relationship due to their past failed romances and Cristian’s history with Evangeline. Luckily for fans of the couple, the pair was able to come to an understanding and give love a chance.
As far as future projects go, the actress has a minor role in the upcoming action thriller “Salt” starring Angelina Jolie, and will appear in the film “Whisper Me a Lullaby” as Emma later this year. She also stars in the upcoming direct-to-DVD feature “Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming.”
The triple threat actress-singer-model has appeared in many national commercial campaigns and showcased her vocal chops on ABC’s compilation albums “One Life, Many Voices” and “A Love Affair.” She most recently showcased her vocals during One Life to Live’s “Starr X’d Lovers: The Musical” in May. Her work on “One Life to Live” earned her a NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Series in 2008.
Tika Sumpter’s decision to go to recurring leaves “OLTL” with only one African-American actress on contract, 16 year-old Shenell Edmonds (Destiny).
Though we’re sad to see the Tika go, we’re sure that you’ll see more of her — whether it’s on the small screen or the silver screen. We’ll continue to update you on this news in the coming days. Stay tuned to TVSourceMagazine.com for more.
On The Web: Tika’s Official Website
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