Teyonah Parris
| Teyonah Parris | |
|---|---|
 Parris at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival | |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2010–present |
Teyonah Parris is an American actress. She began her career playing a recurring role as Dawn Chambers in the AMC drama series, Mad Men (2012-15), before landing her breakthrough role in the 2014 independent film Dear White People. In 2015, Parris went to star in the satirical drama film Chi-Raq directed by Spike Lee.
Life and career
Parris was raised in Hopkins, South Carolina, and graduated from the Juilliard School.[1] She made her television debut in 2010, with guest starring role on The Good Wife. In 2012, she was cast in a recurring role as Dawn Chambers in the AMC drama series, Mad Men.[2] She played the first major African American character on Mad Men.[3]
In 2014, Parris had her breakthrough role in the independent film Dear White People.[1][4] Later in that year, Parris began starring in the Starz comedy series, Survivor's Remorse.[5][6][7] In 2015, Parris went to star in n the satirical drama film Chi-Raq directed by Spike Lee.[8] She received her first NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture nomination for this film.[9] She played the leading role in Where Children Play directed by Leila Djansi, and starred alongside David Oyelowo in Five Nights in Maine.[10][11] Later in 2015, she played R&B/Jazz singer Miki Howard in the biopic The Miki Howard Story.[12]
In 2016, Parris was cast as lead character in the period drama film Buffalo Soldier Girl about a woman who, disguised as a man, enlisted and fought with the African American Post Civil War era as a Buffalo Soldier.[13]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Empire Corner | Alma | Short film |
| 2010 | Wu is Dead | Alma | Short film |
| 2010 | How Do You Know | Riva | |
| 2013 | A Picture of You | Mika | |
| 2014 | Dear White People | Colandrea 'Coco' Conners | Black Reel Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2014 | They Came Together | Wanda | |
| 2015 | Five Nights in Maine | Penelope | |
| 2015 | Where Children Play | Bellissima Mccain | |
| 2015 | Chi-Raq | Lysistrata | African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Actress |
| 2016 | The Miki Howard Story | Miki Howard | |
| 2017 | Buffalo Soldier Girl |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Good Wife | Melinda Gossett | Episode: "Double Jeopardy" |
| 2012-2015 | Mad Men | Dawn Chambers | Recurring role, 22 episodes Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |
| 2013 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Karen Branston | Episode: "Take the Money and Run" |
| 2014-present | Survivor's Remorse | Missy Vaughn | Series regular |
References
- 1 2 "‘Mad Men’ secretary lands a new job with 'Dear White People'". New York Post. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ "Q&A – Teyonah Parris (Dawn)". amc.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ "Mad Men: Teyonah Parris Becomes First African American In Mad Men Office". Black Enterprise. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ A. O. SCOTT. "Advanced Course in Diversity:'Dear White People,' About Racial Hypocrisy at a College". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ Jai Tiggett (23 October 2014). "Interview: Teyonah Parris Tells S&A About Color on TV, Be - Shadow and Act". Shadow and Act. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ "Teyonah Parris on Survivor’s Remorse and Mad Men -- Vulture". Vulture. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ Lesley Goldberg. "'Mad Men' Alum Boards Starz's LeBron James Comedy (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ Los Angeles Times (2 December 2015). "Teyonah Parris hopes to 'inspire change' with her role in Spike Lee's 'Chi-Raq'". latimes.com. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ↑ Patrick Hipes. "NAACP Image Award Nominations 2015 — Full List - Deadline". Deadline. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ Tambay A. Obenson (20 July 2015). "Trailer: Teyonah Parris Toplines Leila Djansi's 'Where Ch - Shadow and Act". Shadow and Act. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ↑ Andrew Barker. "‘Five Nights in Maine’ Review: David Oyelowo, Dianne Wiest Mourn a Death in the Family - Variety". Variety. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ↑ Tambay A. Obenson (21 December 2015). "Teyonah Parris Stars in TV One’s Original Movie on Life o - Shadow and Act". Shadow and Act. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ Anita Busch. "Teyonah Parris In Talks To Star In ‘Buffalo Soldier Girl’ - Deadline". Deadline. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
External links
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