She was Michael Jackson's pen pal from ages 11-13. He never wrote back, but did send an autographed "Bad" poster by way of her next door neighbor who worked as a bodyguard for him decades later.
Descended from Georgia sharecroppers and Detroit auto factory workers, Monice is the oldest daughter of divorced parents - a cancer-surviving mom and a Vietnam War vet dad.
She co-hosts the comedy podcast, "And Shit," with her bff of 25 years.
A living testimony that education saves lives, Monice has taught girls kicking crystal meth in prison to write haikus.
Growing up, she escaped into the worlds of stories to combat her rocky home life and she later overcame her crippling shyness to become the first in her family to graduate from college and become a journalist.
Interviewed new author and then University of Chicago Professor, Barack Obama who later became America's 44th and first African American President.