Da'Vine Joy Randolph facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Da'Vine Joy Randolph
Da'Vine Joy Randolph in 2024
Born	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	Temple University (BFA) Yale University (MFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2011–present

Da'Vine Joy Randolph (pronounced "Day-Vine") is an American actress. She is known for her amazing performances in movies and TV shows. She became famous for playing Oda Mae Brown in the Broadway musical Ghost in 2012. For this role, she was nominated for a Tony Award, which is a very important award for theatre.

Later, Da'Vine Joy Randolph acted in films like The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014) and Office Christmas Party (2016). She received great reviews for her roles in Dolemite Is My Name (2019) and The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2020). In 2023, she starred in the movie The Holdovers. Her performance in this film was highly praised. She won many awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, also known as an Oscar!

On television, she has appeared in many popular shows. These include Selfie (2014), This Is Us (2016), People of Earth (2016–2017), and Empire (2017–2018). More recently, she was in High Fidelity (2020) and The Idol (2023). In 2024, she was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for her role in the mystery series Only Murders in the Building.

Early Life and Education

Da'Vine Joy Randolph's first name, Da'Vine, is pronounced "Day Vine." Her parents named her this because it took them seven years to have children. They felt she was a "divine joy" in their lives. She grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

When she was young, Da'Vine went to the Interlochen Center for the Arts. There, she studied theatre. She then attended Temple University. She first studied classical singing and opera. But in her third year, she changed her focus to musical theatre.

After graduating from Temple in 2008, she went to the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. She earned her master's degree from Yale in 2011. She also spent a summer studying Shakespeare at the University of Oxford in England.

Acting Career Highlights

Da'Vine Joy Randolph first auditioned to be an understudy for Ghost: The Musical. This show was playing in London. But the producers decided to cast her in the main role of Oda Mae Brown.

Before the Broadway show opened, the actress playing Oda Mae in London had a small injury. Da'Vine was quickly sent to London to fill in. Her first performance was on December 16, 2011. She later starred in the Broadway production, which opened on April 23, 2012. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance.

In 2013, she made her first movie appearance in Mother of George. The next year, she played a nurse in The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014). She became more well-known for her role as Charmonique Whitaker in the TV show Selfie (2014). Even though the show was canceled, it gained a loyal fan base. Da'Vine has said she would love to return for a Selfie movie or mini-series.

From 2015 to 2017, she voiced Christine in The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show. She also had guest roles in shows like The Good Wife (2013) and This Is Us (2016). In 2016, she appeared in the movie Office Christmas Party. She also starred as Yvonne Watson in the sitcom People of Earth for two seasons.

Her big breakthrough movie role was as Lady Reed in Dolemite Is My Name (2019). She starred alongside Eddie Murphy in this film. For her performance, she won several awards, including from the African-American Film Critics Association. In 2020, she was a main cast member in the TV series High Fidelity.

Randolph in 2024

Da'Vine also does a lot of voice acting. She voiced Ranger Woolf in Madagascar: A Little Wild (2020–2022). She was also Tamarind Toucan in Tuca & Bertie (2021) and Tina in Chicago Party Aunt (2021–2022). She lent her voice to animated movies like Trolls World Tour (2020) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).

In 2021, she had a main role in the sitcom The Last O.G.. Since 2021, she has played Detective Williams in the popular series Only Murders in the Building. This show stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. In 2023, she played a pop star's manager in the series The Idol.

In 2023, Da'Vine played gospel singer Mahalia Jackson in the movie Rustin. She also starred in Alexander Payne's movie The Holdovers. In this film, she played Mary Lamb, a school cook. Her performance was highly praised by critics. She won many major awards for this role. These include the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, the BAFTA Award, and the Screen Actors Guild Award. She also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Oscar).

Da'Vine Joy Randolph has several new projects coming soon. One of them is an action comedy film called Bride Hard with Rebel Wilson.

Filmography

Film

List of films and roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Mother of George	Marsea
	The Purge: The Morning After	De'Shondranique	short film
	A Long Walk	Mom	short film
2014	The Angriest Man in Brooklyn	Nurse Rowan
2016	The Secrets of Emily Blair	Fran
	Office Christmas Party	Carla
2019	Dolemite Is My Name	Lady Reed
2020	Kajillionaire	Jenny
	The Last Shift	Shazz
	Trolls World Tour	Bliss Marina / Shelia B	voice role
	Mama Got A Cough	Yolanda	video short
2021	The United States vs. Billie Holiday	Roslyn
	The Guilty	CHP Dispatcher	voice role
2022	The Lost City	Beth Hatten
	A Little White Lie	Delta Jones
	Puss in Boots: The Last Wish	Mama Luna	voice role
	On the Come Up	Pooh
2023	Rustin	Mahalia Jackson
	The Holdovers	Mary Lamb
2025	Golden	TBA	Post-production
TBA	Shadow Force	TBA	Post-production
TBA	Bride Hard	TBA	Post-production
TBA	Eternity	Anna	Post-production
TBA	The Gallerist	TBA	Filming

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Theatre

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Da'Vine Joy Randolph para niños

• List of people nominated for the Triple Crown of Acting
• List of black Academy Award winners and nominees – Best Supporting Actress