Today we’d like to introduce you to Mona J
Hi Mona, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Monaneka Jones-Moore, also known as (Mona J), was born and raised in Athens GA. by a single mom who passed away in 2020.
“I remember having fun times as a child, but I did grow up in poverty. I was raised by my mother, and I was raised in Athens Clarke County Housing Authority Apartments, which is considered to most people as, “The Hood”.
Up to the age of 8, I had a pretty good childhood, but after the age of 8, my sister Toya and I pretty much stopped receiving Christmas and birthday gifts because my mom just could never afford to do much for us financially.
There were many times that our family had to boil water on the stove just to take a warm bath, and we also had to burn candles to light the house because our lights were often cut off due to nonpayment. At times, we also were forced to run the gas stove just to heat the house whenever my mom couldn’t afford to pay the light bill.
So, I moved around often as a child. My mother had a hard time affording the rent, so it often felt as if we moved every time the rent was due.
However, the great thing that came out of my childhood was the East Athens Educational Dance Foundation. My mom enrolled my sister Latoya and me in this free dance program in which we learned the art of ballet, jazz, hip hop, modern, and tap dance. After joining and performing in several shows, I often dreamed of becoming a famous worldwide dancer when I became an adult.
Unfortunately, we moved around so much, that my mom eventually had to remove us from the dance program.
So, it came a time when my mom could no longer financially support us, so by the age of 12, we were raising ourselves.
My mom had been evicted yet again, so my sister Toya and I had to move to Bonnie Lane, which was another housing authority project known as “the hood”, with our eldest sister Senetria .
Senetria was still pretty young herself, so she was hardly ever present at her apartment.
So, my sister Latoya and I took advantage of our eldest sister’s absence away from her apartment because we had Senetria’s apartment to ourselves most of the time.
So the ages of 12 and 13, Toya and I cooked for ourselves, we got ourselves ready for school, we threw parties and cookouts for friends at our Sister’s apartment, and we basically ran our sister’s apartment like it was our own.
Yet, despite caring for myself at such a young age, I still managed to remain an honor roll student, but because I had no guidance from an adult at that age, I eventually ended up pregnant by the age of 15, and I became a mother to my son by the age of 16.
I didn’t know anything about being a mother, so my son was raised by his father’s parents majority of my son’s childhood and teenage years.
Soon after becoming a mother, I decided to drop out of high school at the age of 16, and I began working 2 jobs, both in the fast food industry.
By the age of 17, my son had turned a year old, and I had started dating an abusive man.
I was scared to leave my abuser because, at one point in our relationship, he had threatened to kill me. He put a knife to my throat, choked me several times until I couldn’t turn my neck, burned all my clothes, bussed out the windows of my car, and flat my tires. By the time I turned 18, he had begun being abusive to my son, and one day, he forced my son and I to get in my car, threatened to kill us, and started speeding down the wrong side of the road toward on-going traffic until he finally snapped out of his anger and calmed down.
I finally got the courage to leave my abuser after he put a huge knot on my son’s forehead when my son was only 2 years old. The Department of Family and Children Services got involved and they issued a restraining order against my abuser. So at the age of 18, I finally decided that it was now time to get my life back on track.
I obtained my G.E.D. at 18 years of age, and I decided that I needed to pursue my college education.
My son’s grandparents, on his father’s side, raised my son while I attempted to work two jobs and get a college education.
It was extremely difficult to juggle technical college full-time, work a full-time and part-time job, and barely see my son.
However, I did manage to obtain an Associate’s Degree in Marketing Management from Athens Technical College.
Shortly after obtaining my degree, I attempted to find jobs in the marketing and management field but was often told that I didn’t have enough job experience. I was informed that having only a college degree wasn’t sufficient enough to get hired in the Marketing or Management field .
So, I decided to continue to work my two jobs while continuing the search for a job in my field.
During this time in my life, I was happy that I was making money from my two jobs, but I was also saddened by the fact that I wasn’t spending enough quality time with my son, I was still staying in the hood, I wasn’t working in the field that I had obtained my educational degree in, and I wasn’t happy about my love life because I continued to make bad choices in men.
I always dreamed of owning a home for my son and I, so I applied for a home with Habitat for Humanity and was eventually approved to purchase a Habitat home, I moved into my new home at the age of 23.
Soon after, I was hired to work as a temp agent for a temporary job in the administrative field. Later, that same company granted me full-time employment as a scheduler.
So, I finally felt like life was improving for me.
However, even though things were going great for me financially, I was still making bad choices in men. I would often get depressed because I was searching for love. I had been dating the same womanizer for 3 years, and I eventually got pregnant by him. When he found out I was pregnant, he told me over and over and over again that he didn’t want a baby by me. So, shortly after conception, I ended up having a miscarriage due to stress. I was only 24 years old at the time.
I went into full depression, I wasn’t focused on my job, so I ended up getting fired from my full-time administrative job. I was more focused on desperately trying to improve a bad relationship knowing that nothing good comes out of desperation. I was more focused on a womanizer than I was focused on my growth.
So, by the age of 24, I decided that I no longer wanted to work for anyone else. I felt it was best to pursue the entertainment industry because, in all honesty, the entertainment world was where my heart was.
So, between the ages of 25 and 27, I worked odd-end jobs in the entertainment field. I hosted open mic music events, and I even put together my own talent shows that brought out hundreds of people.
However, even though I truly enjoyed the arts and entertainment lifestyle, most of those jobs didn’t pay quite enough to keep all my bills paid.
Three years later I was still on and off dating the guy who didn’t even want a child by me hoping that he would one day see the value in me. I eventually got tired of waiting for that moment to come, so I finally decided it was time for me to let him go. Shortly after, I found myself in a vulnerable stage, and I got pregnant by a guy who had been pursuing me for quite some time.
So, by the time my son turned 12 years old, I was pregnant with my second child. Even though I didn’t have a relationship with this guy, I longed for another baby to love, so I didn’t want to abort my child. I was excited to be experiencing motherhood again and I was blessed to give birth to my daughter Madison.
I thought I would eventually obtain enough income to take care of both my son and my daughter and have them both living in my Habitat For Humanity home with me, but because I wasn’t working full-time and only working low-paying jobs in the entertainment world, I just couldn’t afford to financially take care of my children.
So, because I felt like I owed it to my children to do better, by the age of 28, I decided to return to work full-time. I also decided that it was time to give up chasing my dream of becoming successful in the entertainment industry.
By the age of 30, I obtained yet another degree, a Business Administration degree from Piedmont University.
Luckily, I could rely on my two college degrees and my job experience in administration to assist me in obtaining a job in patient access at a local hospital in Athens GA. A year later, I became an Emergency Access Manager, managing 42 employees in the Emergency Department at Athens Regional Hospital.
So, by the age of 31, I had obtained a great management job, my son, who was now 16 years old, was staying with me in our Habitat For Humanity home, and my daughter, who was now 4 years old, was staying with us as well, and I had found a great man 3 years prior, who was there for myself and my kids.
So life was good for us for a while, but because I had received just a little taste of what it felt like to work in the entertainment industry, I wasn’t always 100% focused on my job or my family.
The guy I was dating for 4 years was a great man, but I wasn’t fully happy with our relationship. We just didn’t share the same vision at that time so we eventually decided to remain friends but part ways.
I still didn’t want to work for anyone else’s company, and I longed to be back in the entertainment industry, so even though I had a full-time job, I did side work in entertainment for no pay. So, when I wasn’t working my full-time job, I was working for free as a local radio host at WBKZ radio station in Athens GA.
Eventually, I got fired from my management job at the hospital, my relationship ended, my Habitat for Humanity Home eventually went into foreclosure, and my kids were forced to move back in with my son’s grandparents, who also raised my daughter as if she were their grandchild.
For the next 10 years, it was an up-and-down roller coaster wave. I was highly determined to not work another full-time job, and my mind was set on being successful in the entertainment industry, I suffered tremendously for almost all of those 10 years. Yet, no matter how bad things got financially, I didn’t want to give up. Shirley and Roy Cooper, my children’s grandparents, were my financial backbone for my kids, so I felt that as long as they had my kids back, one day I would figure it all out.
So, I pursued working in the music industry first. I attempted to manage artists. I attempted to manage producers. I pursued jobs hosting club events, and I worked in internet radio. All those things never brought in enough money to keep me financially stable.
The great thing that came out of it all was that a gentleman by the name of Nate Bryant noticed my skills while I was hosting a music industry event in Atlanta. He became my manager and he is still my manager to this very day.
Nate believed in me and told me that I was being underpaid. He began booking me for bigger hosting events that covered my travel fees, my food, and my hotel stay and put funds in my pocket. He linked me with owners of media companies in Atlanta which now allowed me to interview celebrities on the red carpet.
I also began auditioning for acting gigs on independent projects, and several months later I signed to a credible talent agency who got me my first huge audition on Barber Shop 3 which was scheduled to be in theaters the following year.
I auditioned for two separate roles on Barbershop 3. I didn’t make the cut for either role, but I was now officially a signed actress, so I continued to audition, and I continued working in media performing red carpet coverage.
By this time I had covered the Triumph Awards for TV One and covered other big-name celebrity events, but income was still up and down for me. So when I wasn’t auditioning, playing a role in independent films, or working on red carpets, I would drive for Uber and Lyft.
Everything was going great for a year, but then my car broke down, I couldn’t pay rent and got evicted yet again, so I was back at square 1.
I eventually got my car fixed, but now I was homeless and sleeping out of my car.
After hosting a club event at Frank Ski’s one night, I met a lady by the name of Tanya Chavis. She and I became friends, and after telling her my life story, she eventually allowed me to move in with her.
I continued to pursue entertainment while residing with her, but yet again, money was inconsistent.
While staying with Tanya, I thought I had landed my big break when my former business partner Brandon and I created a reality show. Brandon and I initially had a phone conference with Keith Sweat, who agreed to possibly come on as an executive producer. Brandon and I had also linked up with Gregg Leakes, who was interested in executive producing the project with his wife. Long story short, the show never made it to television so here I am back at square one.
I eventually moved out of Tanya’s home, and I began sleeping in my car again while working for Uber and Lyft.
One night while being in Atlanta, an unknown gentleman placed a gun to my head and forced me into an apartment. He sexually assaulted me all while placing a gun to my head. After he was done with me, I thought for sure that he was going to kill me, but while walking away with a gun facing toward my back, he allowed me to walk out of the apartment unharmed. I decided at that time that it was now time for me to leave Atlanta.
Years later, in 2019, I decided to face my fears so I started back networking in Atlanta. This time around, I had decided to sleep out of my car so that I could save money.
I was hired to be a correspondent at a minor league basketball event, and I met a young lady who I became very close friends with. We began hanging out and I eventually shared with her that I had been sleeping out of my car for over a year. After sharing this with Sister Jay Jay, she told me, “You’ll never have to sleep out of your car again! ” Sister Jay Jay is one of my closest friends to this very day.
So, I was now residing with Sister Jay Jay and working at Uber and Lyft. I eventually became a grocery shopper for Instacart as well, but because I was working all the time, I hardly had time to pursue work in the entertainment field. So, I decided yet again that maybe it was past time for me to truly give up the entertainment life. I had been pursuing the same dream for years, and I started to feel like I was causing myself and my children more pain than joy.
So, while staying with Jay Jay, I felt it was finally time to pursue something other than the entertainment industry. So, I invested money into a class to obtain my Georgia real estate license.
At 41 years old, I obtained my real estate license in the year 2020, but my mom unexpectedly died of a heart attack 2 months later. I moved out of Jay Jay’s home, left Atlanta GA, and moved back to Athens GA.
Now I’m back in Athens, and I became the caretaker for my Uncle Dal. I eventually became my uncle’s Power Of Attorney as well, and my uncle decided to also sign over his home to me in the event of his death.
So, I now own a home again, but due to the pandemic, I was no longer working at Uber. My car got repossessed, and I had no income coming in.
Even though I was having emotional, mental, and financial struggles, I got into another relationship with a guy who I dated briefly in the past. He stayed in Hollywood and also managed a comedian in the entertainment industry. So, at the age of 42, I decided to move my 14-year-old daughter and I to Hollywood California with him,
Before I moved to L.A., I had got approved for two tenants to move into my home in Georgia. This was perfect because this way, my Uncle Dal wouldn’t be in the home in Athens by himself. So after I moved to LA, I officially became a landlord. Becoming a landlord was my first financial breakthrough in a very long time.
Unfortunately, as soon as I got to L.A. the guy I was dating treated me like garbage. He and I attended a Lil Wayne concert the second day I arrived in California, and he told me that I wasn’t ready for Hollywood, that I didn’t know how to walk on the red carpet right, that maybe he should send me back to Georgia, and that I would never make it without him.
For the next 12 days, he belittled me and it started to make me regret that I ever moved my daughter and I to California.
I decided that after 12 days I had had enough of the mistreatment from him, so I went from Hollywood to Homeless after just 12 days of moving to California.
I posted on social media that my daughter and I didn’t have anywhere to go and were in a hostile environment, and a lady who follows me on social media saw my cry for help, and asked her niece, who resides in downtown LA, to help me and my daughter.
Her niece Ashley reached out to me via social media and my daughter and I left the narcissist and moved our things in Ashley’s home.
Ashley informed me that my daughter and I could reside there until I got on my feet, but in less than two weeks Ashley informed me that my daughter and I had less than 4 days to move out because she too was dealing with her struggles, and she could no longer help us.
So, I was panicking at first because I didn’t know if I could find somewhere for my daughter and I to stay in just 4 days, but I’m a firm believer in GOD, so I felt that GOD would make a way.
I searched online and found a hostel to stay in over those 4 days, and I moved my daughter and I into the hostel. Even though I didn’t have much income coming in yet, I did have money in savings, so I used all of that to pay for the hostel for almost two months.
While residing in the hostel, I also applied to work for Instacart again, and within 10 days, my Instacart debit cart arrived and I started making money in L.A.
The hostel was one room, filled with bunk beds. 12 to 16 people slept in that one room. Residents shared the kitchen areas and took turns with the shower rooms.
I was feeling like a failure again, but I was still hopeful that I could make it in Hollywood.
One day, a young lady by the name of Miah, unexpectedly walked up to my car and said “It may not seem like it, but you are in the right place”. Miah was also a resident of the hostel, but I didn’t know her at all and she had not previously introduced herself to me. Yet, in my mind, that was my confirmation from GOD to stay in L.A., I was in the right place, and that everything would be just fine.
Two weeks after moving into the hostel, I auditioned for a televised game show titled “Chain Reaction” and was cast for the show.
I needed two more contestants to build a team, so I asked two of the other residents at the hostel to join me on the show. Miah and Amy happily agreed, and they became my teammates. The funny thing is, we lost the game miserably, but that was our first televised gig in California, so we were super excited, even to lose.
Then, a month later, I applied for another entertainment gig, but this time as an actress. I was cast for a makeup commercial in New Port Beach California.
Things were looking good, yet, I still wasn’t a part of the entertainment circle. I reached out to an A-List photographer with Getty Images whom I had met in Atlanta 12 years prior. I asked her if she would link me with a publicist who could put me in the loop.
She linked me with publicist Elton Qualls Harris and the rest is history! Elton is the very reason I was able to enter the entertainment scene in LA.
Now that I was in the entertainment loop, I decided that this time around, I wasn’t going to place all my eggs in one basket. I decided that even though I was going to pursue the entertainment industry again, I would also pursue entrepreneurship. I was determined to be a leader in business and the arts.
So, while attending Hollywood events, I was also working on building my business brands.
After two months of residing in the hostel, I moved my daughter and I into a hotel. This was just one room with two beds, but my daughter and I made it work. My daughter was a soldier throughout this whole process, so her strength helped me to stay focused. The crazy thing is, even though we were in a run-down hotel, we were just 7 minutes from downtown L.A.
I could see the downtown lights from my hotel window, and I told myself that one day, I would stay in downtown L.A.
During my first two years in L.A., I was faced with many hardships, but I was making strides in the entertainment industry.
I took a course to obtain my notary license and created my company, Mona J. Notary Services.
I started making soaps and working on an all-natural facial line, and I created The Mona J. Beauty Collection.
Elton was sending me to Hollywood events as media, so I bought a camera and a custom-made microphone.
I created Mona J. Entertainment, a sister company of Mona J. Productions, and I started interviewing celebrities on the red carpet in Hollywood.
Elton also informed me that I should write, so I became a freelance writer for Medium.com and began writing articles for celebrities, influencers, and events that I was booked to attend.
Even though I was now a landlord in Georgia and had turned my home into a rental property, I felt it was best to create Mona J Properties as a company that invests in rental properties but also assists homebuyers with purchasing homes.
I started writing my book, Hollywood Couldn’t Change Me and created my company, Author Mona J.
I also decided that since I always had individuals approaching me asking me, ‘How did you do it all”, I decided to also create Mona J Consulting to teach others how to start businesses, how to market businesses, and teach them about how to maintain financial stability while pursuing their dreams.
So, I had income coming in consistently from taking care of my uncle, my beauty collection, my notary services, my entertainment company, my landlord services, small acting projects, and my side hustle, Instacart. I had saved thousands of dollars and invested in all 7 of my businesses.
I did all of this while staying in a run-down hotel near downtown Los Angeles for two years.
So, I had made plans to move to downtown LA the following year in 2023, but GOD had other plans for me to move downtown much sooner.
One day, all the residents at our run-down hotel were informed that we had less than a month to move out because the property was to be sold.
I couldn’t find an apartment right away because I had bad credit, but exactly three days before I had to move out, I was surprisingly approved for a luxury apartment in downtown LA which included a sauna, a steam room, a rooftop pool, and additional pool, a library, a business meeting room, a business center with printers and fax machines, an ATM inside the apartment building, Amazon lockers, a vending machine, its own outside park for residents that includes a dog park area, a walking trail, putt-putt, a tennis court, and a grill with seating areas.
While all this was going on, I continued to gain notoriety in the entertainment field because I was always out on the scene. I was booked to speak on a media panel at a Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood. I have been featured on Hard Rock Cafe’s billboard in Hollywood and featured on a digital billboard in Long Beach California as a media panelist for Rebuild Your Laugh.
I’ve now been featured in several magazines and after attending Usher’s Super Bowl skate party in Las Vegas with Elton, I’m officially a signed talent in California. I met Hollywood talent agent Virginia C. and I signed to her talent agency. So, I created another company, Mona J The Actress.
In December 2022, I unexpectedly rekindled with an old friend while he was incarcerated. He and I had always been good friends, so I didn’t think it would turn into anything more than just a continued friendship whenever he was released from jail. To both our surprise, before he left the halfway house, we had officially become a couple.
So people from my hometown thought I was crazy , and some even thought I was desperate and making bad choices in men yet again, but for the past 2 years, I had been celibate so my mind was clear. I had discussed my whole life story with my husband and he chose not to judge me but to love me.
I had asked GOD to send me a man of GOD who would love me unconditionally and protect me. God sent me just that. My husband is truly heaven-sent. Six months after his release date, Gram and I decided that we would get married, and we wed in March of 2024.
However, a day before our wedding, I was informed that my Georgia home was on fire. My Uncle and my two tenants lost everything in the house fire
So, my uncle and I moved to Plano Texas with my husband until my Georgia home was rebuilt. And yes, we still reside in Downtown L.A. as well.
After 10 years of my husband not having his freedom, he has created an at-home music studio and is now producing music for artists in the entertainment field who have topped the Amazon and iTunes music charts. My husband is now back to writing, engineering, doing vocal training, and producing.
And, Amid all the chaos, I still managed to make my first debut on Tubi, in a film titled, ” Men Pray Too”, where I play a vicious probation offer.
So, I now look back and I realize that everything that happened, the good and the bad, was meant to happen. The bad things shaped me into the strong woman that I am and the good things that happened along the way showed me that GOD never left my side and that it was all part of GOD’s Plan.
God was preparing Mona J, to be ” A LEADER IN BUSINESS & THE ARTS !!” ….. It’s Mona J. The Center Of Attention.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not a smooth road at all. There were spiritual, financial, physical, mental, and emotional challenges along the way
What does success mean to you?
To me success is knowing who you are from the inside out, setting yourself up financially, spiritually, physically, mentally,and emotionally to do all the things that give you peace of mind, bring you joy and happiness and offer you and your loved one stability . Success is about leaving a legacy for your family generations to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.Its-Mona-J.com
- Instagram: @Mona.J.TheCenterOfAttention
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/ItsMonaJ
- Twitter: @ItsMonaJ
- Youtube: @MonaJEntertainment
