Persia White: A “Girlfriend” Finds Her Way…

By Will “Deshair” Foskey

Persia White, the actress who plays the character, Lynn Searcy on the popular CW hit, “Girlfriends” has been given the opportunity to live out her musicians’ reality, on television. The 3 part series of Girlfriends which began on November 20^th, co-stars the Grammy winning artist, half of the legendary Hip Hop group Outkast, Big Boi. Persia’s character is discovered by Big Boi, who plays himself, and is hired to write music with the ATL star.

“I was very excited at the chance of taping these episodes,” says the fairly energetic Persia who just stepped off the set for a break. “The writer’s of the show actually came to me with the idea. They wanted to show the arch of my character, trying to make it in the music industry, and asked me how I felt about them bringing in a celebrity that would discover my character. So they’ve chosen Big Boi to play the role of himself. What’s special about the episodes is that the song that we’re working on was written by yours truly.”

“Girlfriends” have defied all odds in making it to its seventh season with continued rave reviews and “word of mouth” fanfare. Persia took the opportunity to express her thoughts and emotions on the growth of herself and Lynn. “My character and I have grown so much since the first season,” says the actress behind the character of Lynn. “I’ve changed so much as a person, because in the beginning I was more of a recluse when it came to my acting, my music and how I’ve communicated with others. And instantly, I was placed into a situation where I had to open up and not be as stubborn as I was. As for my character, Lynn and I was more of a merger than anything else (she chuckles a bit). Lynn was not willing to commit to anything, and now she is finally ready to get it together.”

“And people need to realize that even with coming of age, that you’re not always ready to achieve greatness. Added maturity doesn’t happen for everybody at the same time. Sometimes it just takes a little bit longer to grow up. Personally, people would tell me that I have a rebellious side. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d have any kind of continuous job, let alone being a part of something as special as Girlfriends. I had that mindset of, ‘I’m doing my thing, I’m going to do my music and be underground with it.’ It just feels good to know that I have grown up, and that in a special way, fans of our show have had the opportunity to witness the maturation of Persia and Lynn.”

GIRLFRIENDS air on Mondays (9:00-9:30PM, ET/PT) on The CW and stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks, Persia White and Reggie Hayes.