Felicia Pearson (born May 18, 1980) is an American actress, rapper, and author. She playeda fictionalized version of herself nicknamed "Snoop" onThe Wire and wrote a 2007 memoir,Grace After Midnight, detailing her troubled childhood and time in prison forsecond-degree murder.

Felicia Pearson
Pearson in 2015
Background information
Also known as	Snoop
Born	(1980-05-18)May 18, 1980 (age 44) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Actress author rapper
Years active	2004–present

Pearson was born inBaltimore, Maryland, the daughter of two incarcerated drug addicts, and was raised in an East Baltimorefoster home. Born premature and weighing 3 pounds (1.4 kg), she was not expected to live.^[1] She was so small that she was fed with an eyedropper until she could be fed normally.^[1] According to her memoir,Grace After Midnight, she met her biological parents very few times. Her mother was acrack addict, and her father was an armed robber. As a result of this, she decided to go by her foster family's surname.

Pearson was atomboy from a young age and worked as adrug dealer as a teenager. At the age of fourteen, she was convicted ofsecond degree murder after shooting a girl named Okia Toomer. Pearson was sentenced to two eight-year terms, to be served consecutively, at theMaryland Correctional Institution for Women inJessup, Maryland.^[2] She was released after six and a half years.

Pearson said her life turned around at the age of eighteen, when Arnold Loney, a local drug dealer who looked out for her and sent her money in prison, was shot and killed.^[1] He had coined her nickname "Snoop," because she reminded him ofCharlie Brown's beagleSnoopy in the comic stripPeanuts.^[1] While in prison, Pearson earned herGED. She was released in 2000,^[1] and landed a local jobfabricating car bumpers, but was fired after two weeks when her employer learned she had a prison record.^[3]

Pearson metMichael K. Williams, who playedOmar Little onThe Wire, in a Baltimore club. He invited her to come to the set one day, and introduced her to the writers and the producers. After subsequent auditions, she was offered a role in the series.^[1] For her performance inThe Wire,Stephen King called her "perhaps the most terrifying female villain to ever appear in a television series."^[3]

Her appearance on the show kickstarted her acting career, leading to appearances in music videos for R&B singerLil' Mo's "Dem Boyz"; rapperRick Ross' "The Boss" and "Here I Am"; rapperAce Hood's "Cash Flow";A$AP Ferg's "Shabba (featA$AP Rocky)" andSnoop Dogg's "So Many Pros."^[4] She has appeared in theSpike Lee filmsDa Sweet Blood of Jesus,^[5] andChi-Raq,^[6] and in theCBS police procedural dramaBlue Bloods episode titled "Good Cop Bad Cop."^[7]

Pearson joined the cast of the VH1reality television seriesLove & Hip Hop: New York for itsseventh andeighth seasons.

Pearson is featured in the song "It's a Stick Up" withTony Yayo and Mazaradi Fox, with its music video featuring clips fromThe Wire.^[8][9]

Pearson has volunteered as a prison visitor, worked on anti-violence and literacy campaigns for youth, and supportedThe Stay Strong Foundation.^[10][11][12]

On March 10, 2011, Pearson and sixty others were arrested and charged with drug offenses. The arrest was made during a predawn raid at her home in Baltimore, following a five-monthDEA operation.^[13] At the first hearing after Pearson's arrest, Judge John Addison Howard denied her bail due to Pearson's acting ability, stating: "Well, you can change your appearance, I've seen the episodes ofThe Wire in which you appear. You look very different than you do here today, and I'm not talking about the jumpsuit, I'm talking about your general appearance."^[14] After a month in jail, Pearson was offered bail of $50,000 on April 8, 2011.^[15] In August 2011, she pleaded guilty to the charges the day before her trial was to begin.^[16] She was sentenced to a suspended seven-year prison term, with credit for time served, and given three years of supervised probation.^[17]

Pearson is alesbian.^[18]

• "The Wire Week: Felicia Pearson (Snoop)".All Hip Hop News. January 10, 2007. RetrievedAugust 16, 2007.

• Felicia Pearson atIMDb