DuShon Monique Brown

DuShon Monique Brown (November 30, 1968 – March 23, 2018) was an American actress known for her performances as Nurse Katie Welch on the Fox series Prison Break and Connie in the NBC series Chicago Fire from 2012 until her death in 2018.

DuShon Monique Brown
Born	(1968-11-30)November 30, 1968 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	March 23, 2018(2018-03-23) (aged 49) Olympia Fields, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	Governors State University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2003–2018
Notable work	Prison Break Chicago Fire
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1]
Children	1

Early life and education

Brown was born in Chicago on November 30, 1968, to Zachary M. Brown and Liz Colburn.^[2] She was a graduate of Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and Governors State University, with a master's degree in school counseling. Brown previously worked at Chicago's South Shore International College Preparatory High School as the guidance counselor, and at Kenwood Academy High School as a crisis counselor and drama instructor.^[3][4]

Career

Early career

Brown was active in theater in her hometown for many years.^[5] Her first performance on television was 2003's made-for-TV movie Skin Complex.^[6] From 2005 to 2007, she was on Prison Break. Brown appeared in 2011's The Dilemma in an uncredited role.^[7] Brown was in 2012's romantic comedy One Small Hitch.^[8]

Chicago Fire

In 2012, Brown began playing the recurring role of Connie on Chicago Fire. Of her time on the TV show, Brown said in an interview with Hidden Remote, "She was a secretary and had a single speech. But I auditioned because it was a new series in Chicago Fire and had the possibility that she could become. She sees herself, especially with the younger members of the team, as a kind of mother, aunt, teacher. Eamonn and I, we play when I'm on the set that Connie is the boss's working wife and all the rest are her kids, they wrote Connie as that motherly figure that everyone seems to run away from. I'm just a goofy, geeky Chicagoan who plays the violin, likes karaoke, embraces the trees, loves to be appreciated for her work and dreams of playing a superhero in the movies."^[9] She was asked how she would feel about a spinoff called Chicago Ed or Chicago Shelter by reporter Andrew Crist, who noted Brown's master's degree in counseling and background in social work; Brown replied, "I’m there! If they pull that show out, I will be an actor and a consultant! Trust me."^[10]

Later career

Brown guest-starred in Boss in 2012 and Shameless in 2013.^[11] She was in 2015's Unexpected.^[12] Brown was also in 2015's A Light Beneath Their Feet.^[13][14] In 2015, she guest-starred on Empire.^[15] Brown guest-starred on Electric Dreams in 2017.^[16] Also in 2017, she was in the comedy film Surprise Me! written and directed by Nancy Goodman and based on the book of the same name by Goodman.^[17] Her last role was in 2017's made-for-TV movie Public Housing Unit.^[18]

Personal life and death

Brown had one child: a daughter, Zoe.^[3] She had one brother and two sisters: Zachary Brown Jr., Zaire King, and Jamyra Siek.^[2] Brown checked herself into the hospital earlier in the week of her death, after experiencing chest pains, but was released after undergoing tests.^[19] She died at St. James Olympia Fields Hospital on March 23, 2018.^[20] The Cook County coroner scheduled an autopsy on March 24, 2018.^[10] On May 31, 2018, the Cook County Medical examiner confirmed the death was the result of sepsis of an unknown etiology.^[21] Obesity and high blood pressure were also cited as the reason of sudden death.^[22]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2011	The Dilemma	Weiner Circle Worker	Comedy-drama film directed by Ron Howard and written by Allan Loeb Uncredited	[7]
2012	One Small Hitch	Unflappable Nurse	Romantic comedy film directed by John Burgess and written by Dode B. Levenson	[8]
2015	Unexpected	Principal Clements	Drama film directed & co–written by Kris Swanberg and Megan Mercier Credited as DuShon Brown	[12]
	A Light Beneath Their Feet	Cindy	Drama film directed by Valerie Weiss	[13][14]
2017	Surprise Me!	Shirley	Comedy film written and directed by Nancy Goodman Based on the book of the same name by Goodman	[17]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2003	Skin Complex	Laurie	Made-for-TV-movie directed by Jim Friedman and Brad Pruitt	[6]
2005–07	Prison Break	Katie Welch	Recurring (season 1), guest (season 2)
2012–18	Chicago Fire	Connie	Recurring
2012	Boss	Large Inmate	Episodes: "Louder Than Words" (S 2:Ep 1) "Through and Through" (S 2:Ep 2)	[11]
2013	Shameless	Teresa	Episode: "May I Trim Your Hedges?" (S 3:Ep 3)	[11]
2015	Empire	Ilene	Episode: "Poor Yorick" (S 1:Ep 10) Credited as DuShon M. Brown	[15]
2017	Electric Dreams	Peace Sergeant	Episode: "Kill All Others"	[16]
	Public Housing Unit	Commander Roberta	Made-for-TV-movie directed by Daniel Willis	[18]

Theatre

Venue	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
Pegasus Players Theatre	For Her as a Piano	Mutha Ku/Dirk	September 30 – November 1, 2015	[1][23][24]
Chicago Dramatists	Hope VI	Queenie	2009	[1][25]
Piven Theatre Workshop	Because They Have No Words	Actor 3 and Others	May 11 – June 15, 2008 March 6 – April 11, 2010	[1][26][27]
Victory Gardens Theater	Shoes	Miss Viola		[1]
Drury Lane Theatre	Little Shop of Horrors	Ronette		[1][28]
Lookingglass Theatre Company	Summertime	Barbara/Violinist		[1]
Chicago Theatre	Love Child	Miss Fanny
Goodman Theatre	The Amen Corner	Ensemble
MPAACT	Christ T	Maximillian
Steppenwolf Theatre Company	Division Street: America	Louise/Lois
Apple Tree Theatre	Once on this Island	Mama Euralie
Chicago Theatre	Journal of Ordinary Thought	Actress #2
	Train is Comin	Maggie Porter
	Shakin' the mess Outta Misery	Miss Corrine
Steppenwolf Theatre Company	Our Town	Stage Manager
Lifeline Theatre	Praying for Sheetrock	Mary/Belle/Louise
ETA Creative Arts Foundation	This Far By Faith	Viola Benson

References

1. "DuShon Monique Brown". Grossman & Jack Talent. Chicago. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
2. "Dushon Monique Brown". MyHeritage. Or Yehuda: MyHeritage Ltd. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
3. Marcus, Emily (March 23, 2018). "DuShon Monique Brown Dead: 'Chicago Fire' Actress Dies at 49". Us Weekly. New York City: American Media, Inc. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
4. Ray, Richard (March 23, 2018). "'Chicago Fire' Actress DuShon Monique Brown Dies". KNTV. San Jose, California: NBCUniversal. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
5. "'Chicago Fire' actress DuShon Monique Brown dead at 49". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis: Lee Enterprises. Associated Press. March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
6. "Skin Complex". AllMovie. United States: All Media Network. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
7. "The Dilemma". Turner Classic Movies. United States: Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
8. Rechtshaffen, Michael (February 5, 2015). "'One Small Hitch' an overly familiar rom-com". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
9. "Chicago Fire: DuShon Brown Tells How Connie Runs The Firehouse". Hidden Remote. 22 November 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
10. Farber, Lindsay (March 23, 2018). "Chicago Fire Actress DuShon Monique Brown Dead at Age 49". E! Online. Los Angeles: NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
11. Chicago Tribune (March 23, 2018). "Report: 'Chicago Fire' Actress DuShon Monique Brown has died". WTMJ-TV. Milwaukee: E. W. Scripps Company. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
12. "Unexpected". Turner Classic Movies. United States: Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
13. Scheck, Frank (May 27, 2016). "'A Light Beneath Their Feet': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles: Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group (Eldridge Industries). Retrieved March 24, 2018.
14. McNary, Dave (March 28, 2016). "Taryn Manning Coming-of-Age Drama 'Light Beneath Their Feet' Gets Release Date". Variety. Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
15. Huff, Lauren (March 23, 2018). "DuShon Monique Brown, 'Chicago Fire' Actress, Dies at 49". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles: Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group (Eldridge Industries). Retrieved March 25, 2018.
16. Petski, Denise (March 23, 2018). "DuShon Monique Brown Dies: 'Chicago Fire' Actress Was 49". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
17. Goodman, Nancy (2017). Surprise Me! (Paperback ed.). Scotts Valley, California. ISBN 978-1544125718.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
18. Kogan, Rick (March 16, 2017). "Chicago TV festival gives us a look at 4 new shows". Chicago Tribune. Chicago: Tronc, Inc. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
19. TMZ Staff (March 23, 2018). "'CHICAGO FIRE' ACTRESS DUSHON MONIQUE BROWN DEAD AT 49". TMZ. Los Angeles: Time Warner. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
20. Metz, Nina (March 23, 2018). "'Chicago Fire' actress DuShon Monique Brown has died". Chicago Tribune. Chicago: Tronc, Inc. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
21. Aiello, McKenna (March 24, 2018). "Chicago Fire's DuShon Monique Brown's Cause of Death Revealed". E! Online. Los Angeles: NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
22. Hautman, Nicholas (March 24, 2018). "'Chicago Fire' Star DuShon Monique Brown's Cause of Death Revealed". Us Weekly. New York City: American Media, Inc. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
23. "FOR HER AS A PIANO". Pegasus Theatre. Chicago. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
24. Clement, Olivia (September 30, 2015). "For Her As a Piano, New Musical Play by Native SonPlaywright, Debuts in Chicago Tonight". Playbill. New York City: TotalTheater. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
25. "Hope VI". Theatre In Chicago. Chicago. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
26. BWW News Desk. "Piven Theatre Presents NUMBER OF PEOPLE 3/6-4/11". BroadwayWorld. New York City: Wisdom Digital Media. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
27. Jones, Kenneth (May 23, 2008). "Because They Have No Words, Play About Post-Katrina Animal Rescue, Gets Chicago Premiere". Playbill. New York City: TotalTheater. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
28. "WHY SEE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS?". Theatre In Chicago. Chicago. Retrieved March 24, 2018.

External links

• DuShon Monique Brown at IMDb