Born in Los Angeles and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Mara Brock Akil returned to LA to pursue her passion for writing after receiving a degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 1992.

She wrote for the television series South Central and Moesha before becoming supervising producer on The Jamie Foxx Show. During that time Mara developed her first original series, Girlfriends, which aired for eight seasons on UPN and The CW. She then developed the hit spin-off, The Game, which ran for three seasons on The CW before being cancelled and brought back to life on BET, where it debuted to a record-breaking 7.7 million viewers—earning historic ratings in a television landscape where few other shows featuring black leads existed.

In 2011 Mara and her husband and producing partner, Salim, created Akil Productions and released Jumping the Broom and a remake of Sparkle. Mara also created Being Mary Jane, the first scripted drama in BET’s 30-year history. After signing a three-year overall deal at Warner Bros. Television in 2015, Mara and Salim have two pilot commitments underway: Documenting Love and Black Lightning, which is based on the DC Comics character.

Mara was named by the Hollywood Reporter as one of the top 50 Showrunners five years in a row and as one of Women in Entertainment Power 100. She was honored by Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood Awards and is the winner of multiple NAACP Image Awards.

As an active philanthropist and mentor, Mara dedicates much of her time to numerous charities and non-profits including: The Underground Museum in Los Angeles, The Studio Museum in Harlem, LAXArt, The Samburu Project, Girls Inc., and the Dance Theater of Harlem. In addition to being a board member on Northwestern University’s School of Communication National Advisory Council, Mara serves on the boards of the Humanitas Prize and the Writers Guild of America, West. Mara will be inducted into the Medill Hall of Achievement for the positive impact she has made in television and film in fall 2017.