Longtime couple Dondré Whitfield (Terence Frye, All My Children) and Salli Richardson Whitfield are experiencing huge successes -- Dondré as an inspirational author and actor in series such as Queen Sugar and Mistresses, and Salli as a director on series such as The Wheel of Time and The Gilded Age.
In a new video interview with ABC Localish, each credits the other for their career wins, which they say they couldn't have accomplished without the strength of their marriage.
"There's no way without the support at home that I would have been able to do the things that I'm doing," Salli enthuses. "The Wheel of Time, which I shot in Prague, then to Gilded Age, which was enormous, then directing the season finale of Running Time. And I can't even imagine what's going to be happening in the next year!"
The couple, who met while acting on the 90s series Between Brothers, share two children, and their family unit is a huge inspiration for Dondré and Salli as they forge ahead with their careers.
"Every single day, all we're trying to do is to be a model that our kids can safely mirror as they get older, where they see, 'Okay, that's what a woman looks like who has a career and has a family, that's what a man looks like who has a career and who has a family,'" Dondré shares. "Those are the kinds of things that we want for ourselves, because honestly, we didn't get them as kids."
...l.Dondré also explains that his and Salli's rough upbringings in Brooklyn and the south side of Chicago, respectively, and not having good role models are what inspired him to write his best-selling book Male vs. Man, which celebrities like Halle Barry, Will Smith, and Tisha Campbell have raved about.
"That's one of the reasons why I wrote Male vs. Man, so that males get the information that instructs them and gives them what they need to matriculate into manhood, and why I'm writing my [upcoming] relationship book, so that people get the information that instructs them in what they need in order for them to have a healthy and whole relationship," Dondré shares.
In conclusion, Salli expressed that the thing she loves most about Dondré is "his real desire to be the best husband he can be, the best father he can be, the best man he can be. It's rare... that people in general are striving to be the best person that they can be in life, and that is what I envy in him and that I cherish the most in him."
Check out the couple's full video below, and to learn more about Dondré's books and career as a motivational speaker, check out the actor's official website.
Dondré Whitfield starred as AMC's Terence from 1991 to 1994, having previously played the short-term role of Jesse Lawrence on Another World from 1989 to 1990. Some of his other acting credits include Queen Sugar, Mistresses, Cold Case, Ghost Whisper, Girlfriends, and The Cosby Show.
What do you think about the life and careers that Dondré Whitfield and his wife, Salli Richardson Whitfield, have carved for themselves? What do you remember from Dondré's time as AMC's Terence? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
