Actor Lil’ JJ, who plays Jordan on the Nickelodeon show, “Just
Jordan,” shares a hug with Kristen Combs, 11, of Taylor, who
plays his little sister on the show.
Kristen Combs of the Nickelodeon show “Just Jordan” said she’s
received permission lately to change her hairstyle on the show
from her puffs to something more grown-up.
If you think that young girl with the engaging smile shopping at the mall
during the holidays looked familiar, maybe it’s because you’ve seen her
before.
Kristen Combs, 11, has been in more than a dozen television commercials and
co-stars in the show “Just Jordan” on Nickelodeon.
Kristen lives with her mother, Dionne, and her 14-year-old brother Brandon
in Taylor when they’re not in Hollywood. The strike by the Writers Guild of
America halted production on “Just Jordan.”
That allowed the Combses to return to Taylor well before Christmas.
They spent a good part of December and January with Kristen’s grandmother,
Christine Johnson Adams, who lives in Taylor with her husband Marshall.
The young performer also sang “Silent Night” during services at her
grandmother’s church, Word of Grace, in the Church of Nazarene on Eureka
Road.
Kristen has been performing since she was able to talk, according to her
parents, who remember her at a much younger age entering a room and
performing small scenes from television shows.
Kristen has been in show business since the first grade.
Raised in Lansing, she took modeling and acting classes, where her teacher
was convinced she was talented enough to make it in Hollywood.
Kristen went to a regional talent event in Chicago that attracted hundreds
of other children and dozens of agents.
Breaking into the business came easily — well, sort of. Her first audition
for a McDonald’s commercial fell apart due to Kristen’s fear of clowns, in
this case one of the world’s most recognizable clowns, Ronald McDonald.
“When she was 6, she was afraid of everything,” Dionne Combs said. “Ants,
birds, clowns, the Easter bunny, dogs — every animal in the animal kingdom.”
But Kristen said she “enjoyed entertaining people.”
She overcame enough of her fears to perform in four television commercials
in four months — quite a feat for someone who had no previous TV experience.
She played a “daughter” in ads for Sprint and Disney Resorts, a “painting
girl” in a commercial for Bubblicious and an “ice cream kid” in a T-Mobile
spot.
While she and her brother were home-schooled by their mother, Kristen also
received professional runway and commercial training, took an advanced film
actors class and enrolled in the Rage Dance Studio to take jazz, ballet, hip
hop and tumbling.
As the commercials continued, Kristen enjoyed performing and competing with
two dance teams.
At age 10, she was contracted to play Monica, the little sister of the title
character of “Just Jordan,” played by Lil’ JJ.
In the show, the outspoken Jordan Lewis has moved from Arkansas to
California.
Jordan works in a diner owned by his gruff grandfather, and has to deal with
his little sister, a critical cousin and his overprotective mother.
While Kristen is 11 in real life, her character is a 9-year-old who always
seems to know where Jordan is and gets involved with his dilemmas, usually
offering unsolicited advice.
“Monica” cramps Jordan’s style with her constant presence and attention.
“It’s a nice family show to watch,” Kristen said. “It’s about how kids
should handle themselves. It teaches a lesson in every episode.”
Kristen actually shares several similarities with her TV character. Like
Monica, Kristen often uses her smile and charm to win over people.
Also, like Monica, Kristen’s real-life parents, Dionne and Carlton, are
divorced. And she moved with her family to a new state.
After Kristen was discovered in Hollywood, her mother knew their new
lifestyle would require lots of travel.
Dionne said they purchased a condominium in Taylor in 2005 because it would
be easier to travel from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to California than it
would be to fly from Lansing to the Pacific Coast.
“We come to Michigan as often as possible,” Dionne said. “My parents are in
Taylor and it’s right by the airport. It’s a great location. They were
building condominiums that were fabulous.
“We moved in right when they were going up.”
The amount of commuting depends on the 13-episode “taping season” of “Just
Jordan.” Kristen works three weeks and then gets one week off.
Her brother is enrolled in John Burroughs High School and is in the school
band, so traveling is limited more than ever.
In December, the Combs also visited the Lansing area, where Kristen met up
with some of her friends and performed for the student body at Pleasant View
Magnet School.
The writers’ strike has frozen many shows and left actors wondering when
they’ll be able to return to work.
When Kristen returns to the show, there’ll be at least one change. She’s
gotten permission to change her hairstyle.
“I just got it braided a month ago,” she said. “I’m not a kid any more. Mo
Mo is 11 years old.”
