Born on May 15, 1966 in Trenton, New Jersey, Sommore’s birth name was Lori Ann Rambough. Her parents ended their relationship in divorce and she was raised by her mother. She did her initial schooling from the Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd and The Pennington Schools. She then went on to attend McCorristin Catholic High School (now named Trenton Catholic Academy) and graduated in the year 1985. She received a business administration degree from the Morris Brown College in Georgia. This Alma Mater is famously known for being the filming location for movies like Drumline and Stomp the Yard. Although she doesn’t have any siblings of her own, she is the half-sister of the Third Watch actress Nia Long. The two actresses share a father and have never worked together professionally.

Comedic Beginnings

Sommore never aspired to be a comedian or an actress, instead she chose a career in retail. She also worked as an employment counselor for three years. It was after attending some comedy shows in Atlanta that she realized her true calling. Her career as a comedian and actress started in the year 1994 when she was cast as the host for the show ComicView on the BET network. This was noteworthy not only as her introduction to comedy, but because she was the first woman ever invited to host the show. In the following year, she made an appearance in the television show Snaps. She is commonly recognized for being a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the year 2000.

She has also appeared on well-known and award-winning shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The View, and Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. She is also known for appearing in several television shows which include Def Comedy Jam as herself in 1995, The Hughleys as Keshia in 1998, BET Live from L.A. as herself in 1999, The Amanda Lewis Show as herself in 2001, The Parkers as Olivia Radcliffe in 2002, Something New as herself in 2006, Comedy Unleashed as herself in 2007, Celebrity Fit Club as herself in 2008, Just for Laughs: All-Access, Hit the Floor, and Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta as herself in 2014.

She is currently participating in the Festival of Laughs and Capital Comedy Festival. At 51 years of age, she is still very professionally active.

Film Career

She made her film debut in the year 2001 when she was cast for the role of a comedian in the movie The Queens of Comedy alongside fellow African-American female comedians Mo'Nique, Laura Hayes, and Adele Givens. The tour was filmed, edited, and released both on Showtime and on DVD. She is popular for the portrayal of roles like Cookie in the movie Friday After Next in the year 2002, Cherry in the movie Soul Plane in the year 2004 and Abby in the movie Dirty Laundry in the year 2006. She has also appeared in movies like A Miami Tail as Stephanie in 2003, Blunts & Stunts: Class of ’94 as Comedian #2 and Something New in 2006.

She has completed several television films which include Bitch House as herself in 1995, Sommore: The Queen Stands Alone in 2007, Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav as herself in 2007, Sommore: Chandelier Status in 2013 and Sommore: Fun Non Amously Famous in 2015.

Other Professional Endeavors

According to her official biography, in addition to a prolific comedic career Sommore is a writer, producer, and entrepreneur. She wrote and produced “The Queen Stands Alone”, a film version of her stand-up act, which debuted to over 800,000 viewers on Comedy Central in September of 2008. To this date, the DVD is in stores and is one of the best sellers among stand-up films.