Eve Jihan Cooper
2023 Women’s History Month
Eve Jihan Cooper (née Jeffers) is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress.
In 1999, she released her debut album, Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders First Lady reached number one on the Billboard 200, making her the third female rapper to accomplish this feat. She was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The album produced the hit singles “What Ya Want” (featuring Dru Hill), “Love Is Blind,” and “Gotta Man.” That same year, she was featured on The Roots’ Grammy Award-winning single “You Got Me” and Missy Elliott’s “Hot Boyz,” which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.
Her follow-up album, Eve-Olution (2002), also peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200 and yielded the single “Gangsta Lovin'” (featuring Alicia Keys), which reached number two on the Hot 100.
Eve’s second studio album, Scorpion (2001), peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA. Its single “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” (featuring Gwen Stefani) won her the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and an MTV Video Music Award. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
Her other singles from these albums, “Satisfaction” and “Love Is Blind,” as well as her 2007 standalone single, “Tambourine” (featuring Swizz Beatz), all reached the top 40 of the Hot 100.
She was also featured on Gwen Stefani’s song “Rich Girl” in 2005, certified double platinum by the RIAA, and nominated for a Grammy Award.
After parting ways with Interscope Records, Eve she released Lip Lock (2013), her first independent studio album.
As an actress, she starred as Terri Jones in the comedy-drama films Barbershop, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and Barbershop: The Next Cut and played the lead role of Shelley Williams on the UPN television sitcom Eve.
Eve also had supporting roles in the drama film The Woodsman (2004), the comedy film The Cookout (2004), and the horror film Animal (2014).
From 2017 to 2020, she was one of the co-hosts of the CBS Daytime talk show The Talk, for which she earned two Daytime Emmy Award nominations.