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Kelly Jenrette was born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Honor Student (2023), The Handmaid's Tale (2017) and Frisky Dingo (2006).- Actress
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Menik Gooneratne is a Sri Lankan-Australian actress and writer whose films have grossed over $500 million worldwide. Born in England, she spent her youth travelling to developing countries due to her father's UN work in combating climate change, before finally settling in Australia. She is best known for her roles in Peter Jackson's sci-fi epic Mortal Engines (2018), Oscar-nominated film Lion (2016) and her 111 episode run as series regular on the iconic Australian TV series Neighbours (2011-2013).- Actress
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Frankie Adams is a New Zealand-Samoan actress, Best known for playing fan favorite "Bobbie Draper" in the Amazon series The Expanse, Frankie can also be seen in the limited series The Flowers of Alice Hart opposite Sigourney Weaver for Amazon as well as Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins. Her credits include the NZ limited series The Panthers which premiered at TIFF, Peter Jackson's Mortal Engines for Universal and the lead of director Tusi Tamasese's feature One Thousand Ropes which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, the follow-up to his Samoan film The Orator, both of which were shortlisted for the Academy Awards foreign-language category from New Zealand. Frankie's additional credits include the Luc Besson feature Valerian with Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne, a recurring role on the award-winning Australian series Wentworth, and five seasons of the long running NZ series Shortland Street.- Actress
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Shohreh Aghdashloo was born Shohreh Vaziri-Tabar on May 11, 1952 in Tehran, Iran. In the 1970s at age 20, she achieved nationwide stardom in her homeland of Iran, starring in some prominent pictures such as The Report (1977) directed by the renowned Abbas Kiarostami, which won critics awards at the Moscow Film Festival. In 1978, she won wider acclaim and established herself as one of Iran's leading ladies with Desiderium (1978) directed by the late Ali Hatami. During the 1978 Islamic revolution, Aghdashloo left Iran for England, to complete her education. Her interest in politics and her concern for social injustice in the world would lead her to receive a Bachelor's degree in International Relations.
She continued to pursue her acting career, which eventually brought her to Los Angeles, California in 1987. She went on to marry actor/playwright Houshang Touzie, performing in a number of his plays, successfully taking them to national and international stages. However, this was not easy getting work in Hollywood as a Middle Eastern actress with an accent; she had roles in some decent, though not great, films, including Twenty Bucks (1993), Surviving Paradise (2000) and Maryam (2002). She received good reviews for her 12 episodes on the fourth season of the Fox television series 24 (2001) as Dina Araz, a terrorist undercover as a well-to-do housewife and mother in Los Angeles. She had to wait quite some time to receive her break in Hollywood.
And finally, years after having read the acclaimed novel "House of Sand and Fog", DreamWorks were in the process of bringing the story to the silver screen. After having cast Ben Kingsley (as Massoud Amir Behrani) and Jennifer Connelly in the lead roles, they were looking for a relatively unknown Iranian actress to play Kingsley's wife, Nadi. Shohreh Aghdashloo was duly cast. She stole the limelight and earned herself an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress amongst many other prestigious awards, including the Independent Spirit Sward as best supporting actress in a feature film, the New York and Los Angeles film critics award and others.- Actress
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Ilana Glazer was born on 12 April 1987 in Long Island, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Broad City (2014), Rough Night (2017) and Broad City (2010). She has been married to David Rooklin since 25 February 2017.- Actress
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Diona Reasonover was born on 6 January 1992 in the USA. She is an actress and writer, known for NCIS (2003), Periodic Talks (2021) and Grace and Frankie (2015). She has been married to Patricia Villetto since March 2018.- Actor
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LaKeith Lee Stanfield is an actor and rapper from Victorville, California. At the age of fifteen, LaKeith began attending the John Casablancas Modeling & Career Center in Orange County. A few years later, he auditioned for Destin Cretton's then college thesis film Short Term 12 (2008). Later, the newer version of Short Term 12 (2013) marked LaKeith's debut as a professional actor. Subsequently, he landed a role in the Martin Luther King biopic, Selma (2014), and has since starred in Get Out (2017), Knives Out (2019), The Photograph (2020), and the series Atlanta on FX.- Actress
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Named the "next big thing" and one of the "top 35 Latinos under 35," by The Hollywood Reporter, Gina Rodriguez's profile has been rising steadily since her breakout performance as the titular character in FILLY BROWN during the Sundance Film Festival in 2012.
Gina Rodriguez was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Puerto Rican parents Magali and Genaro Rodriguez, a boxing referee. She started performing at age seven with the salsa dance company Fantasia Juvenil. She went on to work with other companies including Los Soneros Del Swing, performing at several Salsa Congress' in Chicago, California, New York and Puerto Rico. At sixteen, Gina was one of thirteen teens to be accepted into Columbia University NY- Theatrical Collaboration taught by Richard Niles. She wrote, directed and performed original work with twelve other kids from around the world. She fell in love with New York and NYU called her name-she was accepted into the Tisch School of the Arts, and the calling was clear, theatre was it. Gina had four years of intense theatre training at both the Atlantic Theatre Company and Experimental Theatre Wing, working with David Mamet and William H. Macy, the brilliant guidance of Rosemary Quinn and other wonderful professors. Directly after graduation, Gina booked her first lead role in the feature film Tiny Dancer. After, Gina originated the role of Frida Kahlo in the world premiere of "Casa Blue: The Last Moments in the Life of Frida Kahlo," at the American Stage Theatre. She continued to work in NY with multiple theatres and her work in film and TV steadily grew, including shows "Jonny Zero," "Army Wives," and "Law and Order," in addition to several short and indie films. One in particular, Osvaldos, was accepted into festivals including ABFF, NY HBO Latino Film Fest, Chicago International Film Fest, Urbanworld. They named Gina winner of the "Best Actor" award at the First Run Film Festival in NY and the film aired on HBO in 2010 and was named one of the "Five Best Shorts." After the years of success in NY, Gina booked a lead role in a feature film Go for It (Lionsgate) in which she received a 2011 Imagen Awards nomination. After this, Gina booked her first co-star TV role on CBS' "Eleventh Hour." She went on to book series regular roles on web series "Eden's Court" and "No Names;" her first studio film Our Family Wedding with America Ferrera; and a lead in film Superchicas. Since then she has also guest starred on the TV shows: "The Mentalist," "Happy Endings" and "Ten Things I Hate About You." Next up came one of Gina's most exciting roles, to date, Filly Brown. Originally, this role had been written as a spoken word artist, an area that Gina had experience, but upon meeting the directors and producers, they informed her that they were changing the part to a rapper. After an outstanding audition, in which Gina provided an impromptu rap performance, she secured the role. Gina collaborated with music producers, E Dub and Khoolaid from Silent Giant, to come up with over five original songs for the film. Filly Brown is set to hit theatres nationally in April 2013.
Up next, Gina stars as the lead in the indie dark comedy Sleeping with Fishes, written and directed by Nicole Gomez Fisher. The film focuses on Alexis Rodriguez Fish, who returns home to her family after the death of her cheating husband. Anna Ortiz will play her sister. Gina remains in the midst of an ABC studios holding deal, and will be seen in a supporting role in Snap, a reunion with her FILLY BROWN director Youssef Delara. Her indie film California Winter with Ruttina Wesley remains in the pipeline as well.
Gina is a supporter of Inspira, an organization that works to spotlight Latino leaders who shape their communities. She also works with the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts and the Boyle Heights Learning Collaborative, and won an Imagen award winner for "Best Actress in a Feature Film: Filly Brown".
As of 2014, Gina stars in the CW television series Jane the Virgin (2014), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe (Best Actress in a Television Series - Comedy). She lives in Los Angeles, CA.- Actor
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Oscar Nuñez was born on 18 November 1958 in Cuba. He is an actor and writer, known for The Proposal (2009), The Office (2005) and Baywatch (2017). He has been married to Ursula Whittaker since 21 May 2011. They have one child. He was previously married to Carla.- Actress
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Dana L. Wilson was born in the USA. She is an actress and producer, known for To the Bone (2017), Dexter (2006) and Major Crimes (2012).- Julissa Bermudez was born on 28 September 1983 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She is an actress, known for Royal Pains (2009), Make It Happen (2008) and Danger One (2018).
- Angélica Guadalupe Celaya born July 9, 1982 is an American actress and model born in Tucson, Arizona to Mexican parents. She has a younger brother named Jesus. Celaya speaks Spanish, English and Italian. Her debut was in the 2003 telenovela Ladrón de corazones. Other roles in telenovelas include Los plateados, Marina, Mientras haya vida and Vivir sin ti.
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Erica Luttrell was born on 20 March 1982 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress, known for Westworld (2016), Salvation (2017) and David Makes Man (2019).- Actress
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This stunning and resourceful actress has been primarily a film player thus far. Only recently has she been opening herself up more to doing television (the series Gemini Division (2008), which she executive-produced), and animated voice-overs. Dawson's powerhouse talent stands out the most in edgy, urban filming that dates back to 1995 when she was only sixteen.
A rags-to-riches article entitled "Rosario Dawson: From Tenement to Tinseltown" probably says it all. Rosario was born on May 9, 1979 in New York City. Her mother, Isabel Celeste, of Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban descent, is a singer, and her stepfather, who raised her, Greg Dawson, of Irish descent, is a construction laborer. Her parents, who married when both were teenagers, eventually divorced. Rosario and her younger brother, Clay Dawson, had it hard while growing up, and were cared for by family members, most of whom were poverty-stricken, and some of whom were HIV-positive.
Her career actually started as a child when she made a minor showing on the children's show, Sesame Street (1969). As the story goes, she was "discovered" as an adolescent on her front porch step by two photographers. One of them, Harmony Korine, was an aspiring screenwriter who thought the inexperienced sixteen-year-old was ideal for the controversial cult film Kids (1995), in which she would portray a sexually active adolescent. It took time for Rosario's film career to kick in after that, but by the late 1990s, she had nabbed several independent films. Since then, she has moved into main-stream hits (and misses) and has surprised viewers with her earthy, provocative, uninhibited approach to her roles.
Reflecting New York's tougher, tawdrier side as assorted streetwalkers, homeless mothers, drug addicts, etc., her film highlights have included Light It Up (1999), Edward Burns' Sidewalks of New York (2001), Spike Lee's 25th Hour (2002) and Shattered Glass (2003). For Oliver Stone, she portrayed the duped bride of Colin Farrell's famed B.C. Macedonian warrior, Alexander (2004) (as in "...the Great"), which featured a notoriously violent-tinged nude/sex scene.
Expanding her horizons beyond film, she has always expressed interest in singing. She hooked up with Prince for the re-release of his 1980s hit "1999" and appeared in The Chemical Brothers' video for the song "Out of Control" from the album "Surrender". She is also featured on the Outkast track, "She Lives in My Lap". On stage, she co-starred as Julia in a revival of "Two Gentlemen of Verona" at the Public Theater's "Shakespeare in the Park" and appeared in "The Vagina Monologues".
She lucked into and got to show off her singing chops in the film adaptation of the hit New York musical Rent (2005), when Daphne Rubin-Vega, the original Mimi, became pregnant and was unable to reprise her exotic dancer role. Rosario also appeared as a prostitute in the adaptation of the graphic novel Sin City (2005). Of late, she has turned to producing. One of those, Descent (2007), had her playing a college coed who is brutally attacked and raped by a fellow student. Her more popular ventures have thus far included the role of Valerie Brown in the live-action version of the comic strip Josie and the Pussycats (2001), the Will Smith starrer Men in Black II (2002), Eagle Eye (2008) with Shia LaBeouf and Seven Pounds (2008), again with Smith, in which she offered one of her more tender-hearted performances as a woman with a potentially fatal heart condition.
More recent millennium films opposite some of Hollywood's top leading movie men include the tense actioneer Unstoppable (2010) with Denzel Washington and Chris Pine; the comedy/fantasy Zookeeper (2011) opposite Dalekmania (1995); romantic dramedy 10 Years (2011) with Channing Tatum; crime drama Fire with Fire (2012) with Bruce Willis; romantic comedy Top Five (2014) with Chris Rock; and action adventure Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) with Woody Harrelson. She has also top-lined independent films with her own feisty characters such as the thriller Unforgettable (2017) and the title role in the dramedy Krystal (2017).
Focusing also on TV projects, Rosario has graced such action series/mini-series as Daredevil (2015), Iron Fist (2017) and The Defenders (2017), as well as the comedy Jane the Virgin (2014) and animated cartoon series The Last Kids on Earth (2019).
Off-camera, the still-single Dawson is highly active in political, social and environmental causes and has been involved with such organizations/charities/campaigns as the Lower East Side Girls Club, Global Cool, the O.N.E. Campaign, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Control Arms, International Rescue Committee, Voto Latino (which she founded), Conservation International, Doctors Without Borders, National Geographic Society, The Nature Conservancy and Save the Children. In October 2008, she lent her voice to the RESPECT! Campaign, a movement aimed at preventing domestic violence.- A native of Shueyville, Iowa, Taylor is a graduate of Northwestern University's School of Speech.
Robin Lord Taylor has appeared in several acclaimed television series, such as The Walking Dead (2010), Law & Order (1990), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) The Good Wife (2009) and Person of Interest (2011) He also had a recurring role as "Darrell, the 'Late Show' page with the fake British accent" on "The Late Show with David Letterman."
Taylor is perhaps best known for his roles as Abernathy Darwin Dunlap in the cult comedy Accepted (2006) (starring opposite Jonah Hill and Justin Long) and Oswald "The Penguin" Cobblepot in Gotham (2014). He also appeared in the hit independent horror film Would You Rather (2012) and starred opposite Bryan Cranston and Alice Eve in the independent film Cold Comes the Night (2013). He has also appeared in several other films that have been prominently featured on the festival circuit, most notably Another Earth (2011) which won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. He was featured in Spike Lee (Venice Film Festival), The House Is Burning (2006) (produced by Wim Wenders, Cannes Film Festival), Pitch (2006) (Cannes Film Festival) and Assassination of a High School President (2008) (Sundance).
Taylor co-created and co-starred in "Creation Nation," a live talk show with Billy Eichner, which they performed at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as at the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival and in many venues throughout New York City and Los Angeles. He has also appeared onstage in "Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom," "The Shooting Stage," "Henry IV" and "No. 11 Blue and White," as well as numerous productions in Stephen Sondheim's Young Playwrights Festival at the Cherry Lane Theater.
He resides in New York City. - Salme is an Australian actor born in Tehran. Her family moved to Australia when she was four years old, and she grew up on the Central Coast, NSW. She took her first acting class while studying Biotechnology at the University of Newcastle. Her passion for acting led her to leave her studies and pursue performing arts at the Australian Academy of Dramatic Art (AADA) in Sydney.
Her first TV appearance was on the hit police drama series 'Rush' (Network Ten/Southern Star) opposite Rodger Corser and Catherine McClements. She has since worked on other major Australian television shows including the highly popular series 'Winners & Losers' (Seven Network), and Australia's longest-running drama series 'Neighbours' (Fremantle).
She played Detective Majano in the 2021 Netflix crime-thriller series 'Clickbait' (NBCUniversal/Matchbox Pictures), and Anousha in 'Mystery Road: Origin' (ABC), which won Best Drama Series in the 2022 AACTA Awards, and also won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in a Drama Series in the Equity Ensemble Awards 2023.
Her film credits include 'Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town' alongside MacKenzie Davis, which premiered at the LA Film Festival, and the 2019 sci-fi thriller 'The Mandela Effect' directed by David Guy Levy.
Salme speaks Farsi and Spanish. She trains in Muay Thai and Aikido, and her martial arts weapons training includes the jo staff and bokken. - Actress
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Kelsey Scott was born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Kelsey is an actor and writer, known for How to Get Away with Murder (2014), 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Fear the Walking Dead: Passage (2016).- Born in Washington, DC and raised in the Maryland suburbs, Elena is the youngest in her family's first American-born generation. Her parents, then immigrants from South America are whom she credits today for being bi-lingual in Spanish and English. She loves her cultural Hispanic roots and shows them off by still dancing Salsa and Tango every chance she gets! By her early 20's, she hosted the Emmy Award winning show "Diver(C)ity" filmed in the DC metropolitan area before making her way to Los Angeles. Elena's diverse and urban vibe contributed to her quick success soon after arriving in Hollywood. Her face could be seen in several national commercials, print ads and TV shows. By 2003, she had become one of the sexy "Kande Girls" on BET's "The Way We Do It" and landed roles on "Judging Amy", "Bold and the Beautiful" and "Half & Half". She's a natural beauty and has a winning personality to match her talents as a fiery Latina actress, which is still consistently evident in her expanding work.
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Dianne Greenwood is a born actor who has been acting her entire life in one way or another. Throughout school, she could be seen in every play or production from kindergarten to grade 12, including popular titles such as "Cinderella," also played in sleeping beauty
She also produced few music videos and has a production company called upproductions participated in many volunteer work in her Community, she also enjoyed writing, directing.
At 26, I moved to Canada from the Caribbean to attended university where she realized that acting was what she was meant to do for the rest of her. She went on to star in Man In The High Castle and a members of other projects. She is known for her role in Moonboy, Switch, Altered Carbon.- Actress
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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.- Theatrically trained actress Ninja N. Devoe has played challenging roles in some of the biggest film and television projects of the past few years. Highlights include fan favorite Aisha Axton, a street-smart Harlem girl in Marvel's LUKE CAGE, opposite Mike Colter and Emmy Award-winning Ron Cephas Jones, Roberta, the sassy fun-loving waitress in Ava DuVernay's television series QUEEN SUGAR, and most recently the endearing and inspirational motivator opposite Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen in Universal Pictures 2018 critics' darling GREEN BOOK.
Ms. Devoe began her professional career in New York City, training at the award-winning non-profit Tada! youth theater, and HB Studios. Next, she went on to study in Los Angeles with celebrity coaches Aaron Speiser, Amy Lyndon, and Doug Warhit, along with attending several workshops, seminars and improv programs.
Directed by Peter Farrelly in GREEN BOOK, Ninja also appears as Debbie, supporting lead and protective best friend, in David Moscow's thriller DESOLATION, streaming on Hulu. Other recent roles include Betty, the prideful slave, on WGN's critically acclaimed series UNDERGROUND and Zayven in the Lionsgate/You-Tube Red series STEP-UP: HIGHWATER from producer Channing Tatum. Ninja can next be seen in the 2019 Will Packer feature film JACOBS LADDER as Nurse Tonya, opposite Michael Ealy.
The bilingual Afro-Latina actress looks forward to playing many other equally compelling characters in everything from action films, where she can spotlight her combat and boxing skills, to period pieces and love stories. The versatile Bronx native and swiftly rising star Ninja N. Devoe has a bright and busy future ahead! - Actress
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Nicole Beharie is an American actress.
Her critically acclaimed film debut was in the film American Violet (2008) alongside Alfre Woodard, Tim Blake Nelson and Will Patton. Beharie also played Ernie Davis' girlfriend in the movie The Express (2008). Her upcoming projects include My Last Day Without You (2011) and Steve McQueen's Shame (2011) opposite Michael Fassbender.
Beharie developed a passion for acting and performing as a child. She attended South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville, SC. She was the first student from the Governor's school to be accepted into Juilliard Drama School in NYC.- Maia Moss-Fife was born and primarily raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She comes from a musical family and developed a love for singing at a very young age. As a child, she spent much of her free time listening to (and singing along with) her father's old albums. Then, in high school, she was bitten by the acting bug while performing in her first musical and has never looked back! She went on to attend the University of Miami(FL), where she honed her skills and graduated with a degree in Musical Theatre. Her body of work includes theatre, film, and television. She is very passionate about her craft and cannot imagine doing anything else. She resides in the Atlanta area with her husband and her beautiful children.
- JayR is an Australian/Filipino actor best known for their series regular role of Zayn in the Netflix original series 'Another Life (2019)'. JayR also played a supporting role alongside Mahershala Ali & Glenn Close in the critically acclaimed film 'Swan Song (2021)' for Apple TV+. Swan Song is written and directed by Academy Award winner Benjamin Cleary.
JayR's latest attachments include a recurring role on the second season of Netflix's 'Space Force (2020)' alongside Steve Carell & John Malkovich, created by Greg Daniels. Also, the Netflix limited series 'The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)', created by Mike Flanagan.
JayR identifies as non-binary, using he/him or they/them pronouns. - Actress
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Known for her fierce determination and brazenly unapologetic heart, AJ Simmons is a Mestiza actor, writer, and filmmaker. The daughter of a transracial adoptee and a refugee, she is grateful to be living, breathing and working on the unceded, ancestral, and occupied, traditional lands of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Watuth, and Squamish Nations. With a diverse foundation in classical theatre and dance, AJ's passion for storytelling is infused with a layered complexity.
For the stage, AJ has collaborated with Electric Company, Pacific, Factory, Pleiades, Young People's Theatre, Roseneath, Aluna, and Alameda Theatre. AJ also explores her intersectionality through Flamenco and is a member of Flamenco Rosario's Professional Training Program 2019/20. She trains concurrently with Oscar Nieto and Kasandra 'La China' of Mozaico Flamenco.
As an emerging filmmaker AJ has written, produced and directed several short films which have screened at festivals across Canada and the United States. Most recently her short film Yasmina was awarded a Storyhive grant, and was released and broadcast in cooperation with Telus and NSICanada.- Elizabeth Faith Ludlow is an American actress known for her portrayal of Arat in the AMC post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead (2016-2018), she is also recognized for her role as Mona over the course of 6 episodes of the USA TV series, Satisfaction and participated in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Elizabeth began her career in 2013. She portrayed a girl in an episode of The Vampire Diaries, television series. Since then, she has made her appearance in various television series, (2013) and subsequently Resurrection, Bound, Powers, Mr.Right, Satisfaction.
In 2016 she made her appearance in the movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as Easik Mother. The same year she also portrayed as Arat in the television series, The Walking Dead. Ludlow has also played as Agent Kat Ryan in Max Steel the same year. Elizabeth has made her appearance in various television series and movies. One of her most watched appearance as Arat in The Walking Dead. Ludlow will leave for Godzilla: King of the Monsters appear in a role not yet confirmed. - Writer
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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.- Writer
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Ashley Nicole Black was born in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a writer and actress, known for Ted Lasso (2020), A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019) and The Simpsons Movie (2007).- Actress
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Quinta Brunson is a writer, actress and Stand-Up Comedian living in LA. Born and raised in Philadelphia PA, Quinta started studying comedy in Chicago at the Second City. She moved to LA in 2013. Her 2014 viral series "The Girl Who's Never Been on a Nice Date" launched her into viral fame, eventually leading her to a relationship with BuzzFeed Motion pictures. She now develops shows in traditional and digital entertainment and performs stand up around the country.- Actress
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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.- Actress
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Lanei Chapman was born on 23 January 1973. She is an actress, known for Rat Race (2001), Space: Above and Beyond (1995) and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001).- Actress
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The youngest of eight children, Karen grew up in an active home in a small town just outside of Toronto.
Drawn to performing at an early age, Karen received her formal training through the musical theatre program at Sheridan College and after graduation by singing with several bands.
A fan of travel, Karen spent the early years of her career touring the world with the Legends show as Tina Turner while working on the many opportunities that began coming her way in film & television and on stage.
Karen is also a successful TV and Radio voice artist - her voice has been heard on ads for the NFL, Advil and The American Cancer Society to name a few.- Actress
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Karen Glave is a Canadian actress who grew up, just outside of Montreal, in Chateauguay, Quebec. She studied acting at George Brown Theatre School in Toronto, Canada and, since graduating, has been cast in numerous film and television roles. Her first real break was to be cast in the USA Network's Ms. Scrooge (1997), directed by John Korty and starring Cicely Tyson as "Ebenita Scrooge". She played the young Ebenita in flashbacks. She then went on to act, opposite Courtney B. Vance and Charles S. Dutton in the Showtime original movie, Blind Faith (1998), directed by Ernest R. Dickerson, Don McKellar's Last Night (1998), and was directed again by Ernest Dickerson, opposite Mandy Patinkin, in Showtime's Strange Justice (1999). She has gone on to work in films, such as The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Dream House (2011), as well as television series, such as Lost Girl (2010), Warehouse 13 (2009) (2013), Suits (2011) (2013) and Guillermo del Toro's new series, The Strain (2014).- Actress
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Mercedes Morris is a multi-disciplinary artist from Scarborough, ON. She's an accomplished actress who has appeared on screens and stages across the country. In addition to her lead role on SkyMed for Paramount+ and CBC, Morris can currently be seen recurring on CBS's Ghosts. Her other recent credits include The Amityville Curse (Incendo), Y: The Last Man (Hulu), American Gods (Starz/Prime), Hudson and Rex (City), Killjoys (Temple Street Productions) and as the series lead on Slasher season 3 and season 5 (Shaftesbury/Netflix). She also joined the cast of Between (City/Netflix) in the second season as a series lead. Notable stage credits include captivating roles in Pipeline (Soulpepper), Tartuffe (Canadian Stage, Stratford Festival); Lear (Groundling Theatre); and Twelfth Night, The School for Scandal (Stratford Festival). Mercedes also has extensive motion capture experience, appearing in multiple Ubisoft video game titles, including Far Cry 6 and the upcoming, Star Wars: Outlaws.
As a singer-songwriter, Mercedes uses her vocal prowess to command the mic. Her unique fusion of R&B and Caribbean flavour, influenced by her Toronto hometown and Jamaican /Guyanese background, is available on all music streaming platforms.
Beyond her artistic pursuits, Mercedes is deeply passionate about activism and mentoring youth, particularly fourth-year drama students, of her alma maters, the University of Toronto and Sheridan College.- Birthday: July 16, Kim Roberts is an internationally known, Canadian actress. Born in Toronto, Canada, Kim has acted since the age of seven when she performed with the friendship circle helmed by Lois Lilienstein of Sharon, Lois and Bram fame. Early in her career, Kim played the smart doctor in a Benalyn commercial, making her the first black woman to speak in a national ad campaign in Canada. Kim has gone on to perform in all forms of media listing over 200 credits to her name.
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Viktoria Modesta was born on 25 February 1988 in Daugavpils, Latvia, USSR. She is an actress and composer, known for Bionic Showgirl (2019), Killjoys (2015) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016).- Actress
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Yahsmin Daviault is known for In the Shadow of the Moon (2019), The Bone Collector (1999) and Killjoys (2015).- Stunts
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Brianna Goldie is known for The Umbrella Academy (2019), The Expanse (2015) and Suicide Squad (2016).- Actress
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Samora Smallwood is a Canadian Screen Award winning actress, creator, and writer of West African-Canadian heritage. Samora is committed to telling fresh, emotionally resonant stories and using her voice and her art to heal, inspire, and empower us to boldly walk in our purpose.
Samora's mantra is #ManifestYoShit which means that no matter where you come from, no matter what happened to you, you have the ability and the right to manifest your dreams.- Actress
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Diane Johnstone is known for The Handmaid's Tale (2017), Mrs. America (2020) and Five Days at Memorial (2022).- Actress
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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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Ruby Rose Langenheim (born 20 March 1986), better known as Ruby Rose, is an Australian model, DJ, boxer, recording artist, actress, television presenter, and MTV VJ. Rose emerged in the media spotlight as a presenter on MTV Australia, followed by several high-profile modelling gigs, notably as the face of Maybelline New York in Australia. In addition to her modelling career, she has co-hosted various television shows, namely Australia's Next Top Model and The Project on Network Ten.
Rose pursued a career in acting from 2008 onwards, with her debut performance in the Australian film Suite for Fleur. She had a small role in the drama Around the Block (2013), and came to North American fame for starring in seasons three and four of the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. She has also had large roles in the action films Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017), and John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), and the musical comedy Pitch Perfect 3 (2017), and will appear in the film The Meg (2018), based on the novel of the same name. In August 2018, Rose was cast as Kate Kane / Batwoman in The CW's Arrowverse.
Rose was born in Melbourne, the daughter of Katia Langenheim, a 20-year-old single mother and artist, whom she describes as one of her role models. As a young child, she travelled frequently, living in rural Victoria, Tasmania, and Surfers Paradise before finally settling in Melbourne. As a teenager, she attended University High School and Footscray City College. Rose is the god-daughter of Indigenous Australian boxer Lionel Rose and the great-granddaughter of Alec Campbell, who was the last surviving Australian Battle of Gallipoli soldier.
Rose first joined the Girlfriend model search in 2002, for which she came in second to Catherine McNeil. In 2010, she collaborated with the Australian fashion label Milk and Honey to design a capsule fashion line. The collection, named Milk and Honey Designed by Ruby Rose, includes washed jeans, leather jackets and T-shirts. The clothing line was available in selected retailers in Australia. Rose also released a collaboration collection with street footwear brand Gallaz.
In 2014, Rose began collaborating with Phoebe Dahl, designing ethical street-wear for their clothing range Faircloth Lane. She has featured predominantly within mainstream fashion titles, including Vogue Australia, InStyle Magazine, Marie Claire Magazine, Cleo, Cosmopolitan, Maxim, Nylon and New York's Inked Magazine. She's been the Australian ambassador for JVC, Australian clothes company JAG and luxury Danish label Georg Jensen. Rose is the face of Maybelline New York in Australia.
Since March 2016, Rose has been the face of Urban Decay Cosmetics.
In March 2017, Rose starred in Nike's latest campaign "Kiss My Airs" celebrating its Air Max Day. In May, Rose was the face of Swarovski 'Urban Fantasy' FW17 Collection launch.
Rose appeared on the first episode of Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, representing Generation Y alongside comedian Josh Thomas. She was selected in 2008 to act in the Australian comedy film Suite for Fleur. She also appeared alongside Christina Ricci and Jack Thompson in the 2013 film Around the Block.
Rose credits her 2014 short film Break Free, which she produced herself, for the success of her acting career. In an interview with Variety, she describes how she was not able to get a manager, agent, or audition, so she decided to create short films "as a way of being able to give myself something to do and to study my craft." The film went viral, getting millions of views in a short period of time.
In 2015, Rose joined the Orange Is the New Black cast in Season 3. Rose played inmate Stella Carlin, "whose sarcastic sense of humor and captivating looks quickly draw the attention of some of Litchfield's inmates." Rose's performance was generally well-received by the public. She was also cast in a guest role, as the service robot Wendy, in the science fiction series Dark Matter.
In 2016, Rose and Tom Felton would lend their voices in the animated title Sheep and Wolves, with Rose as her fiancé Bianca.
In 2016 and 2017, Rose appeared in three action film sequels, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, alongside Vin Diesel, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter as Abigail, and John Wick: Chapter 2, alongside Keanu Reeves; she also played a musical rival in the comedy Pitch Perfect 3, which was released in December 2017. In 2018, she starred in the Warner Bros. film The Meg, a shark epic based on the novel of the same name, alongside Jason Statham..It was also announced that Rose will be starring in the action comedy Three Sisters.
On 7 August 2018, it was reported that Rose had been cast as Batwoman in the upcoming Arrowverse crossover. Batwoman is in pre-production as a stand-alone series on The CW as well, to air if greenlit in 2019.- Jing Lusi was born in Shanghai and moved to England with her parents at the age of five. After graduating law from University College London, Lusi went on to become one of the most prominent Asian actresses in the UK. She has appeared across TV (Lucky Man (2016), Scott & Bailey (2011)), film (Survivor (2015), Crazy Rich Asians (2018)) and theatre, as well as presenting a number of documentaries for UK and Chinese broadcasters.
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Nora Lum, known professionally as Awkwafina, is an American actress and rapper. She has played supporting roles in the comedy films Ocean's 8 and Crazy Rich Asians (2018), and her leading role in the comedy-drama The Farewell (2019) earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress nomination.
She has released two albums, Yellow Ranger (2014) and In Fina We Trust (2018). She has also ventured into comedy and hosting, making television appearances in Girl Code, Future Man, and Saturday Night Live.
Lum was born in New York City to painter and South Korean immigrant Tia, who died when she was four, and Chinese-American father Wally. She grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, raised by her father and his grandparents; she became especially close to her grandmother. One of her paternal great-grandfathers was a Chinese immigrant in the 1940s; he opened the Cantonese restaurant Lum's in Flushing, Queens that was one of that neighborhood's first Chinese restaurants.
Lum attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts where she played the trumpet and was trained in classical music and jazz. At age 16, she adopted the stage name Awkwafina, "definitely a person I repressed" and an alter ego to her "quiet and more passive" personality during her college years. Lum majored in journalism and women's studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York. From 2006 to 2008, Lum attended Beijing Language and Culture University in China, where she studied Mandarin.
Lum states that Charles Bukowski, Anaïs Nin, Joan Didion, Tom Waits, and Chet Baker were early influences. Prior to her career in entertainment, she was an intern at local New York publications Gotham Gazette and the Times Union newspaper in Albany, and was a publicity assistant for publishing house Rodale.- 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.- Actress
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Kelly McCormack was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is an actress and writer, known for Sugar Daddy (2020), A League of Their Own (2022) and George & Tammy (2022).- Mayko Nguyen was born on 19 April 1980 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is an actress, known for ReGenesis (2004), Going the Distance (2004) and Anon (2018).
- Nichole Galicia is a film and television actress whose extraordinary journey to the big screen began as a high fashion model on the catwalks of Europe. Most recently, acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino hand picked Galicia for his film, Django Unchained, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx. Galicia has garnered much buzz around the character she plays "Sheba," DiCaprio's enslaved mistress and since, she has been extremely well received in the fashion industry, with her photos running in Page Six, W and online fashion sites, noting her exceptional taste in clothing, versatile hairstyles among other trending aspects of her looks.
As if that wasn't enough, Nichole wrote an art book, The Nichole Kent Collection, detailing her impressive pop art collection.
On the small screen, Galicia made her mark as a series regular on season 3 of Syfy's Defiance playing the fearless Kindzi, the alpha female of the alien Omec race. Galicia was also the female lead in And She Was My Eve a short featured in Ron Howard's Project Imaginat10n Film festival.
When Galicia is not modeling or acting she devotes her time to charities focused on developing the esteem and confidence of youth. Nichole served on the board of the Junior Committee of the New York Center for Children. Galicia recently started her own charity, The Orchid Foundation, where she mentors and provides scholarships for girls in need across the country. As a sports fan, Galicia enjoys Formula One, football, and basically anything that provides her with an adrenaline rush. - Rainbow Sun Francks was born on 3 December 1979 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), Stargate: Atlantis (2004) and The Listener (2009).
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America Athene Olivo is an American actress and singer best known as a member of the band Soluna, for her roles in the films Bitch Slap (2009), Friday the 13th (2009) and Maniac (2012), as well as starring in the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Born in Van Nuys, California, she has dual citizenship to the United States and Canada. She is married to actor Christian Campbell.- Actress
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Jane McLean Guerra is a writer and an actress. She was born in the Philippines and raised in Toronto, Canada, and began her career in the entertainment industry after studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In her time as a performer, she starred in a multitude of international productions across film, television and theater, then pivoted to writing after winning and placing in a number of screenwriting fellowships and competitions. She has several projects in development with notable film and television studios and production companies in the U.S, the U.K, and Canada.- Actress
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Award-winning actress, director, producer, Katheryn Winnick, is best known for starring and directing the critically acclaimed, Emmy award-winning television series "Vikings." Winnick made her directorial debut in sixth and final season which earned her "Best Director" at the 2020 WIN Awards. She produced and starred in Sean Penn's "Flag Day" that premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and recently starred in David E. Kelley's critically acclaimed series "Big Sky" that was ABC's most watched and highest-rated debut since 2017. She started her production company, Kat Scratch Inc., to champion strong female-lead stories.- Actress
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JuJu Chan Szeto (aka JuJu Chan) is a Chinese American actress, best known for her fight action. She graduated with a Masters degree from the prestigious New York University-Tisch School of the Arts (Film/TV). An award winning actress, she's also a martial artist of several styles but is best known for her Taekwon-Do (ITF) where she was on the Hong Kong National Team winning several medals, including gold, in international competitions both in forms and combat. She was later recruited and trained by a Hong Kong champion Thai boxer, where she then beat a veteran opponent in WMC The One Muay Thai Championship. JuJu is also a master of the nunchaku, including double nunchakus. Because of her real fighting skills and mastery of the nunchakus she was coined as the Female Bruce Lee by the Hong Kong media.
In the beginning of her career JuJu competed in beauty pageants where she won in several competitions. After starring in some Hong Kong TV shows and on a web series, she was signed to a record management company. As an accomplished singer and songwriter she released an album in Hong Kong which won her two prestigious music awards. It was then she returned to acting where she finally showed off the martial art skills that she had from training since the age of 10. At the time, action actresses were not in vogue so up till then she never saw the use of showing off her martial art skills.
JuJu is best known for her role as Zan in Wu Assassins, a Netflix original 10 episode series, where she did all her own on-screen fighting for her character. She appeared in 9 of the 10 episodes, with the series ending on a cliff-hanger hinging on her character. To date she has worked with some of the best known martial art stars of the new generation including Donnie Yen, Iko Uwais, Tony Jaa, Scott Adkins, and Max Zhang.- Raised by Theatre and now adopted indefinitely by Film/Television/Commercial, Josephine brings her dark matter woven skills pouch to every project, happily striving to please and grow. Skills pouch include: Language chip in Mandarin, Cantonese, and basic Japanese. Dance data in Ballroom, Argentine Tango, and Bellydance. Mezzo-soprano voice box. Tunable biotech in emotional expressions, compartments for tears, and an extra box of smiles.
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Caitlin Stryker grew up a railroad brat, never living in any city for longer than 2 years as her father's railroading career kept the family on the move. With her gypsy spirit firmly in place, she splits time between the three cities she calls home: NYC, LA, and Vancouver, BC. She started her career in the performing arts as a ballet dancer performing with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Young Performers Ensemble, where her love for emotional freedom was established. Caitlin was then scooped up by Elite modeling agency in Toronto, which fluidly led to her acting career in Film/TV. Her love of film has even put her behind the camera as she co-produced multiple shorts, and the 31x Award-Winning feature film, "Land of Smiles", with her husband Bradley Stryker.- Actress
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Punkie Johnson was born on 29 April 1985 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for ZombieCON (2018), Bottoms (2023) and Yes We Cannabis (2023).- Actress
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Born in Mumbai, India and raised in Nigeria until the age of seven, Contractor was well-versed in world travels and a variety of cultures at a very young age. She attended boarding school in London from seven to nine years old, then her family moved to Toronto, Canada, where she spent the majority of her childhood and young adulthood. In Toronto, Contractor excelled in academics and trained as a classical ballerina. She attended the Etobicoke School of the Arts, a specialized public arts high school where she not only danced but studied theater as well. At the age of 16, after nearly 10 years of dance Contractor realized she wanted to pursue acting seriously. Upon graduating from high school she accepted a full scholarship to the University of Toronto, where she pursued a masters in theatre and a double major in psychology and sociology. After one year at University, Contractor went to an open call audition for the play Pericles at the prestigious, world-renowned Stratford Shakespeare Festival [Ontario, Canada], and landed the lead role. She received rave reviews for her work in the 92 shows performed, the play was voted the #1 production of the year by Canadian critics, in 2002. Contractor was offered the opportunity to enroll in Stratford's conservatory program, where a select eight men and four women are accepted for a 20-week crash course on classical theater, which she eagerly took. Contractor was guaranteed a spot in the next season of plays, and landed the role of Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream. By the third season with the company, Contractor wanted to pursue film and television. In 2005 she booked a role in a FOX pilot by Anthony Hines [Borat, Bruno, The Dictator]. The role was intense, leaving the actors in character for eight to nine hours a day in front of an audience, and was a precursor to the style of film that Borat would be, just one year later. When the pilot did not get picked up, Contractor decided to go back to school and finish her education. While securing her degrees, she booked "The Border," a Canadian drama for CBC. She starred as Layla Hourani for 26 episodes, and the series aired worldwide. The role also garnered her a Golden Nymph Award at The Montecarlo Television Festival, in 2008. Once the show wrapped, Contractor made the move to Los Angeles.
In 2009, Contractor booked the role of Kayla Hassan, in 21 episodes of the hit FOX series "24." As President Omar Hassan [Anil Kapoor] and Dalia Hassan's [Necar Zadegan] daughter, she was a scene stealer, portraying a seemingly sheltered young woman, whose secret life ends up putting her in horrible conditions. While in production on "24" Contractor also booked a recurring role on CBS' "Rules of Engagement" opposite David Spade and Adhir Kalyan. Other television credits for Contractor include "Lone Star" [FOX] and "Last Resort" [ABC]. On the film front, Contractor has been seen in Seance: The Summoning [Lionsgate] in which she won Best Supporting Actress at WorldFest Houston, in 2012.
In May 2013, Contractor appeared as a devoted wife and mother facing extreme challenges in her family in the highly anticipated, Paramount feature film Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).
When not working, Contractor is an avid runner and yogi. She loves to travel the world, and her preferred method of transportation while in other countries is by motorcycle. She was also born into the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, and is one of the 150,000 Parsis in the world. Philanthropy is a huge priority for Contractor, she is a strong supporter of the organization Second Harvest to feed the homeless, and Look Good Feel Better, supporting women with cancer. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, son, and border terrier.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
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Laila Petrone is an Italian/Dominican filmmaker. Born in the U.K., she was raised between Rome and Los Angeles. As a child of an actress, she spent most of her youth on Italian film sets. Laila went on to study International Affairs (John Cabot University) and Media and Communications (University of Florence). In 2007, she appeared as Pina in Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna. The experience inspired her to pursue a career behind the camera. In the following years, Laila worked as an Assistant Director and Producer. In 2014, Laila's directorial debut Your Love premiered at Urban World Film Festival in NYC. The short was awarded "Best of Festival" at the Black Women Film Network Summit in Atlanta, and was selected to screen on Aspire TV as part of the ABFF Independent series' short films program. She recently completed her second short film No me olvidaré de ti - I Will Not Forget You, conceived in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, which has been awarded "Inspirational Short Film" at Rincon International Film Festival in Puerto Rico. Laila is a member of the Alliance of Women Directors, Women in Media & Glass Elevator.- Actress
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De'Adre Aziza was born on 14 June 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She is an actress, known for She's Gotta Have It (2017), Passing Strange (2009) and The Fire Inside (2024).- Actress
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Rebecca Naomi Jones was born on 31 March 1981 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Genius (2017), High Maintenance (2016) and Someone Great (2019).- Born in Moscow, a student of Moscow Academy of Dramatic Arts, Pasha (aka Pavel) Lychnikoff, appeared on Moscow's stages in such productions as Gogol's Inspector General and Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. In early 90s Pasha moved to the United States to pursue his acting career there. Arriving at JFK Airport with five dollars in his pocket, speaking only a few words of English, Pasha made his way to Brighton Beach, Harlem, Hell's Kitchen, and then to Los Angeles to act.
As Pasha's career unfolded, he was introduced to bright minds that molded him as an actor and person. He first received a great helping hand and insight from Jonathan Banks at UCLA Film Theatre Department, which was followed by encouragement from private lessons with The Groundlings' creator Gary Austin. Jumping the fence at Twenty Century Fox paid off. Pasha was able to land his first television guest star role on the critically acclaimed NYPD Blue. This opportunity also earned him his membership with Screen Actors Guild. While working on NYPD Blue, Pasha became great friends with writer, creator, and executive producer David Milch. For the rest of Pasha's life, Milch became a mentor and friend who helped him greatly through his career.
While Pasha was living his dream of acting on television, little did he know that he was the first ever Russian to become a series regular on US television. Pasha's first series regular role was on David Milch and Tony Yarkovich's TV drama "Big Apple" on CBS after which he has had more than 40 TV guest appearances.
Lychnikoff continues to build an impressive resume in both television and film. Pasha has starred as Balzanov, a telegraph operator, in a lawless town of the second and third seasons of the critically acclaimed HBO series "Deadwood", created by David Milch. On the comedy side of acting, he had a recurring role on Chuck Lorre's comedy "The Big Bang Theory" as cosmonaut Dmitri Rezenov, and a lead role on the Russian hit series and number one comedy "Fizruk" as hysterical Misha Buddhist. His film credits include "Miami Vice" directed by Michael Mann with Colin Farell and Jamie Foxx, "Charlie Wilson's War" directed by Mike Nichols with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" directed by Steven Spielberg, "Star Trek" directed by J.J. Abrams, and "A Good Day to Die Hard" with Bruce Willis, and Motherland by Peter Buslov.
Pasha has a big passion for theater which extended beyond acting to producing. The Shelter, which he created alongside Valeri Belykovich, was his production debut in Los Angeles. The play got 5 Ovation Awards nominations in 2006 in 5 different categories including the World Premier Play, Play Intimate Theater, Direction of a Play, the Ensemble Performance, and Lighting Design. His performance in the play got him rave reviews by a number of critics.
In this coming acting season, Pasha will be seen in multiple projects such as a recurring on the 4th season of "Ray Donovan", mini series "Insomnia", and Sony Entertainment's "Beyond Valkyrie: the 4th Reich". - Actress
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Jessika Van started in music as a classically-trained pianist and singer. As a child, she won dance competition titles and music awards that led to her performing for local Philharmonic Society events and the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson.
As an actress, Jessika broke onto the Hollywood scene in MTV's critically-acclaimed comedy, Awkward. (2011), as Becca, Queen of the Asian Mafia. She then played the lead action heroine Hannah in Electronic Art's first-person shooter, Battlefield 4 (2013). For her role as a secret service agent, she trained in weapons and martial arts, and has continued to lead in many action roles since.
In 2015, she made her Sundance Film Festival debut with the coming of age film Seoul Searching (2015), where she sings and dances an a cappella rendition of Madonna's, "Like A Virgin".
Jessika was awarded Best Actress for her work in the short film, Paper Lotus (2013), at the 2013 Los Angeles Movie Awards. She won for short film, Reunion (2011), at the Asians on Film Festival the same year.- Actress
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Nina Bergman is an actress, singer, songwriter and model. She was born in Denmark and is the granddaughter of Russia's greatest actor, Pavel Kadochnikov. Nina spent her early childhood traveling around Europe with her Russian Gypsy grandparents.
At 14, she received a scholarship to the musical theatre school Urdang Academy in London. A year later, she found herself in Moscow attending the world-famous Bolshoi Theatre. From there, she moved to New York City and was accepted at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. At that time, she got her first agent and began booking various jobs in plays, movies, commercials, and modeling. She also started singing in underground bands.
Being an adrenaline junkie, she found herself making extra money as an amateur boxer which later on helped her book movies like "The Car," a remake by Universal Pictures, and the franchise "DOOM" movie also with Universal Pictures. Her other work includes the starring role of Marie in "Hell Hath No Fury," a Jesse V Johnson movie, playing a French resistance fighter, and she played the lead role of "GG," who was based on a 90s goth singer in the film "Carpe Noctem," which was directed by Gene Blalock. In addition to film, she also played video game characters like "Battery" from "Call Of Duty."
She has two movies coming out this year; "Chief Of Station," starring Aaron Eckhard, and "Cold Meat," starring Nina and Allen Leech, which screened at Fright Fest in London and will be in theaters later this year.
Her performance in "Assassin X" earned her the Honorable Mention Award for Best Actress from the AOF International Film Festival for her role as the notorious Trinidad. She starred as "Wonder Woman," directed by Jesse V Johnson, which stars Timothy V Murphy and Marina Sirtis. She also played a cold-hearted killer in "The Wayshower," with Peter Stormare and Eric Roberts, and she starred in "Know New Art," a Newport Beach Film Festival project by the Freise Brothers and Biscuit Filmworks.
Her other work includes playing the lead opposite actors like John Malkovich, David Arquette, Vivica Fox, and Ron Perlman. She's been featured in numerous skits on The Late Late Show with James Corden and Craig Ferguson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and has hosted various shows like E! Entertainment, Fuse, and The Grammys as a Trophy Presenter. Her reality show credits include Battleground Earth with Tommy Lee and Ludacris and Hollywoodfruer, the Danish acclaimed TV show.
A passion for the stage drew her back to her roots as she performed in various plays such as "The Cherry Orchard" with A Noise Within, and her favorite, the portrayal of Marlene Dietrich in "Garbo's Cuban Lover" with the Macha Theatre. Her theatrical agent introduced her to Paul Anka, who shortly after began managing her music career and helped her sign a six-album contract with Warner Bros. Record by their President Rob Cavallo. They called her new solo project "N.I.N.A." which led to her last band, "Letters From The Fire."
Nina worked on soundtracks for Lionsgate Films, singing the theme song for "Catacombs," "Repo the Genetic Opera," and "Sharknado". She sang the end title song in "Black Limousine" and was the voice on the soundtrack for "All About Her." Additionally, she performed live for the World Series and the NCAA College Football Season.
Her work in music videos includes a starring role in Gnarls Barkley's video "Gone Daddy Gone," Sick Puppies video "All the Same," and Trey Songz "Foreigner". She has been seen in over 50 commercials and hundreds of print campaigns, ranging from La Perla to Apple Computer, Sprite, Nike, and her well-known Nature Valley and Dos Equis with the Most Interesting Man in the World. Her most recent commercial campaign is the Carl's Jr. Beyond Meat and her notorious "Balls Commercial" for Saxx Underwear, where she was the spokesperson.
Along with her career, Nina is an avid animal rights activist with an active voice for the ethical treatment of our companions. The life-long vegan champion for animals continues to participate in numerous charities.- Actress
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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.- Actor
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Cliff Curtis was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, on July 27, 1968.
He is of New Zealand Maori descent (with Ngati Hauiti and Te Arawa tribal affiliations). He enrolled at the New Zealand Drama School, and then the Teatro Dmitri Scuola in Switzerland.
After returning to New Zealand from Europe, he was cast in The Piano (1993). Subsequent roles in New Zealand include the camp melodrama Desperate Remedies (1992), the grueling urban drama Once Were Warriors (1994), and the lighthearted comedy Jubilee (2000).
In Hollywood, Curtis has played a range of different roles and ethnicities in films. He plays a Colombian in Blow (2001), an Arab in Three Kings (1999) and The Insider (1999), a Latino in Training Day (2001) and Runaway Jury (2003), and a drug dealer of ambiguous ethnicity in Bringing Out the Dead (1999). However, he is probably best known for his role as Paikea's father Porourangi, in Whale Rider (2002).- London Worthy was born on April 29 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan right outside of Detroit, Michigan where she was raised. London has been acting since she was 13 years old in church and in high school . London graduated from Lewis Cass Technical High School in 2005 with a diploma in Science and Arts .She is an alumna of The Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology In 2010. In 2014 , London moved to Los Angeles , California. Her work includes, The Verdict with Judge Hatchett Episode: A Stone's Throw Away ,Ivan Dorn's Collaba Music Video/Short, Watsky's Going Down Music Video, All American Rejects Music Video/Short Film - Sweat/Close Your Eyes , Tiger Love's Music Video - See Smoke Sun , Illicit Movie, Corrupt Crimes Television Series , The Golden State ( 2018 Israel Pilot) , 1804: The Hidden History of Haiti and much more. London is also an Oxford Journals published author for the article entitled Human HDL containing a novel apoC-I isoform induces smooth muscle cell apoptosis.
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Amanda Adrienne Smith was born on 23 August 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Avenged (2013), Formation of a Natural Pearl (2016) and On the Exhale (2016).- Marc Anthony Samuel was born in Los Angeles, California. He is an actor, known for Avenged (2013), General Hospital (1963) and Say Uncle (2005).
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Gethin Anthony was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon to Welsh parents and grew up in the UK and USA. He trained in acting at LAMDA, after graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English Literature and Language.
Soon after completing his training Gethin featured as the ill-fated Renly Baratheon in Game of Thrones and led a company at the RSC.
He has worked on both stage and screen throughout his career.- Actress
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Magi Avila made her directorial debut with the multi-award winning, humorous, educational, and inspiring documentary "Altitude Not Attitude". It obtained north American distribution by Gravitas Ventures after winning 'Best Documentary' at the Spotlight Documentary Awards and Virgin Spring Cinefest. Altitude Not Attitude is a semi-finalist and official selection on 20 more film festivals, including IDA, the world's most prestigious Documentary Awards, and the Academy Award Qualifying Flickers Rhode Island Film Festival.
After a rewarding career in Mexican films, television, theatrical and operatic productions, Magi Avila made her way to the Mecca of Entertainment -Hollywood. Magi Avila's most recent work as an actress can be seen now in "My American Family" TV Series on Amazon Prime featuring Danny Trejo. Also, on the feature film "Dog Eat Dog" with Oscar winner, Nicolas Cage, and 4 times Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe, directed by Paul Schrader. Dog Eat Dog premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, obtaining a long-standing ovation. She also has a pivotal role in "First Kill" with Mr. Bruce Willis and Hayden Christensen. Magi Avila also appears in "A Better Life" with Oscar nominee Demian Bichir, directed by Chris Weitz (Twilight Saga "New Moon"). Other U.S. Television credits include a starring role on Jerry Bruckheimer's "Training Day" with the late Bill Paxton. She also worked in the final episode of the acclaimed drama television series "The Shield", from Shawn Ryan.
Magi Avila has performed as a lead and co-starred in US Theater Productions such as "Nuevo California" with the San Diego Repertory Theater and "Little Red", with the Josefina Lopez' Los Angeles based Casa 0101 organization, among others. Magi was the co-writer, producer and lead performer of the Musical Theater production of "Carmen Miranda - The Lady In The Tutti-Frutti Hat".
At the beginning of her professional career in her native Ensenada, Mexico, Magi presented as an opera singer and with a choral group known as "Voces De Primavera", under the direction of her beloved mentor, the late Maestro Jose de Jesus Veliz Ochoa. She performed for celebrities, dignitaries, and the then president of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo. Magi also served a short stint as a News Reporter and on-camera talent for the Mexican television network, Televisa. As a teenager, Magi took on several modeling jobs appearing in print ads and popular television commercials.
Magi studied her 4 years of theater and arts at the Autonomous University of Baja California Extension, her M.A. in theater of the body at the University Guadalajara A.K.A. UDG. She then moved to the USA to study at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute, for 3 more years. Miss Avila has continued sharpening her acting skills with several acting coaches in Hollywood. Now she has her own acting coaching business called Successful Actor Academy, which offers the online 6 weeks course for aspiring and intermediate actors the Six Steps Formula to Becoming a Working Actor.
She lives in Los Angeles, CA. Magi Avila is immensely grateful for all the people with whom she has had the pleasure of collaborating, throughout her career in the USA and Mexico.
Written by Luis Reyes- Actor
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Jocko Sims was born on 20 February 1981 in Houston, Texas, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for New Amsterdam (2018), How to Die Alone and The Last Ship (2014).- Actor
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In a career spanning over 30 years, Holt McCallany has worked with some of the world's best directors including David Fincher, Guillermo Del Toro, David O'Russell, Guy Ritchie, William Friedkin, Lawrence Kasdan, Walter Hill, Clint Eastwood, David Twohy, Brian De Palma, and Michael Mann among others.
Holt starred in the Netflix series Mindhunter as Bill Tench, an FBI agent researching serial killers in the late 1970s, and has appeared in memorable roles in Fight Club, Three Kings, Alien III, and Men of Honor to name but a few. In 2011, Holt was the star of the raw and gritty FX series Light's Out where he played a boxer with pugilistic dementia.
Born into a theatrical family, Holt's father, Michael, was a Tony Award winning Broadway producer and his mother was the legendary cabaret singer Julie Wilson. At 14, Holt ran away from home and took a Greyhound bus to Hollywood with dreams of becoming an actor, but his parents tracked him down and sent him to a boarding school in Ireland.
At 18, Holt traveled to France where he studied French at the Sorbonne, art at The Paris American Academy and, later, theater at L'École Marcel Marceau and L'École Jacques Lecoq. He went on to study Shakespeare at Oxford and later worked extensively in theater in the United States and abroad.
He is unmarried and lives in New York City.- Isaac C. Singleton Jr. is an African-American actor known for playing Bo'sun from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and voicing Thanos in Marvel cartoons and games. He also acted in other films, shows and games including Planet of the Apes, Anger Management, Batman: Arkham Knight, Transformers, Deadpool, Breaking Dawn and Bones.
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Lauren Mary Kim is the faceless action hero who brings adrenaline to films, television and video games. As a child she trained in acrobatics and dance and originally moved to Los Angeles to become a dancer where she landed her first job as a Laker girl. Soon after, she trained in acting, martial arts and stunt work. She is best known for her work on The Mandalorian, Clone Wars Season 7, Furious 7, The Last of Us 2, Mortal Kombat 11 and doubled as Elektra on Netflix's hit series Daredevil and Defenders. She specializes in several fighting techniques including Taekwondo, Wushu, Silat, Filipino Martial Arts, Jeet Kune Do and Capoeira.- Actress
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Nia Renee Hill is known for Old Dads (2023), Lila, Long Distance (2011) and Crashing (2017). She has been married to Bill Burr since September 2013. They have one child.- Podcaster
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Bill Burr is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and podcaster. He is best known for playing Patrick Kuby in the crime drama series Breaking Bad (2008), and creating and starring in the Netflix animated sitcom F Is for Family (2015).
In 2008, Burr's voice was featured in the game Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) as Jason Michaels of the biker gang The Lost MC in the mission "No Love Lost." In 2009, he reprised his role in the game's expansion pack Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (2009).- Actor
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Joseph Sikora was born and raised in the city of Chicago on the far northwest side. He studied acting at the Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanton, Illinois and also at Columbia College, Chicago where he received his B.A. degree in Theatre. He has been nominated for a Joseph Jefferson award for theatre in Chicago and received an Ovation award for theatre in Los Angeles.- Donshea Hopkins was born on 2 March 2002 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Power (2014), The Detour (2016) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).
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Brandon Victor Dixon was born on 23 September 1981 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018), 88 (2022) and Untitled Brandon Victor Dixon/Broadway & Beyond Theatricals Project.- Actress
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Dascha Polanco is a Dominican American actress known for playing the character Dayanara "Daya" Diaz on Orange Is the New Black (2013). As of January 2018, she has a recurring role on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2016) as Detective Lori Weider. Polanco was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and moved to the United States at a young age. She was raised in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York and Miami by her father, a mechanic, and mother, a cosmetologist. Polanco is the oldest of three children; she has a brother and sister.- Actress
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Monique Gabriela Curnen is an American actress who has worked in theater, film and television. She grew up in Massachusetts. Both parents were educators and encouraged creativity in the home. Monique took an interest in acting after watching her older brother perform in a school orchestra, and soon began performing in school plays.
After graduating from Williams College, Monique moved to New York to pursue acting, and studied at The Actors Center, The Barrow Group, and The School for Film and Television. She performed in myriad theatrical productions and began booking roles in several films, including Maria Full of Grace (2004) and Bernard and Doris (2006).
Monique's breakthrough role was in the critically acclaimed film Half Nelson (2006), as Isabel, a fellow teacher and love interest to Ryan Gosling's lead character. Her performance paved the way for a flurry of television guest star roles, most notably as Lupe, a street hustler with an untreatable condition in the award-winning series House (2004); a no-nonsense mafia informant in Without a Trace (2002); and an abused wife fleeing her husband in Journeyman (2007).
But it was in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008) that she captured the attention of fans worldwide as the tough, yet vulnerable Detective Ramirez. Other high-profile film roles include Fast & Furious (2009) and Contagion (2011). Monique continues to balance her film career with television work, and has been a recurring guest starred on such shows as Lie to Me (2009), Sons of Anarchy (2008), and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000). She recently worked as an FBI agent in Roland Emmerich's TV movie, Dark Horse (2012).- Quincy Tyler Bernstine was born on 27 March 1974 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. She is an actress, known for Rachel Getting Married (2008), Manchester by the Sea (2016) and White Noise (2022).
- Patricia was raised in Westport, Connecticut and Louisville, Kentucky. Studied acting at Indiana and Temple Universities after being encouraged by her high-school drama teacher. She finished College with a B.A. degree in theater and immediately started acting in major regional and off-Broadway productions. Back in New York, where she was born, she worked in numerous daytime soaps, commercials and theatrical events. She received a nomination for the Outer Critics Circle Award for her part in the long-running play "The Foreigner". She starred on Broadway in Larry Shue's "The Nerd" and together with her husband, Daniel Gerroll, in "Betrayal" at the Berkshire Theater.
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Ana de la Reguera grew up in the tropical state of Veracruz, on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. She began her performance arts studies in the Cultural Institute of Veracruz, then left for Televisa's Center for Artistic Education (CEA) and TV Aztecas' artistic institute (CEFAC) in Mexico City, later taking study with Lisa Robertson and Aaron Spicer in Los Angeles and acting coach Juan 'Carlos Corzza in Spain. In theater she participated in "El Cartero" ("Il Postino") for which she received two awards: one for "Best Actress" from the Association of Theatre Journalists in Mexico and the other for the year's "Most Promising Actress" from the Association of Theatre Critics and Journalists.
De la Reguera's professional career began with her role in the telenovela Azul (1996), followed by Pueblo chico, infierno grande (1997)--for which she received the Heraldo Award for "Best Breakout Female Actress"--and Desencuentro (1997), which was her third telenovela under the direction of the internationally recognized Ernesto Alonso. _"Tentaciones" (1998)_ marked her beginning with powerhouse Argos Comunicación. She was immediately offered roles in _"Destino" (1998)_ and Todo por amor (2000), for which she received "The Golden Palm Award." After that, it was non-stop work for de la Reguera. In 2002 she starred in Cara o Cruz (2001), which was the first telenovela co-produced by Argos Comunicación and Telemundo, made exclusively for the Hispanic audience living in the US. The following year she played María in the telenovela Por tí (2002) for TV Azteca and the mini-series that followed up on Pedro el escamoso (2001), Como Pedro por su casa (2003), which was a co-production between Colombia's Caracol and Telemundo. Additionally, de la Reguera also had the lead role in the Peruvian soap opera Luciana y Nicolás (2003).
De la Reguera's introduction into film began with Por la libre (2000), which earned her two nominations: "El Heraldo de la Revelación Femenina" (Best New Actress) and "Eres Mejor Actriz" (Best Actress). Later she acted in Un secreto de Esperanza (2002) with Oscar nominee Katy Jurado. In 2003 Ana starred in the highly acclaimed comedy Ladies' Night (2003), alongside Ana Claudia Talancón. The movie became the box-office success of the year and won her three major awards: "the Latin America MTV's Favorite Actress Award," the Mexican movie industry Award for Best Actress of the year, "CANACINE," and the "Diosa de Plata (Silver Godess) Award" for Best Supporting Actress (2003).
In 2005 she played the starring role in Gitanas (2004), which aired on Telemundo in the US and now has been seen as far away as Ukraine, Spain and Argentina. In 2006 de la Reguera had the lead in the powerful On the Edge (2006), which earned her her second "Diosa de Plata [Silver Goddess] Award" for best actress. In addition, she also starred in Paraiso Travel (2008), playing the role of Milagros, singing and dancing for the first time in a movie. John Leguizamo and Colombian star Margarita Rosa de Francisco were also in the cast. The film was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival and later released throughout the US and Latin America. That same year Ana received her big break into American cinema when she landed the role of Sister Encarnación in the comedy Nacho Libre (2006). The film by Jared Hess--director of Napoleon Dynamite (2004)--and co-starring Jack Black gave her the opportunity to be seen around the world.
In 2008 she became the new face for Cover Girl worldwide, alongside celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Queen Latifah, Ellen DeGeneres and Rihanna. From there her career received many other impressive endorsements, including campaigns with Pantene, Special K and Flip, Macy's, Coca-Cola (Ciel), Pepsi (Be Light) and Caress, among many others. She began 2010 with a worldwide publicity campaign for Lipton Tea alongside actor Hugh Jackman. Most recently, she did an international campaign with Kahlúa benefiting her hometown of Veracruz, Mexico, left demolished after the resent destruction of Huricaine Karl.
In the action-thriller film Sultanes del Sur (2007), filmed mainly in Argentina, she plays Monica Silvari, a mean and sophisticated bank robber alongside Spanish actors Jordi Mollà and Tony Dalton. In the spring of 2008 Ana began filming Capadocia (2008), an HBO mega-production TV show about the chaotic and miserable life in a women's prison in Mexico. The show aired with record-breaking ratings in Mexico and Latin America, and was released in the US in the fall of 2008 for HBO OLE. Three of the most recognized directors in Latin America participated in this HBO original production: Epigmenio Ibarra, Jorge Aragón and Luis F Peraza. The successful series got three International Emmy nominations for its first season, and this fall marked the opening of "Capadocia"'s second season.
In 2009 she shot Di Di Hollywood (2010) from famed Jamón, Jamón (2000) director Bigas Luna. That same year she went back to the Mexican theatre for six months where she played "Desdemona" in William Shakespeare "Othello". The play was hugely successful in Mexico's renowned Juan Ruiz de Alarcón theater, and she was named "Best Actress" by the Journalist Theatre Association at the annual Bravo Awards and by the ACTP. Later that year she filmed the extremely moving Mexican film El Traspatio (2009), in which she played a cop in an outlaw border city controlled by drug traffickers and killers. Directed by Carlos Carrera (The Crime of Padre Amaro (2002), nominated for an Oscar for "Best Foreign Film"), the picture was chosen to represent Mexico in the 2010 Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category, and earned de la Reguera the "Best Actress Award" at the Imagen Awards and the CANACINE Awards, and won the "Silver Plaque" at the Chicago Film Festival.
The beginning of 2010 brought the opening of her Hollywood film Cop Out (2010), co-starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan and directed by Kevin Smith. She played Gabriela, a strong-willed woman with very picante and colorful language, who gets rescued by Willis and Tracy--and gets them in trouble in the process. In that same year brought the release of her film Hidalgo. La historia jamás contada (2010), about the controversial life of Mexico's independence hero, priest Miguel Hidalgo. She plays Hidalgo's second wife and shares credit with Demián Bichir (Weeds (2005), Che: Part One (2008)).
In the US she also had a recurring role on the USA Network's series Royal Pains (2009), and starred in the critically-acclaimed, Will Farrell-produced HBO comedy Eastbound & Down (2009) co-starring Danny McBride as down-and-out baseball player and love interest Kenny Powers. She also had a role in the Jon Favreau-directed Cowboys & Aliens (2011) starring Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Sam Rockwell, produced by Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. The film crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in its story about a lone cowboy leading an uprising against murderous aliens from outer space. Ana also played a nurse in the teen drama Everything, Everything (2017), and in 2021, starred in two action-horror films, Army of the Dead (2021) and The Forever Purge (2021).
As if her busy acting career isn't enough, de la Reguera is also heavily involved with charity work. Most recently she uploaded a video to YouTube in order to help raise awareness for Veracruz, her home state, affected by heavy rains and a devastating Hurricane Karl. In the video she speaks about a variety of options for support and help that victims of the Hurrcane can utilize, and offers methods to make donations. The viral campaign went all over Twitter and other online sites, raising much needed money for the victims of the hurricane. She also founded the organization VeracruzANA AC, which is a philanthropic organization whose mission is to raise funds and build a tourist boulevard of Antigua--something that has been promised by political organizations for years. Antigua is one of the most important and historical communities in Veracruz, and also one of the areas the most damaged by the hurricane. This June marked the culmination of her hard work and the grand Opening ceremony for the touristic boulevard.- Actress
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Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Bellamy is a graduate of Yale University. She also studied at Oxford University in England. In New York, she starred on Broadway as Mary in Cy Coleman's "The Life" and also as Meg in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along". Other notable theater credits include Margaret in the world premiere of Randy Newman's "Faust" and LouAnn in the world premiere of Lanford Wilson's "Book of Days".- Actress
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Aurora Perrineau is an American actress and model. She is best known for starring as Shana Elmsford in Jem and the Holograms (2015), the live-action film adaptation of the 1980s animated television series Jem and her role as Detective Dani Powell in Fox's Prodigal Son. Perrineau was born to model Brittany Perrineau and actor Harold Perrineau.She is mixed race, of African and European descent.- Actress
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Born in Detroit, Michigan, Simone always knew she was meant to perform. Growing up, Simone spent years playing the violin, singing, and playing sports before she decided to focus on acting. While in her first year as an English major at Howard University, she decided to take a theatre for non-majors course. This class solidified her commitment to acting, and she graduated with a minor in Theatre arts. Following graduation, Simone traveled to Oxford, England, where she participated in the British American Drama Academy taking Master Classes with greats Ben Kingsley, Alan Rickman, and Jane Lapotaire. She then honed her craft performing in regional theatre in Detroit, Michigan before packing it all up and moving to Los Angeles. In 2015, Simone made her debut as "Misty Knight" in "Marvel's Luke Cage". She has since reprised her role as that character in "Marvel's: The Defenders", and Season 2 of both "Marvel's Luke Cage" and "Marvel's Iron Fist". In the spring of 2018, Simone made her New York theatre debut in Dominique Morrisseau's "Paradise Blue" at the Signature Theatre. This fall, Simone stars and is a producer on the highly anticipated Orion pictures film, "Jinn", which will be in theaters in the fall of 2018.- Actress
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Cherry Jones was born on 21 November 1956 in Paris, Tennessee, USA. She is an actress, known for The Village (2004), Signs (2002) and The Perfect Storm (2000). She has been married to Sophie Huber since 2015.- Actress
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Ana Nogueira was born on 2 May 1985 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The Vampire Diaries (2009), The Michael J. Fox Show (2013) and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2026). She is married to Nick Blaemire.- Additional Crew
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Native New Yorker June Christopher was also raised in Germany and Jamaica. She started as a stage actress in New York and attended Barnard College at Columbia University there. She has acted at the renowned New York Public Theater and did "Threepenny Opera" off-Broadway. She was a member of the famed Negro Ensemble Company before going back to Germany to tour with "Porgy and Bess" and doing a television series while living in Munich.
June then moved to Los Angeles where she appeared on dozens of TV shows, including "Now We're Talking," "Rizzoli & Isles," "Close to Home," "JAG", "So Little Time," and "The Jamie Foxx Show." She has also appeared in roles in the films "Misery," "Free Willy II," "Dr. Dolittle," "Blankman," web series "Boxer," and more.
Her heart is her family, husband Michael Haney and her twins Angie and Alex. While raising her children, June became a popular voiceover actor in film and television. Some of her voiceover film credits include "Frozen," "Frozen II," The Angry Birds Movie 2," "Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse," "X-Men: Days of Future Past," "X-Men: The Apocalypse, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2," "The Incredibles 2," "Big Hero 6," "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," the Shield Computer voice on "Captain America," "Hidden Figures," "The Big Short," and more. She has also been a regular performer for voice on television, appearing often on the series "Law and Order," "24," "Chicago Med," "Chicago PD," "Chicago Fire," "Homeland," "Madam Secretary," "Orange is the New Black," "Power," "Snowfall," "Greenleaf," "The Resident," "Covert Affairs," the remake of "Roots," "Madam C.J. Walker," and others.
As a writer, June has had deals at HBO, NBC, and Motown Productions. For years, she wrote a one-hour, weekly national radio anthology on the history of black music called "Music of the City," which led to a 12-hour history of Motown for radio and a 10-history of The Apollo Theater, which became "Motown Returns to the Apollo" for television.
As a producer, June and her husband, Michael Haney, produced the anti-bullying film "Charity" which won Best Family Film at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival, Gold Remi Award at the WorldFest Houston, Award of Merit at the Accolade Global Film Competition. "Charity" was invited as an Official Selection to the Irvine International Film Festival, Sedona International Film Festival, Kansas City FilmFest, Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, and was nominated for the Best Social Commentary Award and Best Outstanding Cast Performance Award at the Action on Film Festival. She and her family have an anti-bullying foundation, the Stop Bullying Foundation, which uses this film to present in schools, college, and youth conferences to speak out against bullying. Looking to make the world a better place, June seeks to touch hearts and minds in everything she does.- Actress
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Gina St. John was born in Natchez, Mississippi, USA. She is known for Prom Night (2008), Baby Daddy (2012) and xXx: State of the Union (2005).- Actor
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Robert Ri'chard was born on 7 January 1983 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Coach Carter (2005), House of Wax (2005) and One on One (2001).