Danielle Deadwyler facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Danielle Deadwyler
Deadwyler in 2024
Born	(1982-05-03) May 3, 1982 (age 43) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Education	Spelman College (BA) Columbia University (MA) Ashland University (MFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2008–present
Children	1

Danielle Deadwyler (born May 3, 1982) is an American actress known for her powerful performances in movies and television. She started her career acting in plays in Atlanta, Georgia.

Deadwyler became well-known for her roles in the Western film The Harder They Fall (2021) and the drama film Till (2022). Her role as Mamie Till in Till was highly praised by critics. It earned her a nomination for a BAFTA Award, which is a major British film award. She also received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for this role.

She continued to impress audiences in the drama The Piano Lesson (2024), which also earned her a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In 2025, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Early Life and Education

Danielle Deadwyler was born and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. Her mother was a legal secretary, and her father was a railroad supervisor. She has three siblings and a son.

Deadwyler was a very dedicated student. After high school, she went to Spelman College, where she earned a degree in History and African American Studies. She then earned a master's degree in American Studies from Columbia University. Later, in 2017, she received another master's degree in creative writing from Ashland University.

Career Journey

Starting on Stage and Screen

Deadwyler began her acting career in the theater. She appeared in several plays in Atlanta, including Charlotte's Web and a famous play called For Colored Girls.... Her work on stage received great reviews.

She made her first movie appearance in the 2012 drama A Cross to Bear. In this film, she played a mother facing difficult challenges. After this, she acted in several short films and began getting roles on television.

From 2015 to 2017, she played the character LaQuita "Quita" Maxwell in the TV series The Haves and the Have Nots. She also had small parts in movies like Gifted and appeared in popular TV shows like Atlanta and Watchmen. In 2019, she starred in and produced the thriller movie The Devil to Pay, where her performance was praised by critics.

Rise to Fame

Deadwyler in 2023

In 2021, Deadwyler's career reached a new level. She played Cuffee in the Netflix Western movie The Harder They Fall. Her character was based on a real historical figure named Cathay Williams. The movie and her performance were very popular, and she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.

That same year, she appeared in two TV miniseries: Station Eleven and From Scratch. In From Scratch, she played the main character's older sister and received positive reviews.

Her biggest role came in 2022 when she starred as Mamie Till in the movie Till. The film tells the true story of a mother seeking justice for her son. Critics loved her performance. A writer for The New York Times said she gave a "quiet, centralizing performance that works contrapuntally with the story’s heaviness." For this role, she won a Gotham Award and a National Board of Review Award.

Recent Successes

In 2024, Deadwyler starred in several films. She appeared in the science fiction thriller Parallel and the horror film I Saw the TV Glow. She also had a major role in The Piano Lesson, based on a famous play. Her work in this film earned her another nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award.

She also acted in the action movie Carry-On and the horror film The Woman in the Yard. Her amazing work led Time magazine to include her on its 2025 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Future Projects

Deadwyler continues to work on exciting new projects. She is set to star in and produce a comedy thriller called The Saviors. She will also play Zelma Redding, the wife of singer Otis Redding, in a movie titled Otis & Zelma.

In 2025, it was announced she would star with Steve Carell in a new HBO comedy series. She has also been cast in the lead role for the movie version of the novel The Street.

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Cyburbia	Cyburbia	Short film
2012	A Cross to Bear	Erica Moses
2013	Sweet, Sweet Country	Ndizeye	Short film
2014	Ir/Reconcilable	Maria	Short film, also producer
2015	The Youth	Hoda	Short film
2017	Gifted	Animal Shelter Worker
	The Leisure Seeker	Hotel Waitress
2018	Jane and Emma	Jane Manning
2019	The Devil to Pay	Lemon Cassidy	Also producer
2020	It's Time	Karen Phillips
	Bygone Billy	Trudy Wake
2021	The Harder They Fall	Cuffee
2022	Till	Mamie Till
2024	I Saw the TV Glow	Brenda
	Parallel	Vanessa	Also executive producer
	The Piano Lesson	Berniece Charles
	40 Acres	Hailey Freeman
	Carry-On	Elena Cole
2025	The Woman in the Yard	Ramona	Also executive producer
TBA	The Saviors	TBA	Also executive producer; post-production
TBA	Otis & Zelma	Zelma Redding	Also executive producer; pre-production
TBA	The Street	Lutie Johnson	producer; pre-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2015	Being Mary Jane	Naima	Episode: "Signing Off"
2015–2017	Haves and the Have Nots, TheThe Haves and the Have Nots	LaQuita "Quita" Maxwell	Recurring role
2016	Greenleaf	Stacy	Episodes: "Good Morning, Calvary" and "What Are You Doing Here?"
2018	Hap and Leonard	Woman	Episode: "T-Bone Mambo"
	Atlanta	Tami	Episode: "Champagne Papi"
2019	Watchmen	June	Episodes: "This Extraordinary Being" and "An Almost Religious Awe"
2020	FBI: Most Wanted	Cleo Wilkens	Episode: "Caesar"
	Paradise Lost	Nique Green	Series regular
	P-Valley	Yoli	Recurring role, 3 episodes
2021–2022	Station Eleven	Miranda Carroll	Miniseries
2022	From Scratch	Zora	Miniseries
2025	The Bear	Chantel	Episode: "Worms"
TBA	Untitled Steve Carell/HBO series	TBA	Series regular; filming

Major Awards and Nominations

Deadwyler has been recognized for her acting with nominations and awards from some of the most important groups in the film industry. Here are a few of her major honors.

In addition to these, Deadwyler has won and been nominated for dozens of other awards from film critic groups and festivals around the world for her roles in The Devil to Pay, The Harder They Fall, Till, and The Piano Lesson.

See also

In Spanish: Danielle Deadwyler para niños