Maia Campbell’s Ready To Revive Her Career With Tyler Perry’s Help

Maia Campbell is back, better, and ready to reboot her career. The beloved actress — best known for roles in In The House, Sister Sister, South Central, Seventeen Again, and more — returned to social media on Sunday (April 13) following a lengthy hiatus out of the public eye.

Earlier today, she posted a video assuring her fans that she was in good spirits and shared a special request she has in regard to her film/television career.

“Everybody keeps asking me, ‘what do I wanna do with my career?’ And honestly, I can say that I really wanna get in touch with Tyler Perry and have him produce my mother [Bebe Moore Campbell]’s book, 72 Hour Hold. It was a monumental book for me. It was a New York Times bestseller and July is Mental Health Awareness Month. So, I’m still on that campaign. Keep me up in prayer. Thank you for praying for me and I’m gonna do my best to make you guys happy,” she said.

Per Mental Health America National Organization, 72 Hour Hold is “a fictional story [about] a mother coping with her daughter’s bipolar diagnosis, navigating a broken mental health care system, and experiencing stigma associated with mental illness in the Black community.”

Many assumed that the book was inspired by Bebe and Maia’s actual relationship, but the late author-journalist denied such. She explained in a 2005 interview with CBS News that the novel was inspired by true events.

“I have a mentally ill family member. I’ve been on the journey with my own loved one for eight or nine years,” said Bebe without explicitly stating which family member.

She confessed that she rarely spoke on that person’s illness for the first three years beyond her immediate family.

“I felt very stigmatized, very shut down, very ashamed. Then my journey has been one of reaching out for support, for friends,” Bebe shared. Prior to her death in November 2006, she was vocal about advocating for those in similar situations with the Los Angeles affiliate chapter of the National Alliance For The Medically Ill.

Maia was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1998. She got married and welcomed her only daughter in 2000 before she stopped taking her medication, turning to drugs, and ultimately losing custody.

Since then, it appears she’s reconciled with her daughter and fans are loving seeing her comeback.