Haitians in Hollywood

Sidney Poitier was a native of Cat Island, Bahamas, although born, two months prematurely, in Miami during a visit by his parents, Evelyn (Outten) and Reginald James Poitier. He grew up in poverty as the son of farmers, with his father also driving a cab in Nassau. Sidney had little formal education and at the age of 15 was sent to Miami to live with his brother, in order to forestall a growing tendency toward delinquency. In the U.S., he experienced the racial chasm that divides the country, a great shock to a boy coming from a society with a majority of African descent.

At 18, he went to New York, did menial jobs and slept in a bus terminal toilet. A brief stint in the Army as a worker at a veterans' hospital was followed by more menial jobs in Harlem. An impulsive audition at the American Negro Theatre was rejected so forcefully that Poitier dedicated the next six months to overcoming his accent and improving his performing skills. On his second try, he was accepted. Spotted in rehearsal by a casting agent, he won a bit part in the Broadway production of "Lysistrata", for which he earned good reviews. By the end of 1949, he was having to choose between leading roles on stage and an offer to work for Darryl F. Zanuck in the film No Way Out (1950). His performance as a doctor treating a white bigot got him plenty of notice and led to more roles. Nevertheless, the roles were still less interesting and prominent than those white actors routinely obtained. But seven years later, after turning down several projects he considered demeaning, Poitier got a number of roles that catapulted him into a category rarely if ever achieved by an African-American man of that time, that of leading man. One of these films, The Defiant Ones (1958), earned Poitier his first Academy Award nomination as Best Actor. Five years later, he won the Oscar for Lilies of the Field (1963), the first African American to win for a leading role.

He remained active on stage and screen as well as in the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. His roles in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and To Sir, with Love (1967) were landmarks in helping to break down some social barriers between blacks and whites. Poitier's talent, conscience, integrity, and inherent likability placed him on equal footing with the white stars of the day. He took on directing and producing chores in the 1970s, achieving success in both arenas.

Raoul Peck was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He is a director and writer, known for Enfant Unique, Le Voyage and The Black General.

SAG Award and Critics Choice Award winner for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Lorraine Toussaint shocked audiences on the smash hit Netflix original series "Orange is the New Black" as the viciously seductive inmate Vee. Toussaint's thrilling performance has won her glowing reviews from the likes of TV Guide and Vanity Fair, stirring the Emmy buzz for her outstanding performance. Toussaint also received praise for her performance in the Academy Award-nominated feature film "Selma." Up next, Toussaint will star in the new Fox series "Rosewood", alongside Morris Chestnut, which premieres this fall.

Born in Trinidad, Toussaint and her mother moved to Brooklyn, NY, where she was raised, when she was ten years old. Growing up, she watched a lot of television while she waited for her mother to return from work, and this sparked her interest in acting. Toussaint begged her mother to enroll her in acting school, and her search led to her studying theater at New York's renowned High School of Performing Arts. After graduation, she enrolled in the Juilliard School's drama division, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. On her graduation day, she landed her first paying job as Lady Macbeth with "Shakespeare & Company."

Toussaint spent the first 12 years of her career acting on stage in New York City before moving to Los Angeles. Her first television appearance was in 1983 in "The Face of Rage." Toussaint's biggest career boost has come from her co-starring role opposite Annie Potts in the TV series "Any Day Now," which earned Toussaint an NAACP Image Award nomination for best actress in a drama series, a TV Guide Award nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series, and the Wiley A. Branton Award from the National Bar Association.

Among Toussaint's TV credits were recurring roles on several popular television shows, such as NBC's drama series "Friday Night Lights," TNT's "Saving Grace," "Law & Order," and ABC's hit "Ugly Betty." She has also had several guest appearances on the hit television shows "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Grey's Anatomy," and the drama thriller "Scandal" opposite Kerry Washington.

No stranger to the silver screen, Touissant's first film role was opposite Burt Reynolds in the crime comedy "Breaking In." Touissant has also appeared in "Dangerous Minds," "The Soloist," and Ava DuVernay's "Middle of Nowhere," in which her performance was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female. Up next, Toussaint stars as Salome Whitmore in the upcoming period drama "Sophie and the Rising Sun," written and directed by Maggie Greenwald. Toussaint will also play Anthony Mackie's mother in the upcoming Seth Rogen comedy "X-Mas," scheduled for theaters this November.

Toussaint and her daughter split their time between New York and Los Angeles.

Lela Rochon was born on 17 April 1964 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Waiting to Exhale (1995), Any Given Sunday (1999) and Gang Related (1997). She has been married to Antoine Fuqua since 9 April 1999. They have two children. She was previously married to Adolfo Quinones.

Named one of People Magazine's highly coveted 50 Most Beautiful, award nominated, Haitian-born actress Garcelle Beauvais immigrated to the United States at the age of seven with her mother and sisters and has since charmed audiences with her dramatic and comedic abilities. Balancing perfectly between the small screen and big screen, this cultural icon proudly became the first Black cast member on Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" (2020). Cementing her status as a media queen, she released a memoir titled Love Me as I Am (Harper Collins) about life, love, and the pursuit of true happiness. It quickly rose in the ranks, landing in the #1 spot on Amazon and garnering a great deal of press attention including Good Morning America, Nightline, and PEOPLE Magazine. Most recently she expanded her empire to include a home line with HSN called "Garcelle at Home." Garcelle has expanded her career with a Lifetime partnership to executive producer original titles, including most recently the award-winning film "Black Girl Missing" (2023) and it's second installment "Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie" (July 20, 2024) and "Terry McMillan Presents: Tempted By Love" (August 17, 2024).

A look back at Garcelle's career shows a hybrid of businesswoman and mother who has been a cherished face in Hollywood for over three decades. She got her start in 90s comedies "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "The Jamie Foxx Show." She went on to appear in television on series such as SyFy's "The Magicians," NBC's "Chicago Med," "NYPD Blue," "Franklin & Bash," HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Arrested Development," "Power" on Starz and many others. In addition to scripted TV, she co-hosted on Fox's daytime talk-show "Hollywood Today Live," where she broke down the latest in entertainment, pop culture, and celebrity news, as well co-hosting for E!'s "Fashion Police," and "Access Hollywood Live" on NBC. On the voiceover side of work, Garcelle was heard in HBO Max's "The Prince" with Gary Janetti. Recently, she wrapped her final season on the multi-award-winning talk show Fox's "The Real" as co-host.

She could also recently be seen in Netflix's "Survival of the Thickest" and Hulu's "The Other Black Girl." Working in film has always been a passion for Garcelle. She has starred in box office hits "White House Down" with Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum as the First Lady of the United States, "Flight" with Denzel Washington, "American Gun" with Forrest Whitaker, "Coming to America" (1988), and the sequel "Coming 2 America" (2021) where she worked once again with Eddie Murphy, "Bad Company" with Chris Rock, "Barbershop 2: Back in Business" with Queen Latifah, and "Spider-Man: Homecoming" with Tom Holland, among others.

Above all, Garcelle's most important job is being a mother. She was inspired by motherhood to write a children's book series entitled I AM, addressing identity issues relevant to many children today. There are three successful books in the series. The book series was re-released in April 2020 for its fifth anniversary. Garcelle is an ambassador for Cybersmile, a multi-award-winning nonprofit organization committed to digital well being and tackling all forms of bullying and abuse online and she also supports the Step Up Women's Network, a national non-profit that empowers women and girls to be strong and reach their full potential. She is also an active supporter of UNICEF and CORE, raising money for Haiti. Garcelle also supports the W.K. Kellogg Foundation "Pockets of Hope" campaign focused on the investment in locally led initiatives that are building a strong and equitable future for Haitian children, families and communities.

She resides in Los Angeles and has three sons; Oliver, her firstborn who has made her a proud grandmother and her twins, Jax and Jaid.

From the time he was a young lad, Gary Dourdan knew that he wanted to be an actor. Despite a myriad of interests, which included music, athletics and even break dancing, Dourdan focused much of his passion centered on acting. His determination, of course, eventually paid off - after an increasing series of television guest spots that led to regular series roles, he came to prominence in the "Alien" film franchise in 1997, officially starting him on the path towards stardom. While the one-time New Jersey native worked steadily, it was his role as forensic investigator Warrick Brown on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15) that put him on the map, introducing Dourdan to a large audience week after week and establishing him as a top-notch television star.

Born in Philadelphia, Dourdan was raised by his creative-minded mother, a fashion designer, and father, an agent who represented jazz musicians. Dourdan was the youngest child in a family of five; a mixture of various ethnicity's including, among others, African, European and Native American . As a child, he excelled in music, playing a variety of instruments including piano, guitar and saxophone. Dourdan studied with legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg, and by the end of the 1980s, began performing in off-Broadway plays. After meeting "A Different World" (1987-1993) producer Debbie Allen in Paris, Dourdan was cast in the role of Shazza Zulu, a recurring gig he played for over two seasons. Dourdan was then plucked by pop star Janet Jackson to be the object of desire in the 1993 video for her single "Again."

In 1996, Dourdan landed the role of Yates in the Touchstone Pictures-based action drama "Playing God" (1997), then was part of a six-month shoot in Los Angeles for "Alien: Resurrection" (1997) and the independent drama "Thursday" (1998). Dourdan later decided to return to television. In 2000, he appeared in the ABC movie "Muhammad Ali: King of the World," taking on the formidable role of the iconic Malcolm X. Back in features, Dourdan headlined the independent drama thriller "Trois" (2000), then appeared in Reggie Bythewood's Hollywood drama "Dancing in September" (2000). By April 2000, Dourdan had been recruited for the crime procedural, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." Picked up for the fall season, the series revolved around a forensics investigating unit in Las Vegas, with Dourdan playing Warrick Brown, a smart, complex and moody investigator with a shaky past as a gambler. The show quickly took off with critics and viewers, later paving the way for two successful "CSI" spin-offs.

As part of a dramatic ensemble, Dourdan and his cast mates were acknowledged with Screen Actors Guild Award nominations in successive ceremonies between 2002 and 2005, with the team finally taking home the statue in 2005. Dourdan himself was singled out by NAACP's Image Awards for nominations five years running, between 2002-07. In 2003 and 2006, he won his category as "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series." He next essayed another real-life political figure, Black Panther George Jackson, in "Black August" (2003). With little time for outside screen work beyond his day job, he made an appearance as Captain Burke in the oft-re shot sci-fi thriller "Imposter" (2002). In 2006, Dourdan co-starred opposite Halle Berry as her on-again, off-again boyfriend in the thriller "Perfect Stranger" (2007).

Recently, Dourdan has been seen on the ABC series "Mistresses" BET's "Being Mary Jane" and Starz "Power" and the soon to be released "Redemption Day " Gary has kept busy with recording and performing live music.

"Born and raised in New York City, the acting bug hit a young Alex Desert early, with two incidents forever changing his trajectory. First, while perusing the audio section of the Donell Public Library, our young hero happened upon a record which would forever impact him - Paul Williams' soundtrack for the Alan Parker film, Bugsy Malone. While obsessively listening to the musical score, Alex would intensely scour and review the record cover secretly wishing he was one of the actors in this film. Second, when Desert's older brother explained to him that the characters on TV's M*A*S*H were not, in fact, doctors but rather actors, Alex knew he had found his calling.

After graduating NYC's acclaimed School of the Performing Arts (yes...the Fame school), Desert relocated to Los Angeles and has since had a varied acting career. As well as being a series regular on such hit shows as CBS's Becker, Boy Meets World and The Flash, he has also appeared in numerous guest starring roles on shows including Grey's Anatomy, Mom, and House MD. Film roles include such cult classics as Swingers, High Fidelity and PCU.

Not to be tied down to just one form of the acting arts, Alex has also voiced characters for animation and video games. Most notably, Desert can be heard as the voice of Nick Fury in Marvel Animation's Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and can also be heard as Wise in the web series The LeBrons.

In addition to his acting career, Desert also lends his singing talents to two of Los Angeles' most influential world music groups, Hepcat and The Lions. Having released four albums, Hepcat's exposure has included European and American tours, national magazine features and even an appearance on the Conan O'Brien show. Alex's latest musical collaboration, The Lions, is a 12-piece collective of seasoned Los Angeles musicians playing what they have dubbed "dusty reggae soul". Their latest album, Soul Riot, is currently available on Stones Throw Records.

And there you have it. A brief history of Alex Desert."

Jimmy Jean-Louis led a simple Life in the slums of Haiti until the age of 12, when he moved to Paris.

Jimmy worked for 3 years in a musical theater in Spain "La Belle Époque" before embarking on a successful modeling career in France, Spain, Italy, South Africa and England.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1998 to pursue acting. Some of his credits include: "Tears of the Sun" (Dir: Antoine Fuqua, Columbia pictures 2003) with Bruce Willis, "Hollywood Homicide" (dir: Ron Shelton, Columbia Pictures, 2003) with Harrison Fordand Josh Hartnet, "Monster-in-Law" (Dir: Robert Luketic, New Line, 2005 ) with Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez, "Phat Girlz" (Dir: Nnegest Likke, Fox Searchlight, 2006) with Oscar winner Mo'Nique, "Heroes" (NBC, 2006-2010) where he portrayed the charismatic Rene aka The Haitian, "Arrow" (CW Network, 2013), "Heroes Reborn" (NBC, 2015) and "Joy" (Dir: David O Russell, Fox 2000 Pictures, 2015) with Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro. He' was a regular on the show "Claws" TNT, 2018.

His most important role to date is playing the title character in "Toussaint Louverture" which won Best Actor at the Pan African Film Festival and a nomination for Best Actor at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2012.

Jimmy Jean-Louis won Best Actor in a leading role "Desrances" at the Africa Movie Academy Award in 2020.

Fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Creole, Jimmy has worked in many parts of the world including France, England, Indonesia, Cuba, Nigeria, Brasil and Mexico....

Sal Masekela is an American television host. He is the son of South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela. His younger half-brother is Survivor: Cook Islands contestant Nathan Gonzalez. He is of South African and Haitian descent and was raised in Staten Island, New York and Carlsbad, California (near San Diego), where he attended Carlsbad High School.

Sal started in the business answering the phone for Trans World Magazine. He has hosted shows such as Ballbreakers, with co-hosts Ewa Mataya Laurance and Adrianne Curry, as well as The Daily 10 on the E! network. He has appeared on several shows on the Game Show Network, including Lingo, and has appeared on all three Tony Hawk Gigantic Skatepark Tours, which ran from 2000-2002, where he and Bam Margera were constantly dueling with messy pranks. He also was on the February 22nd, 2007 episode of SpikeTV's Pro's vs Joe's, in which he won in Overtime against Derrin Horton. He is the host of ESPN's X Games.

Co-founder of Berkela Films with Jason Bergh.

Meta Golding is of Haitian descent but was raised in the United States, India, France and Italy as well as Haiti itself. She competed on ice as an Italian national figure skater, but when an injury ended her skating career she started acting in Italian theatre. Later she returned to the USA to attend Cornell University where she earned degrees in Theatre Arts and International Relations. She now resides in Los Angeles, California, but donates much of her spare time to an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico.

Golding is fluent in English, French and Italian.

Gabriel Casseus was born on 28 April 1972 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Takers (2010), Bedazzled (2000) and G-Force (2009).

Sydney Tamiia Poitier (born November 15, 1973) is a Bahamian-American television and film actress.

Born in Los Angeles, Poitier is the daughter of Bahamian actor Sir Sidney Poitier and Canadian actress Joanna Shimkus. Her mother is of Lithuanian Jewish and Irish descent. She has an older sister, Anika. She also has four older half-sisters, Beverly, Pamela, Sherri, and Gina, from her father's first marriage. Poitier's great-uncle has claimed that the Poitier ancestors on her grandfather's side had migrated from Haiti and were probably part of the runaway slaves who had established maroon communities throughout the Bahamas, including Cat Island. He mentions that the surname Poitier is a French name, and there were no white Poitiers from the Bahamas.

Poitier attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where she earned a bachelor's degree in acting. She also studied at Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

Poitier began her career of acting in the late 1990s. In 2001, she landed her first role on television in the NBC drama series First Years. The series was canceled after three episodes. In 2003, she starred in the UPN sitcom Abby. That series was also canceled during its first season. Later that same year, she had a recurring role in Joan of Arcadia, where she played Rebecca Askew, the love interest of Joan's older brother, Kevin (Jason Ritter). She was also a regular on the first season of Veronica Mars. However, she left the show after only appearing in four episodes because of budget cuts.

In 2007, Poitier starred in Death Proof, director Quentin Tarantino's segment of the movie Grindhouse, as radio DJ Jungle Julia. The next year, she had a co-starring role in the new Knight Rider series, as FBI Agent Carrie Rivai. In 2011, she guest-starred on two episodes of Private Practice.

The Brooklyn-born actor Jamie Hector may be best known for his role as Marlo Stanfield on the critically acclaimed HBO series "The Wire". He now plays Detective Jerry Edgar on the Amazon hit series "BOSCH". Jamie studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. He is also the founder of Moving Mountains Inc., a non-profit organization that gives inner-city youth the opportunity to study the arts.

Zoe Saldana was born on June 19, 1978 in Passaic, New Jersey, to Asalia Nazario and Aridio Saldaña. Her father was Dominican and her mother is Puerto Rican. She was raised in Queens, New York. When she was 10 years old, she and her family moved to the Dominican Republic, where they would live for the next seven years. While living there, Zoe discovered a keen interest in performance dance and began her training at the prestigious ECOS Espacio de Danza Dance Academy where she learned ballet as well as other dance forms. Not only did her training provide an excellent outlet for the enthusiastic and energetic youngster, it would also prove to be a fortunate precursor for the start of her professional acting career. At age 17, Zoe and her family moved back to the United States where her love for dance followed and an interest in theater performance became stronger.

She began performing with the Faces theater troupe which put on plays geared to provide positive messages for teens with themes dealing with issues such as substance abuse and sex. These performances not only gave her valuable experience but also a source of great pride knowing that she was making a difference in the lives of young people like herself. While performing with the Faces troupe and also the New York Youth Theater, Zoe was recruited for a talent agency and her dance training years before coupled with her acting experience greatly helped her land her first big screen role as Eva Rodriguez, the talented and headstrong ballet dancer in the film Center Stage (2000). Since her professional career began several years ago, Zoe's talent and determination have allowed her to be involved in blockbuster films and act with major actors, actresses and industry insiders at a pace that very few young professionals have experienced.

Zoe has not only held her own in major motion picture productions but gained the respect and praise from industry insiders such as Jerry Bruckheimer and Steven Spielberg and actors/actresses such as Tom Hanks, Bernie Mac, Keira Knightley, Ashton Kutcher, Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom. According to many of her co-stars, producers and directors, the sky is no limit for this young star who has incredible range, intense concentration, and a steely determination to be involved with projects that challenge her professionally with wide-ranging subject matters and characters. Just to ask practically anyone who she has worked for or with about her, glowing comments abound and earned friendships and respect are readily revealed. A star has been born, and growing every day.

Usher Raymond IV was born in Dallas, Texas, to Jonetta Patton (née O'Neal) and Usher Raymond III. He began singing when he was six years old, joining the local church choir at the behest of his mother who acted as choir director. Jonetta, a single mom, raised Usher and his younger brother, James, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before moving the family to Atlanta, Georgia, when Usher was 12 years old. Cited by the singer as his best friend, Usher's mother continues to guide the teen star's career as his manager, a duty she assumed after quitting her full-time office job several years ago. Upon moving to Atlanta, Usher began participating in various local talent shows. It was at one such exhibition, in 1992, that he was spotted by Bryant Reid, brother of L.A. Reid, the famed R&B producer and co-president (with 'Kenneth Babyface' Edmonds') of LaFace Records. Bryant arranged for Usher to audition for his brother, and the popular producer was immediately taken with the young singer's precocious talent--legend has it that Reid offered Usher a contract on the spot. Usher recorded and released his debut album on LaFace in 1994. The record, which was co-executive-produced by Reid and Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs, generated the minor hit "Think of You". Usher was only 14 when he worked on the album, and puberty proved somewhat of an impediment to the process. As a result, the producers brought in several vocal coaches in order to help him complete the record. Their efforts were not in vain, as the album captured Usher's youthful exuberance and native singing prowess, not to mention the interest of many listeners. After graduating from high school, he entered the studio to record his sophomore effort, "My Way", which was produced by Jermaine Dupri of So So Def Records, and was released in October of 1997, around the time of Usher's 19th birthday. The record was already highly anticipated based on the success of its first hit single, "You Make Me Wanna", an impassioned love song in the classic R&B tradition. The song was an instant juggernaut, hovering at or near the top of Billboard's R&B singles chart from the moment of its release, and it eventually spent considerable time in the # 2 position on the pop singles chart, second only to Elton John's wildly popular "Candle in the Wind '97." The success of "My Way" proved that the teenage crooner had won over the hearts of legions of listeners. It also illustrated the artistic maturation he had undergone since his debut recording. This time around, Usher wrote his own songs, penning five of the album's nine tracks. The remaining four songs were contributed by such R&B heavyweights as Babyface, Teddy Riley and producer Dupri. Usher spent six months living at Dupri's house while recording the album; the time together, he says, helped them understand each other, and helped Dupri realize the genuine growth Usher was experiencing in his life. "My Way" yielded a second smash, "Nice & Slow", that also put a chokehold on the singles charts upon its release, and the video for the song garnered a fair share of critical acclaim. Shot by famed hip-hop director Hype Williams, the video, which was filmed in Paris, features a dramatic romantic storyline that almost rivals the song itself. Usher was recognized for the strength of his recent work when he won the 1997 Soul Train Award for Best R&B Single by a Male, for "You Make Me Wanna" He also earned a Grammy nomination, though one of the few blemishes on his young career came during the awards telecast when he inadvertently introduced Album of the Year award winner Bob Dylan as "Bill" before an international television audience. For the most part, though, TV has been kind to the kid. In addition to numerous appearances on programs like The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986), Usher has also been a recurring character on the syndicated TV show Moesha (1996), which stars pop songstress Brandy Norwood. Usher appeared on several episodes as Jeremy Davis, a boarding-school student romantically involved with the show's title character. For the foreseeable future, however, Usher is concentrating on taking his musical abilities to the next level by perfecting his skills as a live performer. He's had plenty of practice, touring on P. Diddy's No Way Out spectacular, and with Mary J. Blige on her national tour.

Originated the role of Nabalungi in the Book of Mormon, for which she won a Tony Award. She recently starred in Tony Kushner's A Bright Room Called Day at the Public Theater. Nikki was born and raised in New Jersey, where she fell in love with the theater at a young age. With the encouragement of her parents, she began her professional career at age 13, appearing in commercials and voice-overs. She attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, earning a BFA in drama. She made her Broadway debut in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," followed by a leading role in "House of Flowers" for City Center's Encores! Series. A fixture in New York theater: she originated the role of Lorraine in the Broadway production of "All Shook Up," performed alongside Phylicia Rashad in Michael John La Chiusa's "Bernarda Alba" at Lincoln Center Theatre, and starred as Dorothy in "The Wiz" at the La Jolla Playhouse (2006 Craig Noel Award). In 2008, Nikki took on classical theater at the world-renowned Stratford Shakespeare Festival, where she played Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" and starred opposite Christopher Plummer in Shaw's "Caesar and Cleopatra." Her other theater credits include the 2014 Broadway Revival of Les Miserables (Eponine), Shakespeare in the Park productions of Julius Caesar (Portia) and Twelfth Night (Viola), Dave Malloy's Preludes, and The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin.

Nikki has performed at Carnegie Hall, NJPAC, and The Center for the Performing Arts, among others, and has performed her solo cabaret show on land and sea.

She resides in New York City with her husband and is a proud sustaining member of her local public radio station.

Eric Samuel André is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, television host, and writer. He is best known as the creator, host, and co-writer of the Adult Swim comedy series The Eric Andre Show (2012-present). He also played Mike on the FXX series Man Seeking Woman (2015-2017) and voiced Azizi in the remake of The Lion King (2019). He performs music under the name, Blarf.

Award-winning actress, Vicky Jeudy is best known for her breakout role on the American comedy-drama hit series, Orange is the New Black. Vicky plays Janae Watson, a former high school track star, who after one wrong turn becomes an inmate at Litchfield Penitentiary. In 2015, Vicky and the entire cast were awarded the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in addition to three Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Born and raised in Queens, New York and of Haitian descent, Vicky is an activist at heart. She believes that as an artist, she should express her world views through each of her character portrayals. When not on set, Vicky can be seen empowering the youth in her community.

Suzanne De Passe was born on 19 July 1946 in the USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Lonesome Dove (1989), Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1983) and Lady Sings the Blues (1972). She was previously married to Paul Le Mat.