Lisa Vidal’s character on “Being Mary Jane,” has had to sacrifice a lot when it came to her family because of her demanding career.
Kara Lynch (Lisa Vidal) was an executive producer on a talk show in Atlanta before moving to New York and away from her family to become a producer on the highest rated morning show in the country, “Good Day USA.” She, like many women, was the breadwinner of her household.
Seeing Lynch struggle with a healthy work life balance, begged the age old question of can women have it all?
“We have to be realistic about what it is that ‘having it all’ means,” Vidal told TheWrap. “If you have a nice balance between work, family and love I think that’s having it all.”
“There’s always going to be one area of your life that either doesn’t get enough or suffers a little bit, but we have to sort of be accepting of that,” added Vidal.
The actress explained that because of the type of work she does, she is required to travel a lot which may put a strain on her family life, but at the same time it’s all about the effort and quality of the time spent.
She believes that it’s not necessarily how much time you spend with family, but the quality of that time and the special moments shared when you are together.
“It’s much harder on us women because we are the nurturers, so there’s a lot more sacrifice,” the “Being Mary Jane” actress added. “It does help when you have a loving partner by your side or a loving family, you have that support system.”
Although Vidal admits that it can be tougher on women to have it all together, technology today like FaceTime makes it easier to keep in touch.
“We can be good mothers, we can be good wives, we can be good employees or bosses, it’s quite the balancing act definitely not for the meek,” Vidal says. “Having it all is not for the meek.”
“As far as I’m concerned we’re pretty amazing creatures,” she says.
'Being Mary Jane' Characters Ranked From Best to Worst (Photos)
BET's "Being Mary Jane" has a lot of dynamic characters that are sometimes a reflection of either ourselves or people we know. So, we've ranked them based on how much we like ourselves ... or the people we know.
1. Paul Patterson
Probably our favorite person on the show. Every episode of "Being Mary Jane" is filled with so much chaotic drama that pops becomes the voice of reason and compassion that we all need.
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2. Kara Lynch
Oh, Kara. The hardworking ambitious mom who is forced to split her time between her career and her kids. We love Kara. Mary Jane would be nothing without her. NOTHING.
She's the loyal give-it-to-you how it is best friend we all want and need in our lives. Kara is a ride or die.
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3. London
We're not sure if that's his real name (it's not), but that's what Mary Jane calls him -- for now.
Now, Mary Jane has had a few good men in her life who she's pushed away for some reason or other, but London is different. He's not about to put up with any of her bulls--- and he allows her to see what she's been doing wrong in previous relationships.
We like London.
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4. Paul Patterson Jr.
Mary Jane's hustler younger brother.
He's ridiculously intelligent and street smart as well. We all aspire to be like him.
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5. Niecy Patterson
Niecy is all of us at that age. She's just trying to figure life out and her grandmother, Helen, is constantly nagging her and on her case about it.
We feel bad for Niecy, but like her because she's not scared to stand up for herself. You go girl.
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6. Mary Jane Paul
Homegirl has way too many issues. She's not perfect nor does she try to be and that's why we can kinda mess with Mary Jane.
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7. Patrick Patterson
We have a lot of respect for Patrick, Mary Jane's older brother. He may not have his life together and he may have been a drug addict, but he's gotten over all that.
OK, so maybe he's slipping down the slippery slope again, but he's a great father and tries to do right by everyone.
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8. Ronda
The star anchor at "Great Morning America."
We knew things were a little iffy with her from the get go but decided to give her a chance -- and she disappointed us. She has unsurmountable power and isn't afraid to use it.
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9. Helen Patterson
Petty. Petty. Petty.
And just when you start to feel a little sorry for her or start thinking she's not so bad ... she just unleashes more pettiness.
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1 of 10
Why? Because Mary Jane Paul told us we can do what we want
BET's "Being Mary Jane" has a lot of dynamic characters that are sometimes a reflection of either ourselves or people we know. So, we've ranked them based on how much we like ourselves ... or the people we know.