Ola Ray is an internationally recognized figure, best known for her role as Michael Jackson's girlfriend in the Grammy Award-winning short film video "Thriller". Her appearance in this iconic production brought her worldwide recognition, solidifying her status as a household name.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Ola spent her early childhood with her parents, six brothers, and two sisters. Her family later relocated to Sacramento, California, where they resided until 1975. That year, Ola's family moved to Tokyo, Japan, where her stepfather was stationed at Yokota Air Force Base for three years.
During her time in Tokyo, Ola began her professional career as a dancer and singer by forming a song and dance group called The Puppets with her twin brothers and sister. The group's talent landed them a year-long performance contract at the Big Together Club in the Shinjuku District. The Puppets' growing popularity led to appearances in TV commercials, performances in various cities throughout Japan, and a recording offer from CBS Records in Tokyo.
Throughout her singing and dancing career in Japan, Ola also engaged in numerous modeling assignments through Eddie Arab Modeling Agency. She modeled as a poster girl and appeared in several TV commercials for well-known Japanese department stores such as Daimaru, Isetan, Matsuya, and Parco.
After her successful stint in Japan, Ola and her family returned to the United States. Upon her arrival in 1978, Ola made Los Angeles her home, allowing her to further pursue her career in entertainment.
Ola's Playboy appearance as Playmate of the Month led to an exclusive contract with Johnson and Johnson for the promotion of their Classy Curl hair product. As part of her promotion, her pictures were displayed on all Classy Curl Kit Products, in magazine advertisements, television commercials, and posters.
In addition to her modeling career, Ola also served as a spokesperson for the Classy Curl product promotion. She sponsored nationally recognized products such as Milk, Coca Cola, Coors, McDonald's, and Leggs pantyhose, as well as several other products.
As a result of her successful modeling career and her work in "Thriller", Ola landed several acting roles in motion pictures produced by Paramount Studios, Columbia Pictures, and Warner Bros. Studios, as well as in various top television shows for the leading three networks - NBC, ABC, CBS. She appeared in films such as "48 Hours" with Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte, "Night Shift" with Michael Keaton and Henry Winkler, "Beverly Hills Cop 2" with Eddie Murphy, "Ten To Midnight" with Charles Bronson, and "Fear City" with Billy Dee Williams and Tom Berenger. Ola also played a leading role in a television pilot that was a spin-off from the popular sitcom "Gimme A Break" for NBC.
Ola has written and produced several songs, one of which rose to Number Five on the top ten chart in Houston, Texas.
Recently, Ola completed two features, "Shooting Heroin" opposite Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, and "It Wants Blood" opposite Eric Roberts.
Ola has also recently completed a book memoir entitled "For The Thrill Of It All", which she has signed a literary contract with a major literary agency.
