Actress-model Yaya DaCosta—who Lifetime fans will recognize from her performance as music icon Whitney Houston in the network's 2015 biopic Whitney—leads the channel's latest “Ripped from the Headlines” movie, Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story, which premieres tonight, April 12, at 8pm Eastern Time.
Based on a shocking true story, Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story chronicles the horrific childhood of Baltimore woman Monique Smith (played by DaCosta)—who is forced to endure years of abuse at the hands of her own family—and what happens when Monique later discovers that the people she thought were her own kin actually aren't related to her at all.
"From a young age, Monique always felt out of place in her family. Living in constant fear of abuse from her mother and others, she dreamed of finding people who loved her and a place that truly felt like a home," reads the official synopsis of the true-crime drama, per Lifetime. "Because of the abuse she suffered, she felt she could never embrace her family and especially wanted to know her origin story once she became a mother herself. After realizing she didn’t have proper documentation, including a birth certificate or social security card, she goes on a decades-long search to discover who she really is. "
Along with lead Yaya DaCosta, the cast of Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story includes Tiffany Black as Elizabeth, Sir Brodie as Nelson, Lauren Buglioli as Trinity, Philip Fornah as Uncle Leroy, Courtney Grace as Rubye, Robert III Hamilton as Jonathan, Solace Kimbro Jones as Bolie, Angela Ray as Stacia and Anona Tolar as Caroline. And Lifetime regular Tailiah Breon (Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story, Tempted by Love: A Terry McMillan Presentation) is in the director's chair.
To tune into the premiere of Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story tonight at 8pm, you're going to need access to the Lifetime network. Those with cable packages can watch on their local Lifetime channel, but even if you don't have traditional cable, cord-cutters can also tune in online with a live TV streaming service that carries Lifetime, such as Frndly TV, Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and Philo TV. And if you miss the television broadcast tonight, don't fret: Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story will also be available to stream on MyLifetime.com beginning tomorrow, Sunday, April 13.
Check out the official trailer for Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story before turning into Lifetime's newest title tonight at 8pm.
