Emayatzy Corinealdi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Emayatzy Corinealdi
Corinealdi on the 2025 Essence Carpet
Born	(1980-01-14) January 14, 1980 (age 45) Fort Knox, Kentucky, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2000–present

Emayatzy Corinealdi (born January 14, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in movies and TV shows. Emayatzy became famous for starring in the 2012 drama film Middle of Nowhere. For this role, she won an award for being a great new performer. She was also nominated for another important acting award.

Emayatzy has also appeared in other films like Miles Ahead (2016) and The Invitation (2015). On television, she played Belle in the 2016 TV series Roots. She also had roles in TV shows such as Hand of God (2014–2017), Ballers (2017–2019), and The Red Line (2019). Since 2022, Emayatzy has been starring in the legal drama series Reasonable Doubt on Hulu.

Early Life and Education

Emayatzy Corinealdi was born on January 14, 1980, in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Her mother, Rosemarie Hilton, is African-American from Ohio. Her father, Edward Corinealdi, is Panamanian. Because her family was in the military, Emayatzy grew up in different places. She lived in Germany and in several U.S. states, including Ohio, Kansas, and New Jersey.

She studied acting in New Jersey at the Actor's Training Studio. Later, she continued her acting studies at the William Esper Studio in New York City. She also trained at Playhouse West.

Acting Career Highlights

Emayatzy Corinealdi started her acting career in various independent and short films. She also had a repeating role on the CBS daytime TV show The Young and the Restless. In 2008, she appeared in the TV movie The Nanny Express.

Breakthrough Role in Middle of Nowhere

In 2012, Emayatzy got her first main role in a big movie, the drama Middle of Nowhere. She won the 14th Annual American Black Film Festival Star Project, which is a competition for new actors. Later that year, she won the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor for her performance in the film. She was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for best female lead actress.

Corinealdi (center) with Lorraine Toussaint and Sharon Lawrence at the Middle of Nowhere premiere in 2012

Other Notable Roles

In 2013, Emayatzy worked again with director Ava DuVernay on the short film The Door. This film was part of a fashion series called Women's Tales. In 2014, she joined the cast of the drama series Hand of God. That same year, she was chosen to play Frances Taylor Davis, the wife of famous musician Miles Davis, in the movie Miles Ahead. She also starred in the horror film The Invitation and the drama Beats.

In 2016, Emayatzy played Belle, the wife of Kunta Kinte, in the TV series Roots. This was a new version of the classic story. From 2017 to 2019, she had a repeating role in the HBO comedy-drama series Ballers. In 2019, she starred in The Red Line, a limited series produced by Ava DuVernay for CBS. In 2022, Emayatzy got her first main role in a TV series, playing Jax Stewart in the legal drama Reasonable Doubt on Hulu. This show is produced by Kerry Washington.

Awards and Recognitions

Emayatzy Corinealdi has received several awards and nominations for her acting.