Peeples was born in Hollywood, California, the daughter of Elizabeth Joan (née Rubic), a flamenco dancer, and Robert Eugene Peeples. Her father, who was originally from Mississippi, was of Scotch-Irish, English, Native American, and Italian ancestry.
She attended University of California, Los Angeles during which time she performed as Liberace"s opening act in Las Vegas on weekends.
She is also famously known as Pam Fields, the mother of Emily Fields on hit television drama, Pretty Little Liars (television series), as Karen Taylor Winters on The Young and the Restless, and as Sydney Cooke on Walker, Texas Ranger. She was raised in West Covina. Her maternal grandparents were immigrants from the Philippines, and were of Filipino, Spanish, French, and German descent.
Peeples started her career as part of the performance group The Young Americans.
In 1988 she hit #1 on the Hot Dance /Club Play chart with "Trouble," which climbed to #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Acting Notably, Peeples portrayed performing arts student Nicole Chapman on the hit television series Fame.
In 1987 she was in the movie North Shore as Kiani. She hosted the short-lived American version of Top of the Pops as well as a weeknight dance music program called The Party Machine with Nia Peeples, and portrayed Texas Ranger Sydney Cooke in the Columbia Broadcasting System hit series Walker, Texas Ranger from 1999-2001.
In 2004 Peeples appeared in the season 4 episode of Andromeda The Spider"s Stratagem as arms smuggler and love-interest Rox Nava.
Nia Peeples joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in 2007, playing the role of Karen Taylor, and was released from the role in the spring of 2009. Her last air date was in May 2009. Peeples has been cast in the 2010 American Broadcasting Company Family television series Pretty Little Liars, based on the book series by Sara Shepard.
