The Untold Truth Of Tamera Mowry-Housley

Nineties kids will know there was no cooler show back in the day than "Sister, Sister." And there was nobody cooler than its stars, Tia and Tamera Mowry, twin sisters with the most fashionable clothes, the cutest boyfriends, and the most exciting shared life — even their parents, at least their parents in the show, were cool. As time has progressed, Tia and Tamera have found their own separate paths, but their twin connection remains unequivocal, even resulting in a short-lived reality show appropriately called "Tia & Tamera."

Per IMDb, Tamera, who now goes by the married name Tamera Mowry-Housley, doesn't act as often as her sister, now known as Tia Mowry-Hardrict, does, instead turning her attention to TV presenting on "The Real," as well as being a dedicated mother and wife. Still, she retains a strong connection with both her twin and the show that made them, refusing to ever turn her back on "Sister, Sister." But what else is there to know about her? Here's the truth about Tamera Mowry.

Mowry-Housley's bond with her sister is borderline telepathic, with the actress and TV host telling Us Weekly, "My identical twin sister and I speak with our eyes. We don't have to say anything and we know." She described the idea of acting alongside her again as "magical," admitting a "Sister, Sister" reboot definitely isn't off the table. However, Mowry-Housley envisions it more as a "movie series," rather than a TV show. As for whether she'd support her children wanting to act professionally, the mother of two confirmed she would, though, "I'd make sure they get a college degree as well."

Funnily enough, Mowry-Hardrict reunited with her on-screen mother, the legendary Jackée Harry, for Netflix sitcom "Family Reunion," as noted by Today. Maybe at some point, Mowry-Housley and her on-screen father, Tim Reid, could join them for a project and make it an actual TV family reunion.

In late July 2020, Tamera Mowry-Housley made the shocking announcement that she would be leaving her role as one of the hosts on daytime chat show "The Real" after seven years (via Instagram). Describing it as "bittersweet," she thanked her co-hosts and wished them well, acknowledging, "I'm so proud of what all the ladies and I have accomplished." Mowry-Housley noted, "All good things must come to an end," revealing she was moving on to other opportunities, while also looking to dedicate more time to her home life.

In the past, the "Sister, Sister" alum has frequently opened up about how much her husband and her son, Aden, and daughter, Ariah, mean to her, telling Essence that, as they grow up, it's more important than ever for her to spend as much time with them as possible. "I am trying to instill some really good characteristics and morals into my children's lives," she explained. 

Although it might be difficult to believe, Tamera Mowry-Housley didn't always envision herself starring opposite her twin sister in a hit show. As the actress, who shocked the world when she was revealed to be hiding under the colorful seashell costume on "The Masked Singer," told EW, she had an entirely different goal in mind. The former child star jumped at the chance to appear on the hit singing competition show, admitting she'd "always wanted" to sing again. As Mowry-Housley revealed, when she was first in L.A. at the age of 11 and trying to make her acting career happen, she "was in a singing group called Voices."

Although the band was gaining traction, once Mowry-Housley and her sister got offered "Sister, Sister," she had to decide between the two. She noted, "And obviously, we chose right, but at the same time, in the back of my head, I had missed singing." Mowry-Housley would even consider releasing an album at some stage, suggesting a gospel offering would be ideal, or even a role as one of the three sisters in "Hamilton."

Tamera Mowry-Housley made a major splash during her time on "The Masked Singer," with People noting the judges didn't manage to guess who she was until the actress's final appearance. It was such a tightly-kept secret even her twin sister, Tia Mowry-Hardrict, had no clue. However, she and their brother, Tahj Mowry, were "blowing up" Mowry-Housley's phone wondering whether she was Seashell right after her very first performance on the show. Meanwhile, their mom, Darlene, "coached [her] through every performance" over the phone, while her cousin and BFF Jerome was on set to calm any pre-show jitters. 

Evidently, family means everything to Mowry-Housley, with the "Sister, Sister" alum revealing the costume wasn't just cute, but it also had a special meaning. "One of my favorite places to be ever is Hawaii. I was raised there," Mowry-Housley explained. She elaborated, "My mom's side is from the Bahamas, Eleuthera Bahamas, and Eleuthera Bahamas is probably one of the most beautiful beaches that I've ever seen. ... The beach is home to me and it just made sense [to be Seashell]. I thought she was a great representation of who I am."

They grew up doing everything together, and twins Tamera Mowry-Housley and Tia Mowry-Hardrict remain super close to this day. Unfortunately, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a halt, it also kept the sisters apart for the longest time in their lives. Speaking to ET in October 2020, Mowry-Housley confirmed she and Mowry-Hardict had been separated for over six months, since she lives in Napa while her twin is in Los Angeles. The actress lamented, "Right when we were actually going to head up there, there was a surge in L.A. and it wasn't wise for all of us to go there." 

She admitted theirs was guaranteed to be an overwhelming reunion. Thankfully, FaceTime and Zoom kept the family from feeling like they were too far apart. As Mowry-Housley explained, "Every two weeks, we Zoom each other and we have happy hour. We have a glass of wine, we talk about what's been happening." Naturally, when they did eventually meet up in person again, it was hugely emotional (via ET).

Viewers might have been too young to understand when it was airing, but "Sister, Sister" was groundbreaking for its time. However, despite the fact that young stars Tamera Mowry-Housley and Tia Mowry-Hardrict were fronting their own show, the girls' mother had to fight to ensure they were adequately compensated. As Mowry-Housley told Essence, "We were 18 or 19 and she had done her research and she realized there were certain people in the entertainment business that were making more money and she knew that, my sister and I, we were putting in the time, putting in the work, but not only that, we had success."

She demanded to know why her daughters weren't making what they clearly deserved to make, with Mowry-Housley adding their mother's support spurred them on to fight harder: "And my sister and I became, at one point, one of the highest-paid actresses on a pre-teen family show." Now, Mowry-Housley is joining the fight to ensure pay equality is standard across the board in Hollywood.

Much like the Olsen twins and their show "Two of a Kind," Tamera Mowry-Housley and Tia Mowry-Hardrict's characters on "Sister, Sister" were named after the girls themselves. While this doesn't necessarily mean the characterizations were based on the actresses, as Mowry-Housley admitted to MadameNoire, she and her sister were a lot like their onscreen characters. Mowry-Housley revealed, "At the time, Tia was more of the studious one. And I was the mischievous one, meaning I was boy crazy. I had a lot more energy."

Naturally, as they grew up, their personalities changed too. In fact, as the twins' time on the show went by, they would regularly switch roles in real life. Nowadays, both women have various parts of the onscreen Tia and Tamera characters in them. As Mowry-Housley explained, "Right now, we embody both of the characters. We both know when to be very studious, focus and work related and when to kind of let go and have fun."

They were two of the most famous teenagers in the world, but Tamera Mowry-Housley and sister Tia Mowry-Hardrict weren't shielded from the harsh realities of the entertainment industry. At the height of their "Sister, Sister" fame, the girls were turned down by a popular magazine when they were put forward for the cover, purely because they were Black. As Mowry-Housley acknowledged to ET, "It was a very unfortunate, sad, confusing time for us." The actress admitted it would've been a dream come true, and they seemed like shoo-ins considering how huge their show was at the time. 

The sisters' publicist tried to keep them in the dark, but the twins insisted on knowing the truth. Mowry-Housley revealed, "To be Black and to be on the cover, we had to be like, a triple threat to sell. You couldn't just be an actress. You had to be a music star, a movie star, so we felt like we just weren't enough." Their mother warned them about the industry and taught the girls to work harder and refuse to give up. As Mowry-Housley admitted, "I used it as fuel."

She might have taken a step back from "The Real" to focus more on her family life, but Mowry-Housley isn't giving up her career. As the actress told Us Weekly, although she's used to feeling "mom guilt," being a working mother is important to her. Mowry-Housley explained, "That first year is always hard when you go to work and you've been a stay-at-home mom for a while, or on maternity leave, but now that my kids are older, I think it's pretty bada** and cool for them to see their mom do what she loves to do."

As the "Sister, Sister" alum argued, by continuing to work outside the home, "I'm teaching them to go for your dreams and do what you want to do." Naturally, Mowry-Housley learned all about juggling home and work life from her own mother, who taught her and twin sister Tia Mowry-Hardrict to keep pushing for what they wanted no matter what. Even as life continues to change and get more complicated, it's important for Mowry-Housley to stay focused on what makes her happy, too, so she can be a better mother and role model.

Being a working mother isn't easy, but despite the demands of her work and home lives, Tamera Mowry-Housley always makes time for some much-needed self-care. As she explained to Prevention, the mother of two is lucky to be able to split caring for the kids right down the middle with husband Adam Housley. Likewise, she shared, "He understands when I need a break, just like I understand when he needs a break." When one of those breaks is required, Mowry-Housley ensures she carves out a specific time period for taking bubble baths, meditating, reading, watching grown-up TV, or doing some combination of all of those, even if there's only 15 minutes free.

Mowry-Housley actually schedules this time in advance to hold herself accountable, so she'll take a proper break. As the "Masked Singer" contestant reasoned, "Self-care is important — I'm actually a better wife, I'm a better friend, I'm a better mother. I had to learn that." Although the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult, particularly being apart from her siblings and parents, it taught Mowry-Housley to really value her time with loved ones. She noted simply, "Don't take family, friends, and life for granted."