Rochelle (Everybody Hates Chris)

Infobox character
name = Rochelle


colour = Orange
born = Brooklyn, New York Flagicon|New York, birth date and age|1948|3|18: in the present (age 38): set in 1986
spouse = Julius Rock (1969-present)
portrayer = Tichina Arnold
family = Gene (father)
Maxine (mother)
Michael (older brother)
Mousey (older sister)
Charlotte (younger sister)
children = Chris Rock (oldest child)
Drew Rock (middle child)
Tonya Rock (youngest child)
Extended Family
Louis Rock (brother-in-law)
first = Everybody Hates the Pilot

Rochelle is the mother from the sitcom, "Everybody Hates Chris." "Rochelle" is played by actress, Tichina Arnold. "Everybody Hates Chris" is loosely based on comedian Chris Rock's childhood and teenage years and thusly "Rochelle" is loosely based on Chris Rock's real-life mother. However, Chris Rock's real-life mother's actual name is Rosalie Rock, then possibly Rochelle is Rosalie's nickname.

Character Background

On the show, which is currently set in 1986, Rochelle is a thirty-seven year old humorously sassy and intimidating woman. She works part-time as a realtor, in a small real-estate office. The office was referred to as "The Department of Records" on the second episode of the show's third season. Rochelle is a wife and mother. She runs her household with her husband, Julius Rock, over their three children, Chris, Drew, and Tonya. Rochelle and her immediate family all live on a tight budget. Being a "ghetto snob" however, one of Rochelle's pet peeves is anyone viewing her and her family as poor. Because of this, she forces her family to go along with her in making it appear as otherwise. This can be a challenge as her husband is insanely cost-conscious and demands that Rochelle use such things as food stamps. Not only that, but her living environment is in a rough lower-class neighborhood filled with thieves, gangs, criminals, etc. She and the rest of her Rock clan moved from Housing projects to a four-bedroom apartment in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, New York. These are just some of the reasons why Rochelle is a strong woman, who's generally seen scolding and giving out strict orders for her loved ones to follow. Whenever any of her family members have neglected to obey her strict orders or have done something else wrong, they become fearful of Rochelle finding out. Due to her overreacting and ranting and raving upon anything she considers as wrong taking place, Rochelle's family members are frequently seen trying to keep things away from her, with little success. Though Rochelle lives in a very unsafe area, she's able to protect herself quite well. In fact, in one instance when Rochelle was taking a city bus, there was a hold up that lasted up until she stood up to the criminal for all the passengers. In another instance, there was a male stranger who blocked Rochelle from shutting her front door on him, which Rochelle scoldingly put an end to. Rochelle also has both a wacky and loving side. She's one to show that she cares for her family very much, as she makes sure they're all safe, looks out for their best interests, and helps out as best as she can. One example of this is Rochelle always taking responsibility for the housework. As a second example, Rochelle sees to it that Julius gets enough sleep and doesn't overwork. As a third example, Rochelle once volunteered as an assistant at Drew and Tonya's school book fair, though was thrown out by police officers for becoming a disruption.

Rochelle & Julius

Rochelle and her husband, Julius Rock, were married around the late 1960s. Rochelle depends on Julius more than anyone. This is mainly because of him having two jobs. It doesn't take Rochelle much, or very long to quit any second job she gets to help out her family financially. Her final words before leaving these second jobs are always "I do not need this. My man got two jobs!" Often, she gets a second job when Julius is undergoing difficulty in which he can't work, so doesn't for some time. As soon as he's back on his feet and at work, Rochelle literally looks for a reason to quit the extra job. If her boss so much as looks at her the wrong way, he or she is sure to hear Rochelle's quitting catchphrase before her leaving with no return.

Overall, Rochelle and Julius have a healthy marriage, and are sweet and respectful of each other for the most part. For example, Rochelle pleads Julius before spending on anything that's expensive. As another example, Julius goes so far as panicking whenever other women are attracted to him. Rochelle and Julius also get along because Julius is a level-headed and even-tempered opposite of Rochelle. However, Rochelle and Julius do have their share of conflicts. Their conflicts are as a result of Rochelle feeling insulted by Julius more often than not. For instance, every now and then Julius makes the mistake of saying something the wrong way, leading Rochelle to go nuts. Because Julius wants to live, when he has done something wrong in Rochelle's mind, he'll often do his best to take it back or hide it. However, Rochelle often finds out and Julius goes down. Julius normally makes the first effort at settling any issues him and Rochelle are having, although he doesn't always succeed as Rochelle never readily changes her attitude. This is frequently why Julius starts having an issue with Rochelle. However, much different from his wife's ranting and raving, Julius' approach is to have a calm, firm, and rational discussion with Rochelle when she's the one in the wrong. Apologetic and affectionate when dealt with the right way, Rochelle eventually calms down and warms up to her husband. As with all of Rochelle’s moments when making up with someone, regardless of who was right or wrong, she's never without that final humorously sassy remark for Julius. In contrast to the other characters however, Rochelle is known to make these remarks right in the middle of hugging and kissing Julius. Rochelle refers to Julius with pet names, often "“baby!”" and "sweetie!"

Rochelle & Chris

Rochelle gave birth to her and Julius' first child, Chris Rock (protagonist--based on Chris Rock), in 1969. Much like his brother and sister, Chris is respectful of his mother and timid of getting in trouble with her. As with the other children, Chris' timid behavior doesn’t just come out of the blue. Rochelle has a way with keeping her children scared of her. One way in which she goes about making this happen is by constantly letting Chris know how she'll do such things as "“slap the black off of him”" or "“knock the lobes off his ears along with the pores off his face”" if he doesn’t do as she says. However, because of such handling like this, Chris becomes sneaky in trying to get what he wants when dealing with his mother. In one episode, Chris snuck behind Rochelle's back to get mathematical help from his grandmother because Rochelle's tutoring wasn't helping him. As with the rest of the characters on "Everybody Hates Chris", Rochelle often ends up behaving unfairly towards Chris. Chris always ends up having to suck it up. Though he sucks it up and is respectful of his mother for the most part, Chris never hesitates to show he's creeped out by some of Rochelle's behavior, often looking at her as if she's crazy. Rochelle frequently refers to Chris as "“Boy”", as well as by screaming "CHRIIIS!"

Rochelle & Drew

Rochelle gave birth to her and Julius' second child, Drew Rock, in 1971. Throughout the show’s existence, Rochelle has come down hardest on Drew out of all her children and tolerates the least misbehavior out of him for some reason. Though Drew sometimes teases and instigates his brother and sister, Tonya has been known to be far worse in this department. Unlike Tonya, Drew's faults are rarely overlooked by Rochelle. Rochelle once excused herself and Drew from the dinnertable, sending him upstairs with her, while raving on and on. As in many cases, Drew's misbehavior led Rochelle to take him off in private to deal with him. Whatever happens when she takes Drew off into private is unknown, as the camera and characters never follow. In one episode however, Drew's cries were heard when Rochelle took him off in private. It was suggested that Rochelle might have gone through with one of her threats against Drew--that she actually slapped him off into next week and that Drew would remain absent from existence until the following Sunday. In contrast to her other children, Rochelle also treats Drew with less attention. At one point, Drew becomes saddened by this, regarding his mother's behavior as neglectful of him. An affectionate Rochelle explained how some of her treatment towards Drew came from feeling that he's capable of being more independent and mature than Tonya and Chris. As with Chris, Rochelle frequently refers to Drew as "“Boy!”"

Rochelle & Tonya

Rochelle gave birth to her and Julius' third child, Tonya Rock, in 1973. Tonya is Rochelle's only daughter, as well as her youngest child. Out of all of her children, Rochelle is the most warm-hearted and least tough on Tonya. In one instance, Rochelle is even seen expressing amusement at a zinger that Tonya flung at Drew, before eventually admonishing them both for squabbling with each other. There are many instances in which it's only Tonya who ought to be put in her place by her mother, but instead all three children are or everyone is except for Tonya. This is mainly due to Tonya's untruthful tattling. One of Tonya's trademarks is even to scream "MAMA", so that Rochelle will turn up, to deal with whomever she's tattled on. Though Tonya is the most fortunate family member in terms of her treatment from Rochelle, she's not always fortunate by any means. In one "Everybody Hates Chris" episode, Rochelle and Tonya had it out, with Tonya trying to use her father to help her out. It came to a point where Rochelle had to be restrained at the dinnertable to keep from getting her hands on Tonya. Though Tonya sometimes tries to resort to help from her father when in trouble with her mother, Julius always lets her know that she must deal with the consequences of her bad behavior. One example of this is in the episode where Tonya has lost a pair of Rochelle's hoop earrings after Rochelle has told her she wasn't even to be wearing them. Rochelle frequently refers to Tonya as "“Girl!”

Rochelle & family friends

Rochelle doesn’t have much of a relationship with Chris’ friend Greg Wuliger, as it’s a character that only hangs out with Chris for the most part. However, Rochelle and Greg have come past each other on some occasions. One occasion was in the show’s third season premiere when Rochelle remarks, "“What the hell is that smell? Greg, is that you boy?”" Greg, who was wearing a diaper that he had peed in, replied on how he was studying to be an astronaut. Rochelle quickly snapped, "“Well, even astronauts wash their…”" However Chris was able to get his mom to leave with him, before she finished off her sassy remarks for Greg's offensive smell. Rochelle left the seen covering her nose while exclaiming, "My god!" Like Chris, Rochelle has friends that only interact with her for the most part, such as "Vanessa," who's played by Jackee Harry. Vanessa does Rochelle's hair at the beauty salon and always has some juicy gossip for Rochelle and the rest of her girlfriends.

Parents and siblings

* Jimmie Walker as Gene, Rochelle's father. Gene and Rochelle have a loving relationship. After his death, Gene returned as a ghost to give Rochelle advice and encouragement on how to cope without him. Though it took Rochelle a while to get over his passing away, she was able to become herself again after the conversation with her father.

* Loretta Devine as Maxine, Rochelle’s mother. Maxine and Rochelle have a love/hate relationship. They both know exactly how to upset the other and get on each other's nervs and always do. It was even said that Maxine is an even bigger ghetto snob than Rochelle is. Maxine's behavior was particularly objectionable towards her daughter upon her first appearance when her husband died.

* Earthquake as Mike, Rochelle’s fully grown, freeloading, and lazy older brother. Rochelle is usually gracious to her brother, allowing him to stay with her and her immediate family whenever he has no place to stay. Mike has no place to stay because he doesn't have a place of his own. In fact, he's still living with his mother, Maxine. Although Rochelle is generous enough to allow Mike to stay with them whenever Maxine kicks him out, she often hears about it from Julius. Julius absolutely detests Mike's visits. This is particularly because Mike is very obnoxious towards Julius in particular. As a couple examples, he's known to parade around the house in Julius' clothes and sit in Julius' chair. Mike once even turned Rochelle's life upside down when he started dating her best friend, "Vanessa."
* Ikonastarr as Mousey, Rochelle's uncommunicative older sister. Her name is Mousey because she talks like a mouse, squeaking whenever she comments. However, she doesn't comment much, as she only speaks when spoken to. As with her behavior towards all the other characters, she doesn't have much to say to Rochelle.

* Monica Calhoun as Charlotte (aka "Grievey”), Rochelle’s younger sister. As with Rochelle's older sister, Charlotte is also strange. Rochelle only has a chance to communicate with her on sad occasions, such as funerals. This is due to Charlotte only making her presence known on depressing occasions. Because of this, Charlotte is always seen crying and sobbing. This is why she's known as "Grievey."

Habits

* Gossiping with her friends at the beauty salon, as well as over the phone...
* Caring about what other people think, mainly when it has to do with people viewing her and her family as poor...
* Judging other folks around the block and acting like a ghetto snob...
* passionate singing (not done very well)...
* Having a thing for Chocolate turtles (a pecan candy). In one episode, titled "Everybody Hates the Lottery", Rochelle is addicted to Chocolate turtles, and mostly eats every single one of them...
* When Rochelle drives, she goes far beyond the speed limit...
* Making sure her children "ain't" making "no" babies...