Mablean Ephriam
| Mablean Ephriam | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 23, 1949 Hazlehurst, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Occupation | Former prosecuting attorney |
| Children | Tajamika Paxton |
Mablean Deloris Ephriam, Esq. (born April 23, 1949) is a former Los Angeles prosecuting attorney. She is best known as the adjudicator of the courtroom series Divorce Court for 7 seasons from the 1999-00 season through the 2005-06 season. She was replaced by Lynn Toler in the show's 2006-07 season. Ephriam is also known for her judge roles in Tyler Perry's Madea films.
Ephriam returned to television in fall 2014 with a new courtroom series titled after her, Justice with Judge Mablean. The series, produced by Entertainment Studios, is airing on the Justice Central cable channel and syndicated on various stations. It is the fifth courtroom series from Entertainment Studios. Her daughter is writer/director/producer Tajamika Paxton.
Ephriam was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi but raised in Los Angeles, California from the age of 6 years old. Although Ephriam had never actually served as a judge before presiding on Divorce Court, she came to the series with significant legal experience and knowledge of the law. She started her law career as a corrections officer in the Women's Division of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. She attended night classes at Whittier Law School where she earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1978. In 1982, she opened her own law practice, dealing mainly with personal injury and family law cases. She soon became a Los Angeles Prosecuting Attorney.
In 1999, Divorce Court was revived and Ephriam was selected to be the show's arbitrator. She was the first star of the reality-based version of The Divorce Court. Previous to that, the show used dramatic reenactments of real-life divorce cases. She was also the first African American and female to preside over the series.
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