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Rachel Meghan Markle is an US-born member of the British royal family and a former film and television actress.
Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981 and raised in Los Angeles, California, and is of mixed-race heritage. During her studies at Northwestern University, she began to play small roles in television series and films. From 2011 to 2017, she played her best-known role, Rachel Zane, on the legal drama series Suits. As an outspoken feminist, Markle has addressed issues of gender inequality, and her lifestyle website, The Tig, featured a column profiling influential women. Her humanitarian work in the 2010s saw her represent international charity organizations. She has also received recognition for her fashion and style, releasing a clothing line in 2016.
From 2011 until their 2014 divorce, Markle was married to actor and producer Trevor Engelson. In 2017, she announced her engagement to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, and moved to London. She consequently retired from acting, closed her social-media accounts, and started undertaking public engagements on behalf of the British royal family. Following their wedding on May 19, 2018, Markle received the title of Duchess of Sussex. After her and Harry's departure as working members of the Royal family, they no longer use their HRH titles in a professional capacity.
Rachel Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, at West Park Hospital in Canoga Park. Her mother, Doria Loyce (Ragland), a social worker and yoga instructor, is originally from Cleveland, Ohio and lives in View Park Windsor Hills, California. Markle has often described a very close friendship with her mother. Her father, Thomas Wayne Markle, who lives in Rosarito, Mexico, is a retired Emmy Award winning television director of photography and lighting director, whose profession resulted in his young daughter often visiting the set of "Married...with Children." Markle's parents divorced when she was six years old. She has two older paternal half-siblings, Thomas Markle Jr. and Samantha Markle, from whom she is reportedly estranged.
Describing her heritage in a 2015 essay for Elle, Markle states that her "dad is Caucasian and my mom is African American. I'm half black and half white ... While my mixed heritage may have created a gray area surrounding my self identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that. To say who I am, to share where I'm from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed race woman." Her father's roots include German, English, Irish, and Scottish. Her mother has family lines in Tennessee and Georgia.
Markle grew up in Hollywood. She was educated at private schools, beginning at age two at Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse. Markle attended Immaculate Heart High School, a girls' Catholic private school in Los Angeles, but was raised as a Protestant. She then attended Northwestern University, where she joined Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and participated in community service and charity projects. While at Northwestern, her uncle obtained an internship for her at the American embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Markle studied for a semester in Madrid, Spain. Markle graduated from Northwestern's School of Communication in 2003 with a bachelor's degree and a double major in theater and international studies.
Markle worked as a freelance calligrapher to support herself between early acting jobs. Her first onscreen appearance was a small role as a nurse in an episode of the daytime soap opera General Hospital (1963), where her father was lighting director. Early in her career, Markle had small guest roles on the television shows Century City (2004), The War at Home (2005), and CSI: NY (2004). She also took on several contract acting and modeling jobs, including a stint as a "briefcase girl" on the US game show Deal or No Deal (2005). She appeared in Fox's series Fringe (2008) as Junior Agent Amy Jessup in the first two episodes of its second season. Markle had some difficulty getting roles early in her career. In 2015, she wrote: "Being 'ethnically ambiguous', as I was pegged in the industry, meant I could audition for virtually any role. Sadly, it didn't matter: I wasn't black enough for the black roles and I wasn't white enough for the white ones, leaving me somewhere in the middle as the ethnic chameleon who couldn't book a job."
In July 2011, Markle joined the cast of the USA Network show Suits (2011), playing Rachel Zane. The character began as a paralegal and eventually became an attorney. She completed work on the seventh season in late 2017. According to a critique in The Irish Times, Markle deftly and actively re-positioned her character from ingenue to moral conscience and gave viewers the unique portrayal of a daughter, whose African American father is in a position to help her career and advance her strong desire to break several racial and gender "glass ceilings". She appeared in two 2010 films, Get Him to the Greek (2010) and Remember Me (2010), and one 2011 film, Horrible Bosses (2011). She also appeared in episodes of Cuts (2005); Love, Inc. (2005); 90210 (2008); Knight Rider (2008); Without a Trace (2002); The League (2009); and Castle (2009).
From 2014 to 2017, Markle was founder and editor in chief of lifestyle website The Tig. She derived the name from Tignanello red wine. One of The Tig's features was Tig Talk, a column that profiled women including Jessica Alba, Gail Simmons, Ella Woodward, Daphne Oz, Elizabeth Hurley, Lauren Bush Lauren, Ivanka Trump, Dianna Agron, and Jessica Stam. In April 2017, she closed The Tig. Markle developed an adept and polished social media presence at the time of its closing, her Instagram account had 1.9 million followers. In January 2018, Markle deleted her social media accounts and, in a statement issued by Kensington Palace, thanked "everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years".
Since her marriage with Prince Harry of Wales, the Duke of Sussex, Markle is known as HRH Meghan Duchess of Sussex, Countess of Dumbarton and Baroness Kilkeel.Actress, Duchess of Sussex- Actress
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The actress Tessa Lynn Thompson was born on October 3, 1983 in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of singer-songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson and the granddaughter of actor-musician Bobby Ramos. She was raised in Los Angeles before moving to Brooklyn, New York. Her father is of Afro-Panamanian ancestry and her mother is of Mexican and British Isles ancestry. Thompson attended Santa Monica High School, where she was featured in numerous theatre productions. After graduation, she enrolled at Santa Monica College, where she obtained a degree in cultural anthropology.
She starred as Juliet in William Shakespeare's drama "Romeo and Juliet" in a production held at the Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena, California. Her performance from earned her the NAACP Theatre nomination the same year. Away from the theatre stage, In 2005, Tessa made her first television appearance when she starred in the CBS series Cold Case (2003). Talented like her father Marc, Tessa's versatility extends to music, as a member of Electro Band, through which she has produced many songs, including one used in her film Dear White People (2017).
Since her acting career began in 2002, Tessa has played remarkable roles in popular television series and movies including Murder on the 13th Floor (2012), Make It Happen (2008), Red & Blue Marbles (2011), Selma (2014), Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), War on Everyone (2016), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Sorry to Bother You (2018), Annihilation (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Men in Black: International (2019), Lady and the Tramp (2019) and Sylvie's Love (2020).Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Westworld- Actress
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Gugu Mbatha-Raw was born Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England. Her father, Patrick Mbatha, is a Black South African doctor, and her mother, Anne Raw, is a Caucasian English nurse. Her parents separated when she was a year old, and she was brought up by her mother in the town of Witney, Oxfordshire (she is still close to her father). She joined the local acting group Dramascope and, from the age of eleven, appeared in the pantomime at Oxford Playhouse every year. A talented singer and dancer as well as playing the saxophone, she joined the Oxford Youth Music Theatre in her teens.
In 2001, she won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. Since graduation in 2004, she has appeared in all media, including as an acclaimed Juliet Capulet in "Romeo and Juliet" at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre in 2005, opposite Andrew Garfield as Romeo Montague. Mbatha-Raw was nominated for Best Actress in the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards for her portrayal of Juliet Capulet. She also appeared as Octavia in "Antony and Cleopatra" at the same theatre in 2005. In 2009, she was cast as Ophelia in "Hamlet" on London's West End and Broadway, opposite Jude Law as the title role.
Mbatha-Raw appeared on such varied television series as Bad Girls (1999), Doctor Who (2005), Marple (2004) and Touch (2012). She had a supporting role in the romantic comedy Larry Crowne (2011), written and directed by Tom Hanks, who also played the title role. She was acclaimed for her performance of Dido Elizabeth Belle in Amma Asante's Belle (2013), which earned her a British Independent Film Award for Best Actress, and a nomination as Most Promising Newcomer. She was also nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actress.
She starred in the romantic drama Beyond the Lights (2014) and was nominated for a Gotham Award for Best Actress for her performance. In 2015, she was nominated for a BAFTA Rising Star Award. That same year, she had a supporting role in Jupiter Ascending (2015), played Prema Mutiso, the wife of Dr. Bennet Omalu (played by Will Smith) in the biopic Concussion (2015), and the title role in Jessica Swale's play "Nell Gwynn", playing the actress who became the mistress of King Charles II of England. She was nominated for an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in the play.
She played Rachel in Newton Knight's biopic Free State of Jones (2016), directed by Gary Ross, playing Knight's common-law wife, a freedwoman he had a family with after the Civil War. She also played Esme Manucharian in Miss Sloane (2016), Sophie on Netflix's series Easy (2016), and played Kelly, one of the leads in "San Junipero", the fourth episode of Season 3 of Black Mirror (2011). Her other films are the live-action remake Beauty and the Beast (2017), playing Plumette, A Wrinkle in Time (2018), directed by Ava DuVernay, and The Cloverfield Paradox (2018).
Gugu Mbatha-Raw was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2017 Birthday Honours for her services to drama.Loki "Ravonna Renslayer", Free State of Jones "Rachel", Black Mirror "Kelly Booth"- Actress
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Zazie Beetz (born c. 1991) is a German-American actress known for the role of Vanessa on Atlanta (2016), as well as for starring in Deadpool 2 (2018), Joker (2019), and Nine Days (2020).
Born in Berlin to a German father and an African-American mother, Beetz was raised in New York speaking both German and English at home. Performing in community theaters and local stages since childhood, Zazie found her joy in grade school and grew up acting. She attended LaGuardia Arts High school, where she continued to engage her love for performing arts, but decided to not pursue a conservatory program afterward. Instead, she went to Skidmore College, where she received a bachelor's degree in French. Beetz currently resides in her hometown, New York.Atlanta "Van", Deadpool 2 "Domino"- Actress
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Zendaya (which means "to give thanks" in the language of Shona) is an American actress and singer born in Oakland, California. She began her career appearing as a child model working for Macy's, Mervyns and Old Navy. She was a backup dancer before gaining prominence for her role as Rocky Blue on the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up (2010) which also includes Bella Thorne, Kenton Duty and Roshon Fegan. Zendaya was a contestant on the sixteenth season of the competition series Dancing with the Stars. She went on to produce and star as K.C. Cooper in the Disney Channel sitcom K.C. Undercover (2015) She made her film breakthrough in 2017, starring as Michelle "MJ" Jones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and as Anne Wheeler in the musical drama film The Greatest Showman (2017) alongside actors such as Tom Holland, Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron. Besides acting, singing and dancing she is an ambassador for Convoy of Hope. She has written a book, launched her own clothing line (Daya by Zendaya) and proved herself to be a great role model for young girls all around the world.Euphoria “Rue Bennett”, Spiderman "Michelle "MJ", Dune (2021) “Chani”, Black-ish “Resheida”- Actress
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Helena Howard, birthed 23 July, 1998, in New York, New York. Ethnically Ambiguous- Helena's ethnic heritage includes: African American, Cuban, and Native American(paternal); English, Irish, Scottish, Scandinavian-Swedish,Finish,Nordic-,Italian, Iberian, and German(maternal). She began acting in theater, on stage, though nothing professional. Her first 'PRO' gig came upon meeting Josephine Decker, by "chance"-though she would like to believe that there are no such thing as coincidences. During a duration of 2-3 years, they would go on to workshop, collaborate (along with Pig Iron and a troupe of actors), and create what is now known as, 'Madeline's Madeline'. In 2018, 'Madelines Madeline' had its national premier at Sundance and International at Berlinale. This would was also the debut/breakout year for Helena, with Helena going on to be nominated at the Gotham Awards later that year, and the Independent Spirit Awards the following.Dont Look Deeper "Aisha", The Wilds "Nora Reid", I Saw the TV Glow "Isabel"- Actress
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"Trinkets" breakout star Kiana Madeira has proven time and time again that she can do it all: comedy, drama, romantic comedies, and now action. From leading the cast in Netflix's horror film trilogy "Fear Street," to the box-office hits, "After We Fell" and "After Ever Happy," to the award-winning TIFF favorite, "Brother" which made its theatrical release in Canada and the US in 2023.
In early 2023, Madeira starred as the lead in the action romance, "Perfect Addiction," as boxing trainer Sienna Lane who discovers that her boyfriend Jax, the reigning champion, has been cheating on her. She sets out to get revenge by training the one man capable of dethroning him: his arch-nemesis, Kayden. "Perfect Addiction" was released internationally in February and domestically later in the year.
Born in Toronto and raised in the suburbs of Mississauga, Madeira had her sights set on one thing as a child: to act alongside Danny Zuko in the hit 1978 movie "Grease." Although that part of her dream was unrealistic, her desire to star on the big screen never faltered. With the support of two young parents, she began auditioning at ten and got her first break in a series of local educational films that same year. Since then, Madeira went on to star in Family Channel's sitcom series "Really Me," YTV's "the Macdonald Hall" film trilogy, and multiple Disney Channel Original Movies, including "Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars," "Bad Hair Day," and "The Swap." Additional credits include Facebook Watch's "Sacred Lies," CW's "The Flash" and the 2019 thriller "She Never Died."Fear Street: Part One - 1994 "Deena"- Quintessa Swindell was born on February 8, 1997 in New York, USA. They are an actor, known for Voyagers (2021), Black Adam (2022) and Euphoria (2019). In December 2020, they were cast in the role of Cyclone in the DCEU film Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson in the title role.
Swindell is non-binary and they use they/them and he/him pronouns.Trinkets "Tabitha Foster" - Actress
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Nathalie Emmanuel is an English actress, known for her role as Missandei on the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones (2011) and Ramsey in Furious 7 (2015).
Nathalie was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, to a father of Saint Lucian and English descent and a mother of Dominican origin. Nathalie credits her mother for the initial motivation to become an actress. At the age of 10, she played Young Nala in the West End production of The Lion King. In 2006, she made her television break by starring as Sasha Valentine in the teen soap opera Hollyoaks (1995). Emmanuel appeared on the show until 2010, her character's story-lines included prostitution, and heroin addiction.
Nathalie presented BBC Three's Web-sex: What's the Harm?, investigating the online sexual habits of 16-24 year-old in the UK. Later in the same year she made her film debut in the thriller Twenty8. The following year, she was cast as Missandei, Daenerys Targaryen's translator, in HBO's fantasy drama series Game of Thrones (2011). In 2015, Emmanuel was promoted to a regular cast member on the show. In the same year, she played computer hacker Ramsey in the action film Furious 7 (2015) and Harriet in the sci-fi sequel Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015).
FHM magazine ranked Emmanuel as 99th in their 100 Sexiest Women of 2013. In 2015, she appeared in the April issues of InStyle and GQ magazines.Game of Thrones "Missandei"- Actress
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Alexandra Shipp is known for her role as the iconic mohawked super heroine 'Storm' in Twentieth Century Fox's X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), directed by Bryan Singer. Shipp plays a younger version of 'Storm' (originally played by Halle Berry). Determined to make the mutant character her own, she delivers a new spin on 'Storm,' which many media outlets boasted her as the "breakout" star of the film. Shipp reprised the role of 'Storm' in the next feature Dark Phoenix (2019).
In 2018, Shipp co-starred with Nick Robinson in Fox 2000's coming-of-age story Love, Simon (2018)., based on the popular Young Adult book "Simon VS the Homo Sapien Agenda." She also played in Simon Kaijser's psychological thriller Spinning Man (2018), based on the novel by George Harrar. The next year, she had significant roles in the drama A Dog's Way Home (2019), the action thriller Shaft (2019), and comedy Jexi (2019).
Previously, Alexandra appeared in Universal Pictures' Oscar nominated feature Straight Outta Compton (2015), which has become the highest grossing music biopic of all-time. Shipp's other film credits include the two-hander Tragedy Girls (2017) and the title role of 'Aaliyah' in the Lifetime biopic, Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014) which she demonstrated and was praised for her singing and dancing talents. The same year, she was the lead in Drumline: A New Beat (2014) the VH1's sequel to 2002's Drumline (2002).
Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Shipp moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career at 17. She is known for her role as 'KT Rush,' on Nickelodeon teen drama-mystery series, House of Anubis (2011) and made her film debut in the Fox feature film, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), playing the role of 'Valentina'.
Aside from acting, she is a songwriter, pianist, and guitar player.Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B "Aaliyah Haughton", Dark Phoenix "Ororo Munroe/Storm", Deadpool 2 "Storm", X-Men: Apocalypse "Storm", Straight Outta Compton "Kim"- Actress
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Joy Bryant was born in a modest home in The Bronx, New York and as a young woman, was enrolled in an inner-city outreach organization called "A Better Chance," designed to encourage minority talent. Joy was also blessed with brains as well beauty and remained an excellent student throughout her high school years. As a result, she was awarded a full academic scholarship to Yale University.
While enrolled as a full-time student at Yale, Joy was discovered by a modeling scout from Next Models Management and subsequently pursued a career as a fashion model in Paris. Her slender yet classic beauty got her an exclusive contract with prestigious brand names such as Tommy Hilfiger and the Victoria's Secret lingerie catalogue.
Joy's acting debut came about in 2001 in Robert Townsend's Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001). An MTV production, the film also starred Beyoncé and Mekhi Phifer, along with several hip-hop superstars. After a small role in the Eddie Murphy action comedy Showtime (2002), she made her big breakthrough in Denzel Washington's directorial debut, Antwone Fisher. Bryant played Cheryl, the beautiful and supportive girlfriend of Antwone (Derek Luke). In 2003, she co-starred with Jessica Alba in Bille Woodruff's romantic drama Honey (2003). That same year, she appeared in Mario Van Peebles' _Baadasssss! (2003)_, based on his father Melvin Van Peebles' autobiographical novel. Projects for 2004 included the crime drama Three Way (2004) with Gina Gershon.
The year 2005 turned out to be an even better year for the actress. Joy appeared in high-profile films such as The Skeleton Key (2005), London (2005), and Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005). Her performances as the sassy Mallory in London (2005) and the strikingly pretty Charlene in Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005) were critically acclaimed, and re-enforced her reputation as a versatile actress.Honey "Gina", Get Rich or DieTryin' "Charlene", Trinkets "Lori Foster", Parenthood "Jasmine Trussell", The Spiderwick Chronicles "Helen Grace"- Actress
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Yara Shahidi was born on 10 February 2000 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Salt (2010), Black-ish (2014) and Grown-ish (2018).*** Black-ish, Grown-ish, Mixed-ish "Zoey Johnson/Zora", Salt ***- Actress
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Ebubennem Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke was born May 28, in Spokane, Washington. Her father was Nigerian and her mother is of English and Scots-Irish descent. Her last name, "Echikunwoke", means "leader of men" and Megalyn is the granddaughter of a Nigerian tribal leader of the Igbo, which technically makes her African royalty. She is known for playing "Nicole Palmer" in the first season of 24 (2001), "Angie Barnett" (Kelso's girlfriend) in the seventh season of That '70s Show (1998) and "Isabelle Tyler" in The 4400 (2004). She was raised on a Navajo Indian Reservation in Chinle, Arizona. In early 2008, she starred opposite Alessandro Nivola in an independent movie, directed by Jerry Zaks, titled Who Do You Love (2008) where she played a heroin-addicted lounge singer. She did all of her own singing in the movie.The 4400, House of Lies- Actress
Nico Parker was born on 9 December 2004. She is an actress, known for Dumbo (2019), The Last of Us (2023) and Reminiscence (2021).The Last of Us "Sarah Miller"- Actress
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Cleopatra Coleman is an Australian film and television actor and former contemporary and ballet dancer. With a career shifting between many genres she is known for playing complex and bold characters and prides herself on showcasing challenging female characters and subculture. Cleo was raised in the alternative community of Byron Bay, Australia to which she attributes her openness and creativity.In the Shadow of the Moon "Rya"- Actress
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In film, television, and theater, DeWanda Wise has established herself as one of the industry's most consistently critically acclaimed artists.
Of her work as Kayla Watts in Jurassic World Dominion, she's been nearly universally considered a standout of the sixth installment with critics noting her magnetism, swagger, wit, and charisma. Entertainment Weekly notes,
"Dominion's most memorable star might be its newest: DeWanda Wise, who joins the series as high- flying pilot Kayla Watts...Playing a daring pilot, (she) is basically starring in a one- woman Raiders of the Lost Ark in her head. Let's get that concept to the sequel writers stat."
In Sony's Fatherhood directed by Paul Weitz, Wise plays Lizzie Swan. Her performance was similarly singled out for her depth of characterization, charm, and grace. While Variety noted that Swan was, "Saucy, gorgeous, so-supportive-she's-saintly," The Wrap observed how
"Lizzie Swan is the kind of ideal romantic partner that might seem eye-rollingly implausible were it not for the efforts of actor DeWanda Wise who makes Swan's healthy outlook and emotional patience seem like hard-earned positive qualities of a healthy, real human being."
As Erin Kennedy in Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's subversive rom com, "Someone Great," Variety declared,
"It's Wise who's this film's MVP, wittily delivering many hilarious, quotable one-liners with effervescence and charm."
Largely considered her breakout role, In the Netflix adaption of "She's Gotta Have It," created by Spike Lee, Wise appears as the iconic Nola Darling. Following its season one release, the series acquired great critical acclaim, and as a result, won an African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) award as one of the "Top 10 Television Shows." The Hollywood Reporter calls Wise's work "superb," while Deadline exclaimed, "With a star revealing herself before us, Underground alum Wise hits nothing but high notes." Other critics describe her performance as "fiery," "complex," "brilliant," and "moving."
Other acclaimed television work includes CBS All Access "The Twilight Zone," FOX's drama "Shots Fired," and WGN's hit historical drama "Underground."
Additional film credits include the 2016 Sundance romantic-comedy hit, "How to Tell You're a Douchebag," by Tahir Jetter. A film in which Wise both starred in and executive produced..
In 2016, Wise expanded her talents into screenwriting and wrote the short film entitled, "Where You Go," which premiered at Cannes in the "Short Film Corner."
Stage credits include Atlantic Theater Company's "Fireflies," by Donja R. Love, a performance universally acclaimed. Sara Holdren at Vulture states:
"Wise's smoldering, taut-as-a-bowstring Olivia is almost part animal. It's an electrically charged performance, the kind that you imagine an actor passing out after. Wise has extraordinary bright hazel eyes, cat-like in their intensity: They're the eyes of a domestic creature that should have been wild, a creature that's never at rest, whose small body contains a whole history of life before walls, before cages, before dependence."
Previous stage credits include a host of theater roles, notably originating the role of 'Nina' in acclaimed playwright Dominique Morisseau's "Sunset Baby." Ben Brantley of The New York Times stated,
"...it's the woman who's the toughest of them all. Ms. Wise, a beauty, makes us see and feel just how ugly Nina is...she also insists we understand why."
The Village Voice called her Nina, "commanding and severe," while The New Yorker described her performance as "Brutal and riveting."
Other praised performances include her work as Susan in the west coast premiere of David Mamet's "Race" with Center Theater Group, Mercy in "Flight," at City Theatre, and Abigail, a Zimbabwean wife grappling with an HIV diagnosis, in Danai Gurira's heartbreaking "In the Continuum" at Playmakers, Chapel Hill.
DeWanda Wise graduated from New York University with honors as a double major in Drama and Urban Social and Cultural Analysis with a minor in Community-based Theater and Performance. She is a Tisch Scholar Award recipient, the Atlantic Achievement in Studio Award recipient, and the BFA Representative of her graduating class of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.She's Gotta Have It "Nola Darling"- Actress
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Critically heralded actress and singer/songwriter Pittsburgh native Margot Bingham most known for capturing hearts as sultry jazz chanteuse on HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," then went onto capturing criminals as a hard-driving detective in the ABC series "The Family," executive produced by Jenna Bans ("Scandal," "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives"). Adding comedy to the list, she locked up laughs with Ice Cube as a headstrong hairdresser in the 2016 spring comedy 'Barbershop 3.'
In the past year, Bingham lead her first Tribeca Film Festival feature-film role in, 'Saturday Church,' as well as attending for a second year in a row at the LA Film Festival in, 'Anything,' alongside of Matt Bomer, John Carroll Lynch, executive produced by Mark Ruffalo. The first year was with feature, 'Destined,' directed by the well respected Qasim Basir. She joins the New Orleans "Queen Sugar" cast for Season Two of the critically acclaimed show on the OWN Network. Bingham is very excited for her most recent Netflix debut in the Spike Lee reincarnation of "She's Gotta Have It." And if that wasn't enough, you can catch her piecing together NYC crimes with Donnie Wahlberg, in Season 8 of "Blue Bloods."
Bingham appeared in the off-Broadway revival of Rent, directed by original and Tony-nominated Michael Grief, and enjoys performing for audiences at the likes of Rockwood Music Hall, BAM and other venues where she made her home in NYC . She is active in a breadth of cause-driven organizations and events, including City Harvest, supporting LGBTQ youth, and the Orphaned Starfish Foundation.She's Gotta Have It "Clorinda Bradford", Boardwalk Empire "Daughter Maitland"- Producer
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Jo-Issa Rae Diop credited professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, producer, and comedian. Rae first garnered attention for her work on the YouTube web series Awkward Black Girl. Since 2011, Rae has continued to develop her YouTube channel, which features various short films, web series, and other content created by black people.Insecure "Issa Rae"- Actress
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Yvonne Orji was born on 2 December 1983 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. She is an actress and producer, known for Insecure (2016), Vacation Friends (2021) and Night School (2018).Insecure "Molly Carter"- Actress
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Teyonah Parris was born on 22 September 1987 in Hopkins, South Carolina, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Dear White People (2014), Chi-Raq (2015) and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). She is married to James Parris.Wandavision "Monica Rambeau / Geraldine",- Actress
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Alexis "Lex Scott" Davis was born February 26, 1991. She is an actress from Baltimore, Maryland and has been dancing and acting since she was 3 years old. Davis attended Drexel University as a Dance Physical Therapy major before she moved to New York City in 2013. She continued her studies at the New York Film Academy and in 2014, she relocated to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in film and television. Davis made her television debut starring as the legendary singer Toni Braxton in the Lifetime movie UNBREAK MY HEART which was met with record breaking numbers for Lifetime Television and an outpour of love from Toni's longtime fans. Davis is still based in Los Angeles.Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart "Toni Braxton"- Tahirah was born in South London, England to a Pakistani mother and Jamaican father. She trained at The BRIT School for Performing Arts as well as Identity School of Acting where she studied Theatre.
Tahirah is probably most well known for playing 'Miss Rebecca Jessel' in the Netflix series The Haunting of Bly Manor created by Mike Flanagan, a follow-up to the American anthology supernatural horror drama series The Haunting of Hill House.
Tahirah is well known in the UK for her television credits including ITV crime drama The Tower, which she received a Supporting Actress BAFTA nomination for in 2022.
On the big screen, Tahirah can be seen in Ralph Fiennes' The Invisible Woman and Film 4's See Me alongside Academy Award winner Olivia Colman.
As well as her screen work, Tahirah's passion for theatre has been prevalent throughout her career, and is evident from her credits, which include the lead in the National Theatre's production of Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, and the critically acclaimed 3-hander Firebird, which originated at Hampstead Theatre, and later transferred to Trafalgar Studios in the West End.
Tahirah currently resides in her hometown of London.The Haunting of Bly Manor "Rebecca Jessel" - Actress
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Michaela was born on October 1st 1987 as Michaela Boakye-Collinson to Ghanaian parents and brought up in Tower Hamlets by her mother, a devout member of the Pentecostal church who instilled her religion into Michaela and her sister - something that she would later draw on for her play 'Chewing Gum Dreams. ' Already a poet and performance artist , releasing the album 'Fixing Barbie' in 2009, she obtained a 2.1 in English at university before enrolling at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was awarded the Laurence Olivier bursary, graduating in 2012. In 2013 she made her stage debut at the Bush Theatre, where she would perform 'Chewing Gum Dreams', later in the year transferring to the National Theatre, where she would return in 2014 to appear in 'Medea' with Helen McCrory. In 2015 a sitcom based on 'Chewing Gum Dreams', its title shortened to 'Chewing Gum' began its run on Channel 4 television and in 2016 she was back on that channel in another comedy-drama 'The Aliens'.Mr. & Mrs. Smith "Bev"- Actress
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Zoe Saldana was born on June 19, 1978 in Passaic, New Jersey, to Asalia Nazario and Aridio Saldaña. Her father was Dominican and her mother is Puerto Rican. She was raised in Queens, New York. When she was 10 years old, she and her family moved to the Dominican Republic, where they would live for the next seven years. While living there, Zoe discovered a keen interest in performance dance and began her training at the prestigious ECOS Espacio de Danza Dance Academy where she learned ballet as well as other dance forms. Not only did her training provide an excellent outlet for the enthusiastic and energetic youngster, it would also prove to be a fortunate precursor for the start of her professional acting career. At age 17, Zoe and her family moved back to the United States where her love for dance followed and an interest in theater performance became stronger.
She began performing with the Faces theater troupe which put on plays geared to provide positive messages for teens with themes dealing with issues such as substance abuse and sex. These performances not only gave her valuable experience but also a source of great pride knowing that she was making a difference in the lives of young people like herself. While performing with the Faces troupe and also the New York Youth Theater, Zoe was recruited for a talent agency and her dance training years before coupled with her acting experience greatly helped her land her first big screen role as Eva Rodriguez, the talented and headstrong ballet dancer in the film Center Stage (2000). Since her professional career began several years ago, Zoe's talent and determination have allowed her to be involved in blockbuster films and act with major actors, actresses and industry insiders at a pace that very few young professionals have experienced.
Zoe has not only held her own in major motion picture productions but gained the respect and praise from industry insiders such as Jerry Bruckheimer and Steven Spielberg and actors/actresses such as Tom Hanks, Bernie Mac, Keira Knightley, Ashton Kutcher, Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom. According to many of her co-stars, producers and directors, the sky is no limit for this young star who has incredible range, intense concentration, and a steely determination to be involved with projects that challenge her professionally with wide-ranging subject matters and characters. Just to ask practically anyone who she has worked for or with about her, glowing comments abound and earned friendships and respect are readily revealed. A star has been born, and growing every day.- Actress
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Zoë Kravitz has captivated audiences in diverse group of acclaimed major motion picture films, notable independent releases and blockbuster franchises including The Batman, Mad Max and Fantastic Beasts, as well as the celebrated EMMY® Award-winning series Big Little Lies.
Following her role both starring in and Executive Producing the critically acclaimed series adaption of High Fidelity for Hulu, Kravitz most recently starred as Selina Kyle in Matt Reeves and Warner Bros.' acclaimed blockbuster film The Batman. In 2024, Kravitz will make her directorial debut with the original motion picture film, Blink Twice. Written by Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum, the film will star Naomi Ackie alongside Channing Tatum.
At the onset of this multi-talented entertainer's career, Variety touted her among its "10Actors to Watch," while Forbes spotlighted Kravitz on their coveted "30 Under 30 List." She has since gained global recognition and was recently named one of "the most influential people of 2022" by TIME.
Outside of her film endeavors, Kravitz is the global face of YSL Beauty and a brand ambassador for Saint Laurent, as well as the face of YSL's Black Opium fragrance.High Fidelity "Robyn 'Rob' Brooks", Fantastic Beasts "Leta Lestrange", Mad Max "Toast the Knowing", X-Men "Angel Salvadore"- Actress
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Nanna Blondell was born on 6 August 1986 in Stockholm, Sweden. She is an actress and director, known for The Inner Circle (2019), Hassel (2017) and Sisters in Arms (2019).Red Dot "Nadja"- Actress
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Georgina Campbell was born in Maidstone, Kent, England. Georgina is an actor and producer, known for Barbarian (2022), Black Mirror (2011) and Bird Box: Barcelona (2023).Black Mirror "Amy"- Meta Golding is of Haitian descent but was raised in the United States, India, France and Italy as well as Haiti itself. She competed on ice as an Italian national figure skater, but when an injury ended her skating career she started acting in Italian theatre. Later she returned to the USA to attend Cornell University where she earned degrees in Theatre Arts and International Relations. She now resides in Los Angeles, California, but donates much of her spare time to an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico.
Golding is fluent in English, French and Italian. - The Orville
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Stevens was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actor and radio announcer Shadoe Stevens, and former model Beverly Cunningham. She has a younger sister named Chyna Stevens (Chyna Rose Stevens). She is a graduate of Beverly Hills High School. Her father is Caucasian (of Norwegian, German, English, and Dutch descent) and her mother is African-American (and part-Comanche).- Actress
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Kali Hawk was a child prodigy, beginning high school at the age of 12, and gaining acceptance to prestigious New York arts university SUNY Purchase before she was 16 years old. While in a play on campus, she was introduced to a friend's agent and began doing commercials and plays in Manhattan's Lower East Side theatre district. A move to Los Angeles would come years later, with Kali finding work as a model. Her long legs, and model looks would land her in magazines and commercials for KFC, Clorox 2, MTV Europe, and in music videos for rock band KoRn, Rob Zombie, Norah Jones, T.I. and Usher.
Her first film role came in the Lion's Gate thriller 'Holla', which cast Kali alongside Michael Bergin as the sweet, unsuspecting camper Caprice. She would follow that project with a supporting role in the Spike Lee comedy 'Lovers & Haters', playing a scathing Hollywood diva opposite singer/superstar Mariah Carey. On television, she has also appeared on the hit CW sitcom 'The Game', executive produced by Kelsey Grammer.Fifty Shades of Black "Hannah Steale"- Zoë Robins was born on 19 February 1993 in Wellington, New Zealand. She is an actress, known for The Wheel of Time (2021) and The Shannara Chronicles (2016).
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Thandiwe Newton was born in London. She is the daughter of Zimbabwean mother Nyasha, a health-care worker from the Shona tribe, and British father Nick Newton, who worked as a lab technician. She lived in Zambia until political unrest caused her family to move back to the UK, where she lived in Cornwall (in southwest Britain) until she was 11 and enrolled in London's Art Educational School to study modern dance until a back injury forced her to quit dancing. This led to her auditioning for films. Her first role was in John Duigan's Flirting (1991). She then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue acting. When her British accent limited the amount of work she was getting, she returned to Britain, studied at Cambridge University, and earned a degree in anthropology. Between semesters she continued acting and became noticed in in- demand for future film roles.- Stacey Dash was born in the Bronx, New York. Stacy knew that she wanted to act, and from an early age began to act professionally. She made regular appearances on The Cosby Show (1984), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), and also St. Elsewhere (1982). At 21 she made her feature film debut in Enemy Territory (1987), which was quickly followed by Moving (1988), in which she played Richard Pryor's teenage daughter. Four years later she was in Mo' Money (1992), with Damon Wayans. In 1994 she starred with Mark Wahlberg in Renaissance Man (1994). In 1995 she did the provocative erotic thriller Illegal in Blue (1995) and later that year got her big break when was cast as Dionne in the hit comedy Clueless (1995). She went on to star in the UPN sitcom Clueless (1996) that was based on the movie, and which lasted for two years. During that time she completed Oliver Stone's Cold Around the Heart (1997) and also the independent film Personals (1999). After leaving "Clueless" in 1999, Stacey seems to be moving along nicely. She has recently appeared in The Painting (2001) and Paper Soldiers (2002).
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Hannah Dominique E. John-Kamen is a British actress. She is known for her roles as Dutch in the Syfy television series Killjoys, Ornela in the HBO series Game of Thrones, F'Nale Zandor in Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, and Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Hannah was born in Beverley, Yorkshire, England, the youngest of three children of a Nigerian forensic psychologist father and a Norwegian fashion model mother. She attended primary school in Kirk Ella and received her secondary education at Hull Collegiate School, and also trained at the National Youth Theatre in London. In 2012, she graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama.
John-Kamen began her professional career in 2011 when she provided her voice for the video game Dark Souls. She then went on to make episode appearances in television series Misfits (2011), Black Mirror (2011), Whitechapel (2012), The Syndicate (2012), The Midnight Beast (2012) and The Hour (2012).
In 2012, John-Kamen landed the lead role of Viva in Viva Forever, a West End musical based on the songs of the Spice Girls. Written by Jennifer Saunders and produced by Judy Craymer, Viva Forever premiered on 11 December 2012 at the Piccadilly Theatre to largely negative reviews. The Daily Mirror, however, praised John-Kamen's performance, noting, "It's a shame a talented cast, especially Hannah John-Kamen's Viva and the rest of Eternity, are let down by a clichéd plot and leaden dialogue." The show was eventually closed on 29 June 2013.
2015 saw John-Kamen land a starring role in SyFy's Killjoys. In 2016 John-Kamen had a guest starring role on HBO's Game of Thrones. In 2016, she appeared in "Playtest", an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror. She also appeared in Season two of the UK series The Tunnel, and played Ghost in the superhero film Ant-Man and the Wasp.
On John-Kamen's role in Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, Kristen Tauer wrote: "While much of "Ready Player One" takes place in a virtual reality world, John-Kamen's character is unique in that she is rooted in the reality throughout the film."- Actress
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Paula Patton was born in Los Angeles, California, to Joyce (Vanraden) and Charles Patton. Her father is African-American and her mother, who is caucasian, has German, English, and Dutch ancestry. Her family lived across the street from the 20th Century Fox lot when she was growing up and she was a fan of films from her earliest years. Her mother, who also appreciated good films, was a schoolteacher, and her father was a lawyer. Paula claims that as a girl she would escape by "pretending to be someone else" so it was not a surprise that she acted in high school plays at Hamilton Magnet Arts High School. Her favorite role was that of "Abigail" in "The Crucible". However, she went on to study film at the University of Southern California in a summer program, and won a 3-month assignment making documentaries for PBS. This led to her working as a production assistant for TV documentaries, and also for Howie Mandel's talk show. She progressed to actually producing documentary segments for Medical Diaries (2000) airing on Discovery Health Channel. Paula now professes that she liked what she was doing, but her dream remained the same as when she was small so she took acting lessons and shifted gears to become a performer. She was almost immediately successful and, within three years, had played parts in major features, Hitch (2005) and Idlewild (2006) and the female lead in Deja Vu (2006) opposite Denzel Washington.- Raised in Plano, Texas, Candice continued her childhood dream of becoming an actress by attending Southern Methodist University in Dallas where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.F.A in Theatre. It was here that she was scouted by The Young and the Restless for a CBS Soap Star Contest and flew out to Los Angeles to briefly join the cast. Candice finished her college education at SMU and moved to Los Angeles shortly after.
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Monica Raymund is best know for starring as Gabriela Dawson in NBC's drama "Chicago Fire."
A graduate of The Juilliard School, she is the recipient of the John Houseman Award for her commitment and dedication. Immediately following her graduation, she went on to star opposite Tim Roth for three seasons in "Lie to Me." During this time, she also became a founding member of The Mechanical Theatre Group, has been on faculty and co-head of the Communications Department at The Heifetz Institute and served as faculty for The Broadway Theatre Project. Raymund currently serves on the board and faculty of the Performing Arts Project, is a board member for The Hollywood Arts Organization in Los Angeles, is executive producing the independent feature "Submarine Kid", and is the Founder/President of the theatrical production company, SISU Theatrical Productions, LLC. She was a producer also on the Broadway production of "The Velocity of Autumn".
Other credits include, a lead role in director Stephen Elliott's latest feature "Happy Baby", a supporting role in the feature "Arbitrage" opposite Richard Gere, a starring role in the Sundance Lab musical production of "Like Water for Chocolate," and a recurring role on "The Good Wife." She also guest starred on the 200th episode of "Law & Order: SVU" opposite Robin Williams.
Monica won The Imagen Award this past year for leading actress in a drama.
Monica separated from her husband early 2013 and they completed their divorce in 2014.
Raymund resides in New York City.- Olivia Ryan-Stern was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to Sarah Stern and Maurice Ryan. She began modeling locally at the age of two. After graduating from J. Percy Page High School, she moved in with her maternal grandfather, who had retired to Squamish, British Columbia (just outside of Vancouver BC). Her plan once she arrived was to attend college and continue modeling. A chance meeting with a talent agent while having lunch in Vancouver with her Uncle, Amos Stern led to the beginning of her career as an actress. Although she began booking small roles from the very start, her breakthrough came when she booked a recurring role on Continuum (2012) and appeared on the hit series Supernatural (2005), Devil May Care (2013). Olivia continues to live and work in Vancouver BC and is represented by agents in both Canada and the USA.Van Helsing "Chloe"
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Kat Graham is an actress, singer, dancer and producer. Working across a variety of genres in film, television and music, she is one of most accomplished and versatile young talents working today.
Graham was recently seen in the 70s period crime thriller "The Poison Rose" opposite Morgan Freeman and John Travolta. Graham plays Freeman's daughter, a club owner and singer suspected of murder, while Travolta plays a hard-drinking L.A. private eye who takes the case. Previously she starred in Netflix's "How It Ends" as Samantha. The film, follows a man (Theo James) and his estranged father-in-law's (Forest Whitaker) desperate race to save his pregnant wife, Samantha, after a mysterious apocalypse. Graham made history lending her voice to Nickelodeon's animated television show, "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" as the first African-American April O'Neil.
Graham can be seen as the female lead in RZA's "Cut Throat City" starring Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Terrence Howard, and Eiza Gonzalez scheduled for release summer 2020. The film tells the story of a heist set in New Orleans' lower ninth ward after Hurricane Katrina. Graham who stars in Mark Amin's period drama "Emperor" with Dayo Okeniyi, Bruce Dern and James Cromwell following the true tale of Shields Green, a runaway slave who helped spark the civil war, is scheduled for release August 2020. Graham also stars in Netflix's "Operation: Christmas Drop" with Alexander Ludwig. The film, scheduled for release November 2020, follows a congressional aid played by Graham, on a mission to shut down the Christmas Drop mission. Operation Christmas Drop is a real life air force mission that started in 1952 that serves as training for the U.S. Air Force. It has since become the longest-running U.S. Department of Defense mission in full operation, and the longest-running humanitarian airlift in the world. In addition to the "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" series and accompanying Netflix 2021 film, Graham's 2020 animation releases will also include Dreamwork's and Hulu's "Trolls", as well as "Robot Chicken".
Graham starred as Jada Pinkett in the highly anticipated Tupac Shakur biopic "All Eyez on Me," released by Lionsgate. She has also starred in Lionsgate's "Where's the Money?" a comedy about a guy who must pledge a fraternity to recover a stash of stolen money, both released in 2017. Graham can also be seen as the lead in Netflix's holiday hit film "The Holiday Calendar" with Quincy Brown. Graham made her television debut in 2002 on Disney Channel's popular teen comedy "Lizzie McGuire." She starred as Bonnie Bennett, considered to be her breakout role, in the CW's "The Vampire Diaries." The show premiered in 2009 and her award winning performances throughout the series received praise from fans and critics alike. The supernatural drama ran for eight seasons. She also appeared on a number of hit television shows for Disney, Fox, CBS and ABC. Other notable film credits include "17 Again", "The Roommate," "Addicted", and the starring role in "Honey 2."
Graham has also produced and sold multiple film and television projects including the series "Breaking the Record" with Disney's Maker Studios. She is set to star in and produce a biopic about iconic Motown singer Tammi Terrell produced with Brad Krevoy. She is currently producing "The Consciousness Collective", a doc series and podcast presented by Deepak Chopra, slated for 2020.
A talented singer and music producer, Graham released her second album, "Love Music, Funk Magic," in 2017 which she worked on with Babyface and Prince. She released her debut EP "Against the Wall" in May 2012 after signing with A&M/Octone/Interscope records, and her first single, "Put Your Graffiti On Me", reached over 7 million views on VEVO and hit #5 on the Billboard Dance Chart. She has had multiple Billboard/Chart top fives including "Sometimes", and the Prince penned "If Eye Could Get UR Attention". Her debut album "Roxbury Drive," which included her single "Secrets" featuring Babyface, was released in 2015. Graham, who has a degree in recording engineering, produced the 90s-inspired album with Jean-Yves "Jeeve" Ducornet and co-wrote the entire album with Babyface.
A trained dancer, Graham has appeared in music videos for a myriad of artists including Grammy winners Pharrell, Missy Elliot, John Legend, Nelly, Diddy and Usher. She has also performed on tracks with Snoop Dogg and Will.I.Am, and toured with the Black Eyed Peas on their 2007 world tour as Will.I.Am's artist.
Graham has served as the face of many campaigns and endorsements for brands such as Wet 'N Wild, Degree, Samsung, Avon, Bing, Ford, Aquafina, Abercrombie, Nivea, Armani Exchange and Fanta. Graham is currently a L'Oreal Ambassador, the face of Foster Grant and the new Dior campaign.
Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Graham is a strong advocate for human rights. Her PSA short film for Black Lives Matter landed her an Emmy nomination for best PSA short. Graham is particularly passionate about the plight of refugees worldwide. As such, Graham became a High Profile Supporter of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees) in 2013. In 2019, she also became a Goodwill Ambassador for Rotary International, another organization providing key support and services on the global stage. In addition to her work with refugees, Graham is a council member for GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), Governor for the Recording Academy's Atlanta Chapter, as well as co-founder of the Modern Nirvana Wellness Group.Vampire Diaries- Actress
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Jasmine Renée Thomas is an actor and professional dancer from Toronto, Canada. She is best known for her leading role as 'Stacey' in the hit DCOM Disney Channel Movie ZOMBIES.
As a child that was full of energy, at the age of two Jasmine Renée started taking lessons in both dance and gymnastics. By the age of 4 her passion for dance grew over the years resulting in branching out into many dance genres including, Acro, Jazz, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Tap.
In High School, Jasmine was a Dance Major in the Regional Arts Program at St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. After graduating, Jasmine knew she wanted to pursuit a professional career in dance and immediately embarked on developing her career with full time training in Canada, Los Angeles and all across the U.S.
While having a career dancing professionally for major U.S. music artist and movie films, Jasmine would not be able to control the level of inspiration around her and a desire and passion for acting would be lit. She would soon be dedicating and learning the skills of acting.
Whether she is on stage or in front of a camera acting or dancing, performing is Jasmine's true passion. With her hard work and dedication, there's no doubt the entertainment industry is where Jasmine belongs. She continues to be inspired to greater achievements by her fellow artists and mentors.American Gods "Isamba"- Actress
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Reign Edwards is an American Singer, songwriter, and actress known for her roles as Nicole Avant, the younger sister of Maya Avant, on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful (1987), Leanna Martin on the 2016 series reboot MacGyver (2016), and as Melody Wright on Snowfall. She was born on December 1 in Harfourd County, Maryland as one of three children including an older and younger sister. After debuting in a minor role in the romance drama Explicit Ills (2008), Edwards went on to guest star in series including The Thundermans (2013) and K.C. Undercover (2015) during 2015. In that same year she landed her first major role as Nicole Avant in The Bold and the Beautiful (1987). Further television credits include guest appearances on the drama series Snowfall (2017). Ms. Edwards also went on to make her first major film role debut in the 2018 horror feature Hell Fest (2018). Away from acting, Edwards enjoys shopping, dancing to lyrical hip-hop and creating music in the recording studio.Snowfall "Melody"- Actress
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Born and raised in Cape Town South Africa, Brandt immigrated with her family to Auckland, New Zealand in her late teens. Discovered by local casting directors, Brandt took on the role of "Naevia" in the Starz hits, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" and "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena." Working with producers Steven S. D Knight and Sam Raimi, she captivated audiences with her performance and became one of the show's breakout stars.
She starred in the hit Netflix series, Lucifer which had a 6 year run, playing the fan favorite Vertigo/DC comic book character, Mazikeen. Lucifer went on the break binge records and was named the top binged show in 2021 by Forbes.
Brandt can next be seen opposite Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira in the 6 episode limited Walking Dead spin-off which airs in 2024. She is also starring opposite Jason Ritter, Anthony Carrigan and Chris Meloni in the adult animated comedy, Captain Fall which airs July 2023 on Netflix.
Lesley-Ann is now permanently based in Los Angeles.Spartacus "Naevia", Lucifer "Maze (Mazikeen)"- Actress
Jessica Sula (born 3 May 1994) is a British actress known for playing the character Grace Blood in the third generation of the British television series Skins and for her role in the M. Night Shyamalan-directed horror film Split (2016).
Sula was born in Swansea to Trinidadian mother Shurla Blades, who has Afro-Hispanic and Chinese ancestry, and to Steven Sula, a father of German and Estonian heritage. She grew up in Gorseinon, where she completed her A-levels in Spanish, French and Drama at Gorseinon College.
Sula made her television debut in 2011, portraying Grace Blood in the fifth and sixth series of the E4 teen drama Skins. Afterwards, she gained a supporting role in comedy drama Love and Marriage which was broadcast on ITV in 2013. In 2015, Sula was cast as the lead character, Maddie Graham, in the Freeform drama Recovery Road, alongside Skins co-star Sebastian de Souza. Her first big screen leading role is in Honeytrap, the story of 15-year-old girl who sets up the murder of a boy who is in love with her. In 2017 she filmed the indie feature Big Fork, in which she played the main character, Emily.
Sula had a recurring role in the 2017 limited series Godless. That same year, it was announced that she would be a series regular for the third season of the series Scream, expected to air in 2019.
Sula plays the guitar and practices karate.Lucifer- Actress
Her father is African American and her mother is half Korean and African American. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia but grew up in Los Angeles, California. Her mother is the owner of "The Red Bag Boutique" with daughter in Los Angeles. She helps local communities in Los Angeles and New York.- Actress
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Jessica Lucas (born September 24th, 1985) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is known for her roles in television, such as Edgemont, Melrose Place (1992) and Cult, and in the films The Covenant (2006), Cloverfield (2008) and 2013's Evil Dead (2013). She also starred in the music video for Coldplay's 2014 single "True Love". Lucas was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. She began acting at seven years old, and trained with the Children's Arts Theatre School in Toronto. She started her career appearing in stage productions, including local productions of Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, Grease, Cinderella, Mousetrap and Music Medley.- Alia Seror-O'Neill is known for Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Gods of Egypt (2016) and Whiskey Cavalier (2019).Gods of Egypt "First Young Maidservant", Thor "Golden Lady #1".
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The daughter of a Haitian mother and French Canadian father, Sharlene Royer is fluent in both English and French. she was a dancer from the ages of 7 to 18, and is classically trained in ballet, jazz and tap, having studied with Louise Lapierre and Les Grands Ballets Eddie Toussaint and - at just 13 - performed on Montreal's world-class stage at Place des Arts. As a teenager Ms. Royer was part of the theatre group La Troupe des Carcans, where she spent over four years perfecting her craft. Later, Ms. Royer studied Art & Communications at College Jean-de-Brébeuf .
While working as a model and actor, Ms. Royer was discovered by acclaimed stunt coordinator Alan Oliney in 1999 and quickly catapulted to the forefront of the stunt-work scene, soon becoming the sought-after favorite for stars like Halle Berry, Vanessa Williams , Rosario Dawson, Monica and Pam Grier.
Her most recent accomplishments include outstanding acting work in a lead role as Julliette on the French CBC's Le 7e round (2006), which earned her a 2007 S.O.B.A. (Sound of Blackness Awards) trophy for best actress. She can also be seen in Stuart Gordon's upcoming film Stuck (2007), where she acted alongside Stephen Rea and Mena Suvari. Ms. Royer also acted in Death Race (2008) directed by Paul W.S. Anderson.Death Race- Actress
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Actress Ella Balinska, known for her leading roles in Charlie's Angels (2019), Run Sweetheart Run (2020) and Resident Evil (2022), was born in London, UK and lives in Los Angeles, USA. Balinska trained and graduated at the Guildford School of Acting with honors, and acquired her combat skills at the Academy of Performance Combat. She also stars as the protagonist in Forspoken (2023) for PlayStation 5.- Actress
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Greenwood was born and raised in Toronto. She studied dance in school and is also well-versed in martial arts. She attended several voice and musical theater schools in Canada. She began acting training at multiple schools including the "Professional Actors Lab", "Jason Fraser Studios", "Etobicoke School of the Arts" and also at "University Settlement Drama Group". She attained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto in 2006. Her first role onscreen was in a low-budget Canadian movie called Pinkville. She made her first television debut on an episode of The Listener. She made many guest appearances on television such as Rookie Blue, Flashpoint, Being Erica, Covert Affairs, Lost Girl and Saving Hope. She has also appeared in minor roles in short-movies such as Little Phoenix and the Fists of Fury and as Jen in The Exit which she feels was her favorite role. She was also cast in This Movie Is Broken. Her career took off in 2011 when she was cast in a recurring role as Sonya on the hit CW's, Nikita. After the success of season 2 of Nikita, she was retained for season 3 and season 4. In August 2013, she was cast in a recurring role on FOX's, Sleepy Hollow. In January 2014, she was promoted to series regular for season 2.- Actress
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Yaya DaCosta was born and raised in New York City along with her sister and two brothers. She got her first acting gig at the age of eleven when her junior high school drama teacher, Ann Willis Ratray, encouraged her to audition for educational films. She continued to perform in school shows throughout high school and college and in 2005, She was the runner-up in Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model made her feature film debut in Take the Lead. In 2008, she made her Off-Broadway debut in "The First Breeze of Summer" at The Signature Theater, for which she garnered rave reviews and won the Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Award for Excellence in Black Theater. She has portrayed a range of characters, from Danny Glover's frail teenage daughter in John Sayles' Honeydripper, to Mark Ruffalo's voluptuous lover in Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right. She has been tagged one of Hollywood's new "it girls" by many, including Lynn Hirschberg who featured her on the cover of W Magazine in September, 2010.- Rose Rollins was raised in Yonkers, New York, growing up with five brothers. She is an accomplished actress who has garnered attention on both the big and small screens.
Rollins now stars in ABC's The Catch opposite Mireille Enos. The series centers on a gutsy female forensic accountant who exposes fraud for a living and has finally found fulfillment both at work and in love until a case comes along that threatens to turn her world upside down. The Catch is produced by Shonda Rhimes.
Prior to The Catch, Rollins most recently guest starred in an eight-episode arc on Amazon Studios crime drama Bosch and starred in the TNT pilot Guilt By Association.
Rollins has built her body of work with numerous roles on prominent television series including the critically acclaimed Showtime series The L Word, the Jerry Bruckheimer produced NBC drama Chase, NBC's The West Wing co-starring Allison Janney , Southland, ABC's In Justice opposite Kyle MacLachlan, The CW's Nikita and CBS's NCIS and CSI: NY, among many others.
On the big screen, the actress' voice can be heard as the White House press secretary in the 2015 Adam Sandler/Kevin James action sci-fi comedy Pixels. Additional film credits include Mission: Impossible III directed by J.J. Abrams, Undisputed opposite Ving Rhames and Wesley Snipes, the romantic comedy Something New and 13 Moons starring Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Beals, and Peter Dinklage. - Alisha Ilhaan Bo (born March 6, 1997), known professionally as Alisha Boe, is a Norwegian and American actress. She is known for portraying Jessica Davis in the Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why.
Boe was born in Oslo, Norway, to a Somali father and a Norwegian mother, from Trondheim. She and her mother moved to Los Angeles when Alisha was seven years old because her mother married an American man. Boe attended Woodlake Elementary School and two middle schools: George Ellery Hale Middle School and Ivy Academia. She ended up graduating middle school at Hale. While she was in high school she attended El Camino Real High School commonly known as "ECR" or "Elco" located in the Woodland Hills district of the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California, where she attended their drama program. Her high school was also known for their alumni actors who had also been enrolled in their drama program. She attended Olin Virtual Academy for her junior and senior year of High School in order to balance her studies and work. She is the first Somali actress to hold a leading role in an American film since Iman.
Boe made her acting debut in 2008 in the horror film Amusement. In 2014, she guest-starred in season 5 of Modern Family and as Brynn Hendy opposite Halle Berry in the thriller series Extant. In 2015 she recurred in the Jason Reitman directed comedy Casual on Hulu, on CSI: Cyber as Grace Clarke opposite Patricia Arquette and as Janet in the Showtime hit series Ray Donovan. In 2016 she recurred as Gwen on season 6 of Teen Wolf. In 2017 the Indie Feature 68 Kill was released to great reviews where she starred alongside Matthew Gray Gubler and AnaLynne McCord. She landed her breakthrough role as Jessica Davis in the Netflix Original series 13 Reasons Why at the age of 19. - Actress
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Amanda Brugel was born on 24 March 1978 in Pointe Claire, Québec, Canada. She is an actress and writer, known for The Handmaid's Tale (2017), Kim's Convenience (2016) and Dark Matter (2024). She has been married to Marcel Lewis since 7 March 2008.Handmaid's Tale "Rita", Orphan Black "Marci Coates"- Elarica Johnson was born in London, England. A British Actress, known for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Blade Runner 2049 (2017) A Discovery of Witches (2018) and P-Valley US series with Starz (2020). Elarica began her career in her teens, landing her first role in the Harry Potter franchise.P-Valley "Autumn Night"
- Shannon Thornton was born on 24 July 1987 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. She is an actress, known for P-Valley (2020), Power (2014) and Dynasty (2017).P-Valley "Miss Mississippi"
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Ashani Roberts is a formally trained actress specializing in complex characters that exemplify Stanislavski's famous quote that "there are no small parts, only small actors." Bringing depth and humanity to every role she inhabits, Ashani has had memorable turns playing a diverse range of characters, from a steely, overprotective sister in a biblical anthology series to a troubled heroin addict in a 1970s period drama.
Trained at Ivana Chubbuck and Speiser Sturges, two of LA's finest acting schools, Ashani is a master of nuance, imbuing her performances with the kind of detail and authenticity that resonates with audiences. Flexibility is her calling card, and she counts Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson, and Halle Berry among her influences.
Recent credits include a series regular spot on Bounce TV's prime time soap Saints & Sinners and a recurring guest starring role on STARZ's gritty drama P-Valley. Ashani has also made appearances in dozens of TV series, spanning comedy, drama, sci-fi, action, and more.
As an experienced stunt performer, Ashani has doubled for prominent actresses including Tyra Banks and Issa Rae. She is also the founder of ASHANI Inc, a corporation providing professional coaching services for actors and organizing charitable events that support the community.P-Valley "Britney"- Actress
- Producer
Brandee Evans is an accomplished actor, advocate, and businesswoman. She appears as a series regular on the Starz network show P-Valley, in the role of "Mercedes" - a performance critics describe as "wonderfully compelling," and for which she was considered the breakout star of the first season. The hit show enjoys record-breaking premiere viewership and cult popularity.
P-Valley's highly anticipated second season premiered in June, 2022 - breaking the network's growth record with an increase of viewership of over 1,000%, representing the largest season-over-season gain in the history of Starz. The show was renewed for a third season, which begins production soon. Brandee received two NAACP Image Award nominations in the 'Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series' category for her work on seasons one and two of the show.
Brandee's additional acting credits include the independent films Thirsty (2023), and B-Boy Blues (BET+, 2022), and television performances on Rolling Into Christmas (BET+, 2022), A Rich Christmas (BET, 2021), The Family Business (BET & BET+ 2020-2022), Games People Play (BET, 2019), Dear Santa I Need a Date (TVOne, 2019), Lethal Weapon (Fox, 2018), and The Bobby Brown Story (BET+, 2018).P-Valley "Mercedes"- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Sonequa Martin-Green (born March 21, 1985) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her television role as Sasha Williams on The Walking Dead, a role she played from 2012 to 2017. Before that, she had starred in several independent films before gaining her first recurring role as Courtney Wells on The Good Wife. Later, she had recurring roles as Tamara in Once Upon a Time and Rhonda in New Girl. She plays the lead role as Michael Burnham in the television series Star Trek: Discovery.
Martin-Green was born in Russellville, Alabama. She has one sister and three older half-sisters. She had initially planned to become a psychologist before deciding to pursue a career in acting when she was in the tenth grade. On her decision to become an actor, she said, "I didn't know I was going to be an actor until I was 16. I thought I was going to be a psychologist, which is interesting because it's very similar to acting. I was fascinated with human behaviour and why people do what they do. I was in the middle of rehearsal in 10th grade when I had this epiphany. And so I got my theatre degree from the University of Alabama."
After graduating from the University of Alabama in 2007 with a degree in theatre, she relocated to New York City where she and her husband, Kenric, lived for five years before moving to California.
While known primarily for her television roles, Sonequa Martin-Green made her debut in film with various film roles since 2005. In 2009, she played the lead role of Tosha Spinner in Toe to Toe opposite Louisa Krause, the fiercely determined scholarship student who seeks to build a brighter future outside of Anacostia and away from one of Washington's poorest neighborhoods. The film focuses on her friendship and rivalry with Jessie (Louisa Krause), a privileged girl from Bethesda whose promiscuous tendencies threaten to become her undoing. They both strive to gain a better understanding of one another's plight as society threatens to drive them ever farther apart. The film received generally positive reviews, with Martin-Green's performance receiving critical acclaim, even from the film's detractors.
Martin-Green has had various guest and recurring roles in TV shows. She made her television debut in 2008, appearing on NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Kiana Richmond. She then gained her first recurring role on Army Wives as Kanessa Jones the following year. In 2009, she received the role of Courtney Wells on The Good Wife, her first recurring role playing an adult character as opposed to playing a teenager with her previous roles in both film and television. She appeared on the show for two years before making two more appearances in Gossip Girl and NYC 22 in 2011.
In 2012, Sonequa Martin-Green was cast in a recurring role on The Walking Dead as Sasha, the sister of Tyreese (Chad Coleman), an original character, exclusive to the television series. Martin-Green auditioned for the role of Michonne albeit with a pseudonym due to the secrecy of the auditioning process. When Danai Gurira, whom Martin-Green said was "the perfect choice", was cast, former showrunner Glen Mazzara still wanted Martin-Green to be a part of the show and decided to create a role specifically for her instead. Martin-Green explained: "[Sasha] was supposed to be a recurring character and as we kept going forward, they picked up my option to be a regular. It's very rare and I'm still quite dumbfounded about it but Glen and I hit it off and I still appreciate him. He wanted to work with me and wrote Sasha for me." She was promoted to a series regular for season 4 with Emily Kinney and Coleman.
After auditioning for the role of Michonne, she read the first three volumes of the graphic novels in preparation for the television series. Knowing they were different, she chose not to continue reading the comic book series to avoid being aware of future storylines that may occur on the television series. Martin-Green's performance as Sasha, particularly in the fifth season and seventh season, has received favorable reviews.
After filming for the third season of The Walking Dead ended, Martin-Green was cast in the second season of Once Upon a Time playing the recurring role of Tamara, a woman determined to rid the world of magic. She returned briefly in the third season before returning to her regular role as Sasha on The Walking Dead. As of the first episode of sixth season, Martin-Green's name appears in the opening credits.
In December 2016, her role as the lead actor of Star Trek: Discovery as a lieutenant commander of the USS Discovery was made public. She debuted as First Officer Michael Burnham in "The Vulcan Hello" on September 24, 2017.
Martin-Green has been married to fellow actor Kenric Green since December 4, 2010. They met while acting together in the play, Fetch Clay, Make Man, at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey. In 2015, in Los Angeles, Martin-Green gave birth to a boy named Kenric Justin Green II after his father. Martin-Green was pregnant during filming of the fifth season of The Walking Dead, which she covered up using thick layers and using larger guns. She and her husband are vegans.
Since April 2016, she has been an ambassador for Stand Up to Cancer, encouraging clinical trials, having a three-time cancer surviving mother and a sister with breast cancer.Walking Dead "Sacha Green"- Tiffany Boone stars as the beautiful and street smart "Roxy Jones" in the highly anticipated Amazon drama series HUNTERS opposite Al Pacino and created by Jordan Peele. The series, set to debut in early 2020, follows a diverse group of Nazi hunters on a quest for justice in 1977 New York City. This spring, Boone will also co-star in Hulu's LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE, portraying the flashback 1980s version of Kerry Washington's "Mia Warren" character. Boone is currently in production on George Clooney's sci-fi Netflix feature based on the post-apocalyptic novel GOOD MORNING, MIDNIGHT. She will star alongside Clooney, as well as Felicity Jones and Kyle Chandler. In 2013, Boone co-starred in BEAUTIFUL CREATURES alongside Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis and Emma Thompson. In 2011, she co-starred in Joseph Kahn's film DETENTION with Josh Hutcherson. On television, Boone's breakout role came opposite Kevin Bacon in Fox's THE FOLLOWING. Her additional credits include THE CHI, SOUTHLAND, GREY'S ANATOMY, PERCEPTION, ONCE UPON A TIME and COMPLICATIONS. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Boone currently resides in Los Angeles. She is passionately involved in youth arts education and women's health issues.Hunters "Roxy Jones", The Chi "Jerrika"
- Ebony Obsidian was born April 16, 1994 in New York. She briefly studied journalism before moving onto her studies at the William Esper Studio in Manhattan.
A string of independent projects would lead to her first series regular in the Daytime Emmy nominated digital show Tough Love. The 3 season storyline was picked up by TVOne in 2018 and now runs on their comcast channel Cleo.
Ebony is often recognized for her role as Michelle in the Thanksgiving episode of Netflix's Master of None Season 2. This particular episode won the Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award in 2017.
If Beale Street Could Talk marked Ebony's first major motion picture as well as the first novel by James Baldwin to be adapted to film. She plays Adrienne Hunt, the eldest sister of Fonny, the male lead. The film has been nominated for over 130 awards, including 3 Oscars, 2 Golden Globes, 2 BAFTA'S, and 5 Critics' Choice Awards.Hunters "Carol Lockhart" - Birgundi Angel Baker is an American actor, singer and dancer from Raleigh, North Carolina. She is a graduate of Howard University's Musical Theatre Program. Upon moving to Chicago, she attended the Launch Showcase. After the showcase, Birgundi signed with Gray Talent Group and broke into the world of television of film. Birgundi Angel Baker has been listed by Refinery29 as one of the "Top Actresses To Look Out For in 2018".The Chi "Kiesha Williams"
- The Chi "Tiffany"
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Akilah McCord is known for The Magazine Chronicles (2014), Everyday But Christmas (2019) and The Chi (2018).The Chi "Michelle"- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Nefetari Spencer was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is known for South Side (2019), Sherman's Showcase (2019) and Ted 2 (2015).The Chi "Cheryl"- Actress
- Music Department
- Producer
Miriam A. Hyman is an American actress. She was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and raised in Philadelphia. Hyman is a BFA graduate from University of the Arts and a MFA graduate from the Yale School of Drama. From bringing diverse, impactful characters to life on the screen and stage, to writing and recording brazen, vulnerable hip-hop lyrics, award-winning actress/lyricist Hyman aka Robyn Hood has emerged in the entertainment industry as a powerful force to be reckoned with. She's a recipient of both the prestigious Princess Grace Award and Leonore Annenberg Fellowship for Performing Arts. In television this year, Hyman lit up screens as the new US Attorney, Stacy Marks on Starz's latest hit new series Power Book IV: Force(renewed for a 3rd season) as well as returning for season 6 as Dre in Showtime's critically acclaimed series "The Chi".The Chi "Dre"- J. Nicole Brooks (formerly known as De Anna N.J. Brooks) is a graduate of Northern Illinois University where she studied the Meisner Technique at the School of Theatre & Dance under the tutelage of Kathryn Gately. She is also a playwright and an Artistic Associate with the Lookingglass Theatre Company(ensemble members include Joey Slotnick, Mary Zimmerman and David Schwimmer) in Chicago. Her first play 'Black Diamond: The Years the Locusts Have Eaten' will be produced at Lookingglass in the spring of 2007. It is a political satire that follows civil unrest in Liberia, West Africa. She currently resides in Los Angeles.The Chi "Sgt. Clemmons"
- Actress
- Producer
- Composer
Kandi is best known as one of the lead vocalists in the hugely successful 1990s R&B vocal group, Xscape. Burrus sang lead on hits such as "My Little Secret", "Just Kickin' It" and "Who Can I Run To", as well as wrote their early hits, including "Feel So Good" and "Can't Hang". Kandi is also known as the song-writing genius behind the massive 1999 No. 1 hit, "No Scrubs", by TLC, which won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, a song-writing award. She was also recognized as the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Award for Songwriter of the Year, other hits penned by Kandi included "Bills, Bills, Bills" by Destiny's Child and "There You Go" by Pink, to name just a few, in all she's written dozens more songs for artists including, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, *NSYNC, Monica, Alicia Keys, Boyz II Men, Faith Evans, Blu Cantrell and many, many more. During the late 1990s, when she emerged as a talented singer/song-writer, along with song-writing partners Kevin 'She'kspere' Briggs (also rumored husband) and Tiny Harris (member of Xscape and co-writer of "No Scrubs"), she was tipped as a leader of a new breed of talented behind-the-scenes female artists and received great ovation for her talents, the media had nothing bad to relay. Burruss attempted to wow the critics once more by releasing her very own highly anticipated debut solo set, with a lead single, "Don't Think I'm Not", which had fair success. The album, entitled "Hey Kandi", sold reasonably well during its first few weeks. Despite modest success, she was dropped from "Columbia" as a recording artist, though she continues to write songs for other artists through the company. Burruss returned to her recording career with her second album, "I Need", released through independent label, "Upfront Records".The Chi "Roselyn Perry"- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Kimberly Michelle Vaughn is known for Chicago Med (2015), Reporting for Christmas (2023) and North of the 10 (2022).The Chi- Actress
- Art Department
Christie Laing was born April 10th, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In love with performing, Christie was trained in both dance and piano at the age of three and began acting at the age of seven. Juggling both school, acting and dancing throughout her youth, Christie landed roles on popular television shows such as Smallville and Supernatural. Christie made her feature film debut in Scary Movie 4, followed by a leading role in Tucker and Dale vs. Evil which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Christie is known for her roles as Carly Diggle on the CW series Arrow and as Marian on ABC's Once Upon A Time.- Actress
- Producer
Annie Ilonzeh was born on 23 August 1983 in Grapevine, Texas, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Peppermint (2018), Person of Interest (2011) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009).- Laura Harrier is a Chicago-native who shortly after moving to New York for drama school was discovered by Steve McQueen for his HBO pilot. Harrier is best known for landing as the breakout role as 'Liz Allan' opposite Tom Holland in Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man: Homecoming." She is also seen in auteur filmmaker Spike Lee's award-winning film, "BlacKkKlansman." Starring opposite John David Washington and Adam Driver, the film earned six Academy Award nominations in 2019, including a Best Picture nomination. "BlacKkKlansman" was also honored with the coveted Grand Prix Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Harrier has also garnered critical acclaim portraying Robin Givens alongside Trevante Rhodes as Mike Tyson in Hulu's eight-episode limited series "Mike." The series was executive produced by LuckyChap's Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie. She also starred as 'Camille Washington,' a young black actress in the 1940s trying to make it as a leading lady in Hollywood with all the odds against her in the Ryan Murphy-created Netflix original series, "Hollywood."
Most recently, Harrier appeared alongside Jack Harlow in 20th Century Studios' remake of the iconic 1992 film "White Men Can't Jump." The film, directed by Kalmatic and produced by Kenya Barris , premiered on Hulu on May 19, 2023.
Harrier currently resides in Los Angeles.Spiderman "Liz" - Writer
- Actress
- Producer
Robin Thede is a comedy writer, sketch/improvisational comedian and actress. She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, earning a B.S.J. degree in Broadcast Journalism and African-American Studies. After college, Robin studied improvisation, sketch and comedy writing at The Second City in Chicago.
She is the creator, executive producer and star of "A Black Lady Sketch Show" (HBO). Prior, she created, executive produced and hosted the critically acclaimed late night show, "The Rundown with Robin Thede" (BET). Robin was named one of Variety's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2019.
Prior, she was head writer and correspondent for The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015) and as the head writer for the White House Correspondents Dinner (2016), making her the first African-American woman head writer in late night history and for the WHCD. Robin was also head writer on The Queen Latifah Show (2013), and wrote on Kevin Hart's sitcom Real Husbands of Hollywood (2013). She was a writer/performer on the sketch comedy series "In The Flow With Affion Crockett" (FOX) and has appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies, including Difficult People, Key & Peele, A Haunted House, and more. She will next appear in the upcoming thriller feature "Bad Hair" from writer/director Justin Simien.
Robin has written for dozens of comedians, including Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, Anthony Anderson, Mike Epps, Jamie Foxx and more. She has written for numerous award shows and specials, including the MTV Video Music Awards, The BET Awards, UNCF: An Evening of Stars, BET Hip Hop Awards and BET Honors. She was also a regular contributor for Funny or Die, where she created several viral sketches, including the viral hit "Every Little Step" with Mike Tyson, Wayne Brady and Bobby Brown.Black Lady Sketch Show- Fatima Yousif is known for Za'er (2004) and Zain: Bahrain National Day TVC (2020).Cuties "Amy"
- Actress
- Writer
Jess Salgueiro comes from her Portuguese-Canadian heritage, with her parents, John and Maria Salgueiro, moving from Alcanena and Santa Bárbara DE Nexe, respectively. Jess has two sisters, Julie and Nancy.
Salgueiro's talents extend beyond acting. She also earned writing credits for the short film "Attic for Rent." Additionally, her skills in voice acting are featured in the video game "Far Cry 6," set to release in 2021.
Salgueiro's passion for writing is not limited to screenplays. A few years ago, she launched a website titled "Bitches Be Witches." The site's mission is to challenge, redefine, and reshape the concept of womanhood in contemporary times. It serves as a platform for continuous discovery and rethinking, aiming to create a world where women can move forward naturally and genuinely.Orphan Black "Luisa", The Boys "Robin"- Nneka Elliott is known for Code 8 (2019), In the Shadow of the Moon (2019) and Shazam! (2019). She is married to Victor Ghebre.The Boys "Female News Anchor"
- The Boys "Gospel Singer"
- The Boys "Flight Attendant"
- Shanice Johnson was born on 9 January 1999 in Toronto. She is an actress, known for The Boys (2019), Level 16 (2018) and The Knight Before Christmas (2019).The Boys "Curious Girl"
- Alice Hunter was born in Middlesex, England, UK. Alice is an actor, known for Another Period (2013), House of Lies (2012) and Girl House (2014).
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Gabrielle Dennis is a multi-hyphenated artist with a background as a trained dancer, actress, and singer stretching all the way back to age 4. Gabrielle always knew she would have a career in the arts and although she has appeared on stage and film she is best known for her work in television. Her first major recurring role was as Janay Brice on the hit series "The Game" (CW & BET) that was canceled after 3 seasons on the CW but later picked up by BET thanks to a campaign started by fans for the beloved show's return. Gabrielle left the show in 2012 and went on to star in 1 season of "Blue Mountain State" (Spike TV) and guest star on several series like Justified (FX), Bones (Fox), and Baby Daddy (ABC Family) to name a few before landing her first network series regular role on "Rosewood" (Fox) where she played the titular characters sister, Pippy Rosewood. Producers, aware of her abilities, introduced her singing as part of her character's storyline allowing Gabrielle to record several songs for the series and it's subsequent soundtrack. Rosewood was canceled after only 2 seasons but Gabrielle immediately landed her next series as Tilda Johnson aka Nightshade on the junior season of Marvel's Luke Cage where was once again able to showcase her singing talent with a song she performed and wrote entitled "Family First" for the series very climatic reveal. Unfortunately fans never got a chance to see her character fully develop as the show was canceled when Disney pulled all of its series from Netflix. Luckily though this made her available to portray Whitney Houston in "The Bobby Brown Story" a two part mini-series for BET that earned Gabrielle an NAACP Image Award nomination for her performance and an actual win for the series. Since that nomination Gabrielle has gone on to portray another icon, Tina Turner, for an episode of "American Soul" (BET) about the famed Soul Train series and recurred on two more shows: Insecure (HBO) and S.W.A.T (CBS).
In 2019 Gabrielle had the opportunity to go back to her comedy routes when Robin Thede, whom Gabrielle first met back in her stand-up comedy days, approached her to co-star in a series she created for HBO called "A Black Lady Sketch Show" that went on to earn three Emmy Nominations in its 1st season. Although Gabrielle has performed stand-up, toured with a sketch troop and was a series regular an another sketch comedy series, "The Underground" (Showtime), most fans were shocked to see Gabrielle portray over 2 dozen characters in the first 2 seasons of "A Black Lady Sketch Show" and look forward to seeing her do more on the heels of a season 3 pickup. In 2020 Gabrielle returned to Netflix as a recurring character on the new hit series "The Upshaws" as Tasha where fans have been able to experience even more of her comedic talents. In 2021 Gabrielle landed her first leading lady role for a network television pilot entitled "Someone Out There" (CBS) which is scheduled to film summer 2021.Black Lady Sketch Show- Stunts
- Actress
- Producer
Bethany Levy is known for Avengers: Endgame (2019), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Ford v Ferrari (2019).Captain Marvel- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Tiara Parker-Ragland is an actress, entrepreneur and producer who has spent the last decade creating short films and reality television series. As the cofounder and Executive Producer of Ragland Reign, a production company for branded content, film and tv, her projects have appeared on Amazon Prime, Roku, YouTube, and various film festivals.
Most recently, Tiara produced a 10-episode course in Marketing and Distribution for MediaU, an online career accelerator for content creators and entertainment professionals. In addition, she has spent the last three years producing several creative reality shows; CoCoCozy Design House, a home furnishings design series that was acquired by Amazon Prime, as well as Find & Design, a DIY-home interior series now on Tubi. Previously she co-founded the former music video production company HustleCake, where she produced music videos for Pop singer Katelyn Jae Brown, social-media influencer Jacob Sartorius, and R&B singer Natalie Imani, among others.
Tiara launched her production career with the buzzy festival hit, Unknown, a horror short film. What was originally a fun, passion-fueled approach to filmmaking turned into an unbelievable project embraced by multiple film festivals. As both a film and television actress, she is featured in movies such as Drive, Crazy Stupid Love and Alvin and the Chipmunks; for television, Tiara can be seen in How I Met Your Mother, CSI NY, Desperate Housewives and several other costarring roles.
Originally a New Jersey native, after graduating from Washburn University Tiara ultimately relocated to Los Angeles. Positioning herself to grasp the television and entertainment industries by the reins, her unbridled talent and business acumen are leading her incredible journey.- Actress
- Set Decorator
- Soundtrack
Ryan Destiny was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is an actress and set decorator, known for Star (2016), The Lower Bottoms (2021) and Oracle (2023).Star- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Logan Browning was born on 9 June 1989 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She is an actress and director, known for The Perfection (2018), Bratz (2007) and Powers (2015).- Actress
- Producer
Former model and D.J.; worked exclusively for Giorgio Armani as musical supervisor for stores and shows; made directorial debut in 2001 with short documentary film Girls & Dolls (2000), which premiered on PBS' "Reel New York Series" and won best directorial debut for documentary at New York Independent Film and Video Festival 2001. She is the daughter of actors Robert De Niro and Diahnne Abbott.**Robert De Nero's Daughter** Boardwalk Empire "Negrablanca"- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Natalie Paul was born on 12 May 1986 in Brooklyn, New York. She is an actress and director, known for The Sinner (2017), The Deuce (2017) and You (2018).Boardwalk Empire "Beatrice Carson"- Zolee Griggs was born on 30 July 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Bride Wars (2009), Archenemy (2020) and The Enforcer (2022).Wu-Tang: An American Saga - Shurrie
- Jordan-Amanda Hall is known for Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019), We Were Meant To (2022) and Rustin (2023).Wu-Tang: An American Saga - Tanaka
- Diane Howard is known for Watch Dogs (2014), Canal Street (2018) and The App That Stole Christmas (2020).Wu-Tang: An American Saga - Laurie
- Princess Adenike is a first-generation Nigerian-American actress and writer, raised in Jamaica, Queens New York. She made her television debut as an actress in Wu-Tang: An American Saga, moving on to star in TV shows such as Ray Donovan, Power: Ghost, and Suspicion. Princess recently had a supporting role on Blumhouse Feature Nanny as Nikki. As a writer, her screenplay Ethereal, a heartfelt time period piece, became a semi-finalist at the long-standing Big Apple Festival and a finalist at National Black Film Festival. Uniting her love for storytelling and philanthropy she founded an ongoing nonprofit campaign "One Girl At A Time", an initiative supporting women of all ages on their journey to self-discovery through the arts. Princess continues to develop projects and initiatives that combine her love for philanthropy and human interest stories.Wu-Tang: An American Saga
- Danai Sabrina Kadzere is known for The Get Down (2016) and Katie Fforde (2010).The Get Down - Carmelita
- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Sharron Lynn graduated from high school at New World School of the Arts where she trained in all forms of dance. During her time at New World, she received a number of scholarships to attend the Alvin Ailey summer intensive and was eventually invited to join the 2nd company, Ailey II. She then went on to attend Florida State University and received a Bachelor's degree in Applied Economics and another Bachelor's in Interdisciplinary Social Science.
Realizing her talents, abilities and artistic appetite encompass the world of dance and more, she went on to study acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater under James Brill. She has worked in film and television on projects such as HBO's Lovecraft Country, Vinyl, the Netflix original series The Get Down, and Scary Movie 5. She has also played the role of Cinderella at Lincoln Center In the Little Orchestra society's production of Cinderella. She had the pleasure of touring the US and Canada with Disney's The Lion King and most recently performing with the Broadway company.
Sharron Lynn founded the Wellness community Breathe Flow Be in 2019 with the intentions of making free yoga accessible to more communities. What started as a YouTube channel quickly became a platform to help keep others inspired and grounded in their personal power. She is the publisher, author of Soul Healing, A Guided Journal for Black Women, a book that support black women in living more fully and loving themselves more fiercely.
Sharron Lynn, age 39, passed on March 15, 2022. Born on November 11, 1982 to Floyd Williams and Abigail Evans Williams (deceased), was a proud native of Miami.The Get Down- Ashley Marie Santos, known professionally as Ash Santos, is an American actress. Ash was born in the Bronx, New York. Her father, a former Special Victims Unit Detective in Manhattan, is Dominican and Puerto Rican, and her mother is originally from the Dominican Republic. Ash was primarily raised in the small town of Montgomery, NY. She always expressed an interest in acting, although she never pursued it growing up. She relocated to Salt Lake City, UT in fall of 2011 and was able to start her acting career doing commercials and television movies. In April 2018 she began pursuing her career in Los Angeles.
In June 2018 she booked a recurring guest star role on the eighth season of FX's "American Horror Story". She now has three films set for release in 2021, the A24 drama "Joe Bell" from the Academy Award winning writers of "Brokeback Mountain" Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana and starring Oscar-nominated Mark Wahlberg, the Netflix thriller "Night Teeth" starring Emmy-nominated Alfie Allen, and the indie rowing drama "Swing" starring Oscar-nominated Michael Shannon.
In addition to her recent film credits, Santos booked a series regular role on the HBO Max psychological thriller, "Red Bird Lane". The pilot, starring Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon and produced by the award winning John Wells, was shot in November 2020.
She can now be seen on Netflix's "True Story" starring Kevin Hart, and in the upcoming Mike Tyson biopic series "Iron Mike" for Hulu. - Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Renee Goldsberry was born in San Jose, California, and raised in both Houston, Texas, and Detroit, Michigan. She graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University with a bachelors degree in acting, and went on to attend graduate school at the University of Southern California, where she received her masters in vocal jazz performance.
She has worked in numerous Broadway plays, including a production of Disney's "The Lion King" in 2003 (as "Nala"). She also appears in the daytime drama One Life to Live (1968) as the determined lawyer Evangeline Williamson.