Danielle Brooks
Danielle Brittany Brooks (born September 17, 1989)[1] is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson on the comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019) and Leota Adebayo on the superhero series Peacemaker (2022–present). She received a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Sofia in the 2015 Broadway production of The Color Purple, and won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the film's accompanying album.
Danielle Brooks | |
|---|---|
Brooks in 2014 | |
| Born | Danielle Brittany Brooks September 17, 1989 Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Juilliard School (BFA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Spouse | Dennis Gelin (m. 2022) |
| Children | 1 |
In 2021, Brooks received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Television Movie as an executive producer on Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia.[2]
Early life and education
Brooks was born in Augusta, Georgia,[1] and grew up in South Carolina,[3] in a Christian family; her father was a deacon, and her mother, a minister.[4] She began acting at the age of six in a nativity play put on by her church.[5] For her final two years of high school, she attended South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts & Humanities, a selective arts high school.[4] She studied drama at the Juilliard School and graduated in 2011.[6]
Career
After graduating from Juilliard, Brooks won roles in two theater productions: the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Servant of Two Masters, and Blacken the Bubble. She left both productions in 2013 to join the cast of the Netflix-produced television series Orange Is the New Black, a show about a women's prison, based on Piper Kerman's memoir of the same name. Brooks played as Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson.[6] Her character originally was intended to be featured in the show for only two episodes, but was written into the rest of the first season and subsequent seasons.[6] Taystee's onscreen best friend Poussey is played by Samira Wiley, with whom Brooks has been friends since they met while studying together at Juilliard.[7] Brooks' performance on the show has been favorably reviewed by TV critics,[8] with one writer calling her "the breakout actress of the show and one of the most refreshing and exciting new talents of 2013."[4] Brooks was upgraded from a recurring cast member to a series regular for the show's second season.[9] She competed against co-star Uzo Aduba in an episode of Spike's Lip Sync Battle that aired on June 28, 2017. Brooks won with performances of Ciara's "1, 2 Step" and Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer".[10]
In September 2013, Brooks was cast in a third season episode of the HBO series Girls, becoming the first African-American actress on the show.[9]
Brooks made her Broadway debut in the 2015 revival of The Color Purple as Sofia.[1][11] The musical opened on December 10, 2015, at the Bernard B. Jacobs. Brooks received good notices for her performance,[by whom?] and received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.[12] In June 2019, she played Beatrice in The Public Theater's production of Much Ado About Nothing, receiving a Drama League Award nomination for her performance.[13][14]
In 2022, Brooks co-starred in James Gunn's Peacemaker television series alongside actor John Cena, playing the role of Leota Adebayo. The series is spin-off of Gunn's 2021 film The Suicide Squad, and is the first television series to be included in the DCEU. In an 2022 interview, Brooks revealed that Gunn was a big fan of the Netflix hit show Orange is the New Black, and wrote the part of Adebayo with her in mind.[15]
It has also been announced that Brooks would star in a Broadway revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson starting on September 19, 2022[16] alongside Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington and directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson. It is also planned that this cast will then star in a film adaptation of the play, with a director still to be named.[17] She will also appear in The Color Purple, a feature adaptation of the musical of the same name, directed by Blitz Bazawule.[18]
Personal life
On July 2, 2019, Brooks announced that she was pregnant with her first child.[19] In November, she gave birth to a girl.[20]
Filmography
Film
| * | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Time Out of Mind | Receptionist | |
| 2015 | I Dream Too Much | Abbey | |
| Phenomenal Woman, a Short Film | Woman | Short film | |
| 2016 | The Angry Birds Movie | Olive Blue/Monica the Crossing Guard (voice) | |
| 2018 | Sadie | Carla | |
| 2019 | Clemency | Evette | |
| The Day Shall Come | Venus | ||
| The Public's Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice | Filmed production | |
| All the Little Things We Kill | Claire Soto | ||
| 2020 | Eat Wheaties! | Wendy | |
| 2021 | Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia | Mahalia Jackson | |
| 2023 | The Color Purple * | Sofia | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Modern Love | Raimy | TV movie |
| 2013 | Black Girls Rock! 2013 | Herself | TV movie |
| 2013–2019 | Orange Is the New Black | Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson | Main role, 89 episodes |
| 2014 | Girls | Laura | 1 episode |
| 2015–2017 | Master of None | Shannon | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Tangled: The Series | Ruthless Ruth (voice) | Episode: "The Wrath of Ruthless Ruth" |
| Lip Sync Battle | Herself | Episode: "Danielle Brooks vs. Uzo Aduba" | |
| 2018 | Project Runway All Stars | Herself | Episode: "Damsels in Distress" |
| High Maintenance | Regine | Episode: "Namaste" | |
| Elena of Avalor | Charica (voice) | Episode: "A Lava Story" | |
| 2020–2022 | Close Enough | Pearle Watson (voice) | Recurring role (season 1); main (season 2) |
| 2020 | Social Distance | Imani | Episode: "And We Could All Together/Go Out on the Ocean" |
| Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine | Jordana Bachman | TV special | |
| 2021 | Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia | Mahalia Jackson | TV movie |
| Karma's World | Dr. Lillie Carter-Grant (voice) | 5 episodes | |
| 2022 | Peacemaker | Leota Adebayo[21] | Main role, 8 episodes |
| 2022 | Instant Dream Home | Host | 8 Episodes |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-17 | The Color Purple | Sofia | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway |
| 2019 | Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice | Delacorte Theater, Off Broadway |
| 2022 | The Piano Lesson | Berniece | St. James Theatre, Broadway |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Young Hollywood Award | Breakthrough Actress | Orange is the New Black | Won |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Won | ||
| 2015 | Won | |||
| 2016 | Won | |||
| Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | The Color Purple | Nominated | |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Theatre World Award | Honoree | |||
| 2017 | Grammy Award | Best Musical Theater Album | Won | |
| 2020 | Drama League Award[14] | Distinguished Performance | Much Ado About Nothing | Nominated |
| 2021 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Television Movie | Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia | Nominated |
| 2022 | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Television Series | Peacemaker | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b c "Danielle Brooks". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ "Danielle Brooks". Television Academy. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
- ^ Hutcheson, Susannah (November 15, 2017). "How I became an actress and advocate". USA Today. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c Fallon, Kevin (December 11, 2013). "Danielle Brooks, Taystee on 'Orange Is the New Black,' Is the Breakout Star of the Year". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ Soloski, Alexis (July 10, 2013). "Quick Route From Juilliard to Jail". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ a b c Abdulhamid, Yassmeen (September 2013). "Fame Is the New Reality for 'Orange' Actress". The Juilliard School. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ Andrews, Helena (September 9, 2013). "Danielle Brooks on Being 'Tasytee' and Staying Grounded". Ebony. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ Henderson, Samantha (August 29, 2013). "Danielle Brooks of 'Orange Is The New Black': 'We Weren't Going To Sugarcoat Things'". Out. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ a b "Danielle Brooks Will Be 'The First Black Woman' On 'Girls'". HuffPost. September 15, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ Ganz, Jami (June 26, 2017). "OITNB's Danielle Brooks rocks out to Bon Jovi on Lip Sync Battle". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ Cox, Gordon (May 27, 2015). "Danielle Brooks of 'Orange Is the New Black' Joins Broadway's 'Color Purple'". Variety. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
- ^ "Danielle Brooks: Awards". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ Shattuck, Kathryn (June 14, 2019). "Danielle Brooks Is Ready to Be a Love Interest". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
- ^ a b "Nominations Announced for 86th Annual Drama League Awards". Broadway.com. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
- ^ "Peacemaker's Danielle Brooks explains why James Gunn created her role". Digital Spy. January 9, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
- ^ Lang, Brent (March 29, 2022). "Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Brooks Starring in Broadway Revival of 'The Piano Lesson'". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ^ "Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Brooks, John David Washington to Lead Broadway Revival of The Piano Lesson". TheatreMania. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ Breznican, Anthony (February 3, 2022). "Oprah Winfrey Reveals the Glorious Cast of The Color Purple Musical Film". Vanity Fair.
- ^ "Orange Is the New Black's Danielle Brooks Pregnant, Expecting Her 1st Child: 'So Elated'". Us Weekly. July 2, 2019.
- ^ "Oh, Baby! Orange Is the New Black's Danielle Brooks Gives Birth to 1st Child". Us Weekly. November 16, 2019.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (November 11, 2020). "'Peacemaker' Series at HBO Max Casts 'Orange Is the New Black' Alum Danielle Brooks". Variety.
External links
- Danielle Brooks at IMDb