"I didn't realize how big it was," says Fox of last summer's blockbuster. A few weeks after the movie opened, though, "I came back to California, and everyone on the street was, like, 'I love you!' " Independence Day went on to gross $297 million, and, says the 32-year-old, former soap opera actress, "It changed my life. I don't have auditions anymore. I have meetings."
Those meetings have lately led to a role in the female action romp Set It Off, opening this week, and to forthcoming parts as Vanessa Williams's sister in Soul Food; the snow-bunny sidekick of evil Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in Batman & Robin; and a guest spot this month on Queen Latifah's sitcom Living Single. Fox was apprehensive about playing Off's bank teller turned robber alongside such high-profile stars as Latifah and Jada Pinkett, "but we all threw our egos out the door," she says. "We grew together." Director F. Gary Gray gives her the credit. "Vivica," he says, "held the cast together by being a model of dedication." Says Fox: "I don't mind working hard."
She never has. Fox grew up in Indianapolis, the youngest of four children of prep school dean William Fox and his wife, Everlyena, a pharmaceutical technician from whom he was divorced when Fox was 4. She juggled volleyball, track, basketball, choir and cheer-leading in high school, earning her spending money at Burger Chef. But, she says, "I always knew I was going to perform. As soon as I finished my homework, I would dig into a magazine and read about show business. I thought, these are my people."
Hooking up with those people wasn't easy, though. Fox moved to Hollywood after graduating from high school in 1982. Between auditions and waitressing, she studied at Golden West College, then caught a break in 1988, when a producer spotted her dining at a restaurant and recommended an agent. She soon had parts on Days of Our Lives, Family Matters, Matlock, Beverly Hills, 90210 and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and in 1994 started a brief stint as the goody-goody Dr. Stephanie Simmons on CBS's The Young and the Restless.
It was a Y&R fan, Jody Fay, who happens to be married to Independence Day executive producer Bill Fay, who suggested Fox for the role of Smith's stripper wife. Six auditions followed. "When I heard I got the part," Fox says, "I ran around the house screaming!" Next she spent the paycheck. (Some indulgences: a white Mercedes E320, a lot of Gucci clothing, pink leather couches.) All she lacks now is what money can't buy. She broke up with L.A. Laker Elden Campbell four years ago, then fell for a string of rebels. "I like bad boys, but they break your heart," Fox says. "I don't want to casually date anymore. The next guy I date will probably be my husband."
For now she's "happily single," hanging out with Smith and Pinkett and cohabiting with cats Tiger and Snookie at her Inglewood, Calif., condo, where the carpet is cream and the 52-inch TV is often tuned to America's Funniest Home Videos or ESPN. (That may change next year, when Fox joins the TV lineup as Arsenio Hall's wife in his new ABC sitcom.) But despite her recent good fortune, she's still pushing.
"I want a two-level, art deco house with a master bedroom and a sunken Jacuzzi," Fox says—not to mention starring roles with Tom Cruise and Whitney Houston. Um, is that all? "Get over it, honey!" she laughs. "It's my time in the sun."
ALLISON LYNN
JOHN GRIFFITHS in Inglewood
Get up-to-the-minute celebrity news and photos on your cellphone, iPhone or Blackberry at www.people.com!
