Golden Brooks stars as Maya Wilkes, a sharp-tongued but good-hearted working mom who is trying to get her life back on track after her recent divorce, in UPN's GIRLFRIENDS.

Born in San Francisco, Brooks was raised both there and in Los Angeles. She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology with an emphasis on media representation of minorities from the University of California-Berkeley, as well as a master's degree from Sarah Lawrence College. Brooks has used her extensive training from Berkeley, where she also minored in theater, to win roles in numerous feature films, including "Time Code," directed by Mike Figgis and starring Holly Hunter, Salma Hayek and Jeanne Tripplehorn; "Hell's Kitchen"; and "The Imposter," opposite Gary Sinise and Vincent D'Onofrio. She most recently starred as an outspoken stylist in the feature "Beauty Shop," starring Queen Latifah. She will next be seen in "Something New," opposite Simon Baker.

Brooks has an impressive list of television credits, including a role in the series "Linc's," and guest-starring roles in UPN's "The Parkers" and "Haunted," as well as "The Jamie Foxx Show," "Adventures of Pete and Pete" and "Promised Land."

Brooks is also active onstage alongside Danny Glover with the Robey Theater Company, a nonprofit company dedicated to developing plays about the black experience as well as interpreting established works. Her other theater credits include University of California-Berkeley productions of Ntozake Shange's "For Colored Girls," Chekhov's "The Brute" and Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," among others.

In 2003, Brooks received the Multi-Cultural Prism Award for Best Actress in a Comedy. In 2002, she was nominated for an NAACP Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. Last year, she made history with her cast mates when they co-hosted the "2004 NAACP Image Awards," which marked the first year any woman hosted the program.

A dedicated volunteer, Brooks has worked with inner-city youths to help improve their performances in school through English, poetry and empowerment training, as well as dedicating her time to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation and AIDS Project Los Angeles.

Brooks is also a classically trained dancer, both studying and teaching ballet, jazz and modern dance.