African-American Actresses you probably don't know... but soon will.
These beautiful women of color are up and comers who have yet to be notice by Hollywood (save a couple). Some of them probably have been in movies or plays that have been beneath the radar. So, I comprise this list just to give them their due.
UPDATE: If any of you know have any recommendations of African-American actresses who you believe have been omitted but should be on this list, sound out in the comment section!
UPDATE: If any of you know have any recommendations of African-American actresses who you believe have been omitted but should be on this list, sound out in the comment section!
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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.Megalyn has what it takes to become a major star in Hollywood, hands down. She has beauty, talent, and does a great job choosing dramatic, multi-layered roles. Believe me when I say, Megalyn is definitely one to watch.- 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.CSI: Miami, NCIS: Los Angeles, Criminal Minds, Dark Blue, Lie to Me... Meta has been on them all. After conquering the small screen, she is now moving onto bigger and better things. Namely, a small upcoming film by the name of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. - Actress
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Antonia Thomas is an English actress. She is best known for her work in the TV series Misfits, Lovesick and the The Good Doctor.
She studied for a Bachelor of Arts in acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 2009, and then joined the National Youth Theatre.
Her acting debut was in the TV movie Stanley Park (2010).Homefront and Misfits star Antonia Thomas is quietly making her name in Hollywood with her insane beauty and dramatically-rich performances. She is definitely one to keep an eye out for.- Actress
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Antonique is an acclaimed actor and a 2015 Grammy nominated singer and writer. She is most famous for her starring role of Faith Evans in "Notorious" where she received rave reviews and was praised by critics, including Jeffery Lyons who called her "one to watch".
Antonique is one of the new stars of season 2 of Marvel's Luke Cage which debuted on Netflix to amazing reviews. Antonique has a 8 episode arc as Detective Nandi Tyler.
Antonique first garnered attention in her buzz-worthy leading role in "Rent" on Broadway as Mimi Marquez. She became the international poster girl for the show. Antonique played CIA agent Sandra Burns in "Abduction" opposite Taylor Lautner and Alfred Molina, and in "Yelling To The Sky", playing the starring role of Ola O'Hara, opposite Zoe Kravitz, Gabourey Sidibe and Jason Clarke. Antonique recently starred in the TV One romantic comedy Stock Option, which premiered to record ratings for the network and she has a lead role in the Netflix film "Deuces". She has also guest starred and recurred on numerous hit TV shows including "Law & Order", HBO's "Bored To Death", the Sidney Lumet directed "100 Centre Street" on A&E and she has a role in the hit 2017 FOX drama series "Shots Fired".
Antonique shocked the world in 2015 with the release of her first body of work, her EP "Love Is Everything", stemming from her successful Kickstarter campaign in 2012 where Smith raised over $50,000 in 30 days from her fans. 'Hold Up Wait A Minute (Woo Woo)' is the Grammy nominated, edgy, uptempo, future meets retro, soul pleaser that is rising up the charts!
Antonique is also an accomplished songwriter. Having co-written her Grammy nominated single, she has also written songs for several television shows including Shots Fired, where she co-wrote the show's theme song along with several other original songs featured in the show and composed a piece of the score with great Terrance Blanchard.
Having just completed a 20 city "Act On Climate" tour with the Hip Hop Caucus and also singing for the Pope's climate rally for over 100,000 people on the National Mall in D.C., Antonique is a serious advocate for climate justice and human rights.
Sidney Lumet gave Antonique her first job. She played a teen drug addict. He heralded her as "an amazing actress with a great career ahead of her".
Antonique is following the career path of Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross and Whitney Houston; pursuing a career in film and television while also continuing to make her dream of a Grammy-winning recording career into the most amazing of realities.Since her buzz-worthy performance as Faith Evans in Notorious, Antonique hasn't been in anything note-worthy other than box-office DOA Abduction which is criminal. Her agent needs to be fired, ASAP!- Kandyse McClure is a Canadian actress born on March 22, 1980 in Durban in South Africa. She graduated from West Vancouver Secondary School in 1998. She is an actress, known for main roles in TV series Battlestar Galactica (2004), Hemlock Grove (2013), and from the movies Carrie (2002) and Seventh Son (2014).Sci-fi nerds might remember Kandyse from her Battlestar Galatica days as Anastasia Dualla. Since then, Kandyse has been in quality fare such as Mother's Day (it was good, give it a chance) and Alphas.
- A Brooklyn native, Vasi signed to Ford Models at the age of 12. She went on to grace the pages of international campaigns for ELLE, Marie Claire, GQ Italy and more. She appeared in numerous on-camera and print campaigns for leading cosmetic, hair care and fashion brands including Olay, Bobbi Brown, Dove, Urban Decay, M·A·C, L'Oreal, Target, Doll House, American Eagle, Republic and more. Her breakout role was in ABC's longstanding daytime soap opera "All My Children". Vasi starred as Randi Morgan, former prostitute and wife of series veteran Frankie Hubbard from 2008-2011. Vasi relocated with production from New York to Los Angeles. She was seen as Ruby in the critically acclaimed Steven Soderbergh-directed feature film Magic Mike, opposite Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey, and in Charles Murray's debut indie drama Things Never Said. Vasi starred as smart, savvy, businesswoman, and leading lady Raquel Lancaster in VH1's hit, one-hour scripted series, "Single Ladies." Which was produced for three seasons by Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit Entertainment, "Single Ladies" chronicles three friends and their take on love, dating and female friendship. Vasi's additional credits include feature films "The Good Guy" opposite Alexis Bledel, and "What's Your Number?" opposite Anna Faris and Chris Evans, and roles on television shows "White Collar," "Law and Order: Criminal Intent," "The Protector," and "How To Make It In America." Vasi's other interests include dance, fitness and philanthropy. She helped raise over $800,000 for addiction recovery as co-chairman of Caron Renaissance's "Save A Life Event." Vasi resides in Los Angeles.Easy on the eyes, and pretty good at delivering her lines, Denise is probably known from her time on the daytime soaps, but she's starting to branch out into more mainstream fare -- Magic Mike, and VH1's Single Ladies.
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The gorgeous April has been in The Ugly Truth and Chuck, to name a few, but it hasn't put a dent in Hollywood's name recognition category. Hopefully, her new film, The Runner, will do the trick.- 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.Beyond the hypnotic dance sequences, critically-panned Step-Up: Revolution was good for only one other thing: Cleopatra Coleman.- Actress
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Sherial McKinney is known for He's on My Mind (2009), Crazy Love (2011) and Discover Indie Film (2019).Don't know much about Sherial other than the fact she was in a couple of "beneath the radar" stuff like "He's on my Mind" and "Crazy Love" Thought she was good in He's on my Mind, which makes her good enough for this list.- Actress
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Azur-De Johnson had the dishonor of being involved in that god-awful Chris Stokes abomination, Somebody to Help Me 2. Her performance wasn't Oscar-worthy, but it was leaps and bounds better than everyone involved... but that's not saying much when your co-star is Roger from Sister, Sister. In any event, Azur-De performance was good, and hopefully she'll be in much better stuff in the near future.- Actress
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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).Amber has been on the Hollywood acting scene for some time now, but honestly, I haven't even heard of her until I saw her performance as Ashley Howard on Greek. Amber has also had roles in How I Met Your Mother and Amazing Spider-Man. She is as talented in her craft as she is beautiful, and a deserving 11th entry on my list.- Jessica Parker Kennedy is a Canadian actress of film and television. Born in Calgary, Alberta her first string of screen work began with the television film, Santa Baby (2006), as Lucy the Elf, a role she reprises in the television film sequel, Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe (2009). With a repertoire of television credits, Jessica's continuing work ties with series such as V (2009), Undercovers (2010) and Smallville (2001). She made several supporting role appearances in television-made features, including Behemoth (2011) and Collision Earth (2011). Jessica has also appeared in high-profile movies, such as the biographical comedy 50/50 (2011), starring rising stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick. She also had a role in the action film, In Time (2011), starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. Jessica is best known for her roles on Smallville and, more recently, on the supernatural drama, The Secret Circle (2011), as "Melissa". Jessica can be seen in the hit STARZ show, Black Sails (2014), and will be appearing in The Perfect Guy (2015) with Michael Ealy (2015). Jessica Parker Kennedy is also a trained singer and splits her time between Vancouver and Los Angeles.Jessica's star is on the rise with her performances in 50/50 and In Time, though most may vividly remember her as Melissa from very good (but regrettably cancelled) The Secret Circle. That hasn't stopped Jessica from securing a reoccurring role in 90210, and a new movie in 2013 called The Nearlyweds.
- Actress
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Bunbury was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, to Kristi Novak and Alex Bunbury, a footballer. Her father is Guyanese-Canadian, and her mother is American, of Polish and Swedish descent. She spent her childhood in Europe (England for two years, and seven years on the island of Madeira, Portugal) and Prior Lake, Minnesota, and it is the latter she considers as home. Bunbury originally worked as a model, but then her agency suggested she try acting. She landed her first role as Kathleen in Episode #1.11388 (2010) for one episode. She also had roles in Prom (2011) and The Sitter (2011). .This Days of Our Lives star is starting to hit her acting stride with roles in Prom and The Sitter. Look for Kylie sometime next year in the TV movie, Socio.- Actress
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Catherine Ann Callahan is an Actress, Writer and Filmmaker known for Billions (2016-2018) , The Blacklist (2017) and LI Divas (2014-2018) After graduating from Cornell University, she soon began her career in New York City and has been seen in several National Commercials and Television Series. She's married to Paul Blanchard. Born and Raised on Long Island, New York, she continues to live in New York.Catherine had an early start in daytime soaps such as As The World Turns, All My Children and Guiding Light. With a small role in 30 Rock, and the a short-lived television series out of her system (Are We There Yet?) hopefully Catherine can focus on bigger and better things -- she has the talent to do it.- Actress
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Bianca Lawson was born on 20 March 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Save the Last Dance (2001), The Feast of All Saints (2001) and Rogue (2013).I've been a huge fan of Bianca since her days on Buffy. And even though she's been in a variety of movies and TV shows, somehow she's not as A-list-y as I thought she would, or could have been. Still she gets steady work on high-profile shows (Teen Wolf and Pretty Little Liars), and that's what it's all about it. Though I'm hoping she becomes apart of something that makes her into a breakout star.- Actress
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Lauren London first appeared in the film, ATL, opposite actor and recording artist, Tip "TI" Harris. Due to London's breakout success in ATL, she received an offer to star in the film, This Christmas, with Loretta Devine, Idris Elba and Regina King. Her next film role was in the teen romantic comedy, I Love You, Beth Cooper, opposite Hayden Panettiere. London made her television debut on Everybody Hates Chris. Her other television credits include a recurring guest star role on HBO's Entourage, a recurring guest star role on CW's 90210 and a special guest star role in the VH1 series, Singles Ladies, executive produced by Queen Latifah. London's next feature film is Madea's Big Happy Family, directed by Tyler Perry. She is a Los Angeles native.Lauren is, without a doubt, the epitome of Drop-dead gorgeous, and she has some serious acting chops to boot -- she was great in ATL and This Christmas. And though she's had roles in middle-of-the-road fare like Next Day Air, Madea's Big Happy Family, and I love you, Beth Cooper (which I actually liked), Lauren has yet to break through that Hollywood stardom ceiling.- Ashley Madekwe (born 6 December 1981) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as call girl Bambi in the ITV2 series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, social climber Ashley Davenport on the ABC drama series Revenge and the witch Tituba in the WGN America series Salem.
Madekwe was born in South London, England into a mixed family. Her father is Nigerian-Swiss and her mother is English. She grew up on a south London council estate and attended The Brit School at age 14. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London where she gained a BA in acting. While attending the school, she appeared in numerous stage productions including King Henry V as Princess Katherine and Wuthering Heights as Catherine Earnshaw.
Madekwe started her acting career with a film titled Storm Damage. Since then, she has made guest appearances on Teachers, Doctors, Casualty, and Drop Dead Gorgeous. Madekwe landed her first motion picture in the 2007 Woody Allen film Cassandra's Dream, opposite Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor. Following that success, she played Elisha in the one-off BBC Three drama pilot West 10 LDN, and appeared in six episodes of Trexx and Flipside as Ollie. In 2008, she landed the role of Bambi on the ITV2 drama series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, appearing in series two and three. Madekwe starred in the 2008 comedy film How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. Her theatre credits include Little Sweet Thing by Roy Williams and Flight Path by David Watson.
Madekwe made her official US debut in the 2009 drama series The Beautiful Life, which only aired two episodes on The CW before being cancelled. In February 2011, she was cast as Ashley Davenport in the ABC drama series Revenge. After being a regular for the first two seasons, it was reported in late May 2013 that Madekwe would depart the series following a guest appearance in the first episode of the third season. She starred as Tituba in the television series Salem from 2014 to 2016.
In June 2012, Madekwe married her long-time boyfriend, actor Iddo Goldberg. They have worked together on Secret Diary of a Call Girl and he also had a role alongside her on the TV series Salem.This Bedlam and Secret Diary of a Call Girl star is coming into her own as television actress. Look for her every Sunday as Destiny on Revenge. - Actress
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Vanessa Morgan was born on 23 March 1992 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress, known for Riverdale (2017), The Latest Buzz (2007) and My Babysitter's a Vampire (2010). She has been married to Michael Kopech since 4 January 2020. They have one child.Vanessa has built herself a pretty impressive resume with roles in Greek Charming, A.N.T. Farm, and a role on My Babysitter's a Vampire. Hopefully this role will lead to something on the big screen, but she is surely one to watch out for.- Actress
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Cymphonique Raina Miller, is an actress, singer, dancer and writer. This Los Angeles native, is one of Hollywood's biggest teen phenomena and the star of the hit TV show How To Rock. Cymphonique has made a name for herself and built a diverse R&B, Pop and Hip Hop fan base through the Internet before taking her acting and music career mainstream. At a remarkably young age, she created her own brand and identity, in the entertainment world.
Cymphonique's special skills are competitive kick boxing, swimming, drawing, writing, playing the piano and guitar. She is inspired by her passion to help others, created a book series to empower young girls called Fabulous Girls, and founded Fabulous Girls Charity to help bring awareness to kids with cancer. In addition to her being one of the youngest teens to receive a key to the City of Memphis for her philanthropic efforts, she is also the founder and President of Fabulous Girls Clothing as well as the spokesperson for BYOU, an organization specializing in girl empowerment and anti-bullying. She founded a performing arts school with Let The Kids Grow Foundation.Coming from a talented family (Master P's her dad), Cymphonique was sure to find success on screen or in music. With her first sitcom coming to a close after only one season, don't expect that to be the last of Cymphonique. I'm pretty sure she'll be involved in something in the near future.- Actress
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Hayley Marie Norman is an American film and television actress.
Hayley was born and raised in Thousand Oaks, California, the daughter of a retired baseball player. Her father is African-American and her mother is of Russian, German, and distant Dutch, descent. On her mother's side, Hayley is the great-granddaughter of production manager/assistant director Gene Anderson, and the great-niece of actor Robert J. Anderson, who played young George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), and of assistant director Gene Anderson Jr..
Hayley was chosen to be one of the few and highly distinguished California Arts Scholars, in which she was awarded a Governor's medallion, the highest distinction in California for artistically talented students. She received this honor an unprecedented two years in a row. Hayley continued her training and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Upright Citizens Brigade honing her skills as both a dramatic actress and comedienne. She continues to perform with popular sketch and improv groups around town and enjoys putting up new material on the UCB main stage.
Hayley had a memorable breakout performance in Chris Rock's Top Five (2014), proving she can hold her own among some of Hollywood's most iconic comedians. The film, released on December 12, 2014, became a hot commodity at the Toronto International Film Festival, prompting Paramount Studios to purchase it, including it in the DGA's annual The Contenders event and preparing Top Five for an awards run.
In addition to her role in Top Five, this multitalented actress also co-produces and stars in the semi-scripted hit online series Hello Cupid. Drawing largely on her improv and comedy skills, the series follows longtime friends Robyn (Hayley Marie Norman) and Whitney as they experience the ups and downs of online dating. The series, now in its second season, has garnered critical acclaim and has been named an official selection at the TriBeCa Film Festival and one of the "Top 5 Great Web Series You Should Be Watching Now" by Vulture.
After starring as a perky cheerleader in Sony Pictures Screen Gems' film Fired Up, she received rave reviews from Robert Ebert who declared her "the most intriguing member of the cast." She's had recurring roles on television shows like Crash acting alongside one of her favorite actors, Dennis Hopper, as well as abc's Selfie and BET's long running The Game. Her other credits include Hancock, Our Family Wedding, Norbit, New Girl, Bones, The Exes, CSI: NY, CSI: Miami, Studio 60, and many more. A bonafide LA valley girl, one of Hayley's first jobs was as the Mattel's official "face" of the African American Barbie, and she later filled iconic role of Briefcase #25 model on Deal or No Deal. Hayley also has a role in Relativity Media's Beyond The Lights which is slated to hit theaters this November.
Hayley is a huge fan of the blaxploitation genre and is a self proclaimed fan girl of Pam Grier. She also speaks frequently about the films of John Cassavetes and her admiration for both him and Gena Rowlands. She is a classically trained dancer and a long time vegan and animal rights activist.Hayley's been in Hancock, Norbit and BET's The Game. Look for her next in Rodeo Drive Diva... boy, I hope it's better than the title indicates.