Jeremy O. Harris facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jeremy O. Harris
Harris in 2024
Born	(1989-06-02) June 2, 1989 (age 36)
Occupation	Playwright screenwriter
Education	DePaul University Yale University (MFA)
Years active	2009–present
Notable works	Slave Play (2018)

Jeremy O. Harris (born June 2, 1989) is an American writer, actor, and screenwriter. He became well-known for his play Slave Play in 2018. This play was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play.

Harris has also worked in movies and TV shows. He helped produce and write the film Zola (2021). For this, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay. He has acted in TV series like Gossip Girl (2021) and Emily in Paris (2022). He also appeared in the movie The Sweet East (2023).

Early Life and School

Jeremy O. Harris grew up in a military family. This meant he moved around a lot. Eventually, his family settled in Martinsville, Virginia. He also lived in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.

He went to the Carlisle School in Martinsville. In 2009, he started studying acting at The Theatre School at DePaul University. However, he left the program after one year. Later, in 2019, he earned a special degree called a Master of Fine Arts in playwriting. He got this degree from the Yale School of Drama.

Career Highlights

Early Work and Slave Play

Harris at a poetry reading in New York City in 2018

Jeremy O. Harris started his career as an actor. He had a role in a play called Jon in Chicago. After that, he moved to Los Angeles to continue acting.

While in Los Angeles, he worked with musician Isabella Summers. Together, they created a play called Xander Xyst, Dragon 1. This play was shown in New York in 2017. He also wrote a play called "Daddy" during a special writing program. This play helped him get into the Yale School of Drama in 2016.

While still at Yale, Harris wrote his famous play, Slave Play. It was first shown at Yale in 2017. The play won several awards, including the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award. In 2018, it was performed professionally in New York. This was Harris's first major play as a writer.

Slave Play talks about difficult topics like racial trauma in America. It received a lot of praise from critics. However, some people felt the play was disrespectful to African-American history.

For the 74th Tony Awards, Slave Play made history. It received 12 nominations, which was a record for a non-musical play. This broke the previous record set by Angels in America. In 2018, Harris also won the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award.

In 2019, a new version of his earlier play "Daddy" was produced. It starred famous actor Alan Cumming. Critics had mixed feelings about "Daddy". Some called it "bold" and "important," while others found the dialogue too long.

Expanding His Work

Harris in 2020

In 2020, Jeremy O. Harris signed a deal with HBO. He started working on a new TV show idea. He also became a co-producer for the second season of the show Euphoria. He had already helped with the first season.

Harris also helped write the movie Zola (2021). This film was directed by Janicza Bravo. It received good reviews, and Harris was nominated for an award for his writing. The movie starred actors like Taylour Paige and Riley Keough.

He also appeared as an actor in several TV shows. These include the HBO Max series Gossip Girl (2021) and the Netflix series Emily in Paris (2022). In 2023, Harris was cast in the film The Sweet East. This movie was shown at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

'Black Out' Performances

Jeremy O. Harris came up with the idea of a Black out performance. This is when a play or show is performed only for a mostly Black audience. This idea has become popular in theaters in the United States and Britain.

These special performances aim to bring Black audiences to plays that tell Black stories. They also help Black people feel more comfortable and included in the theater.

Giving Back

Since 2020, Jeremy O. Harris has given a lot of his earnings to charity. He has supported the New York Theater Workshop and libraries across the United States. He also gives small grants to the Bushwick Starr theater in New York.

For the New York Theater Workshop, he created two $50,000 awards. These awards are for new plays written by Black women. He also donated a collection of plays by Black writers to libraries. These libraries are in all 50 U.S. states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam.

He also uses money from his play Slave Play to fund small grants. These $500 grants help 152 playwrights in the U.S. They are managed by the Bushwick Starr theater.

In 2020, Harris wrote a letter to then-President-elect Joe Biden. He asked Biden to bring back a program called the Federal Theatre Project. He also talked about this idea on a TV show to get more support.

Personal Life

Jeremy O. Harris is known for his height, which is 6 feet 5 inches. He is also known for his unique and stylish way of dressing.

List of Works

Theatre

Unproduced plays

• Water Sports; or, Insignificant White Boys (2019)
• A Boy’s Company Presents: 'Tell Me If I'm Hurting You' (2020)

Film

Television

Awards and Nominations

Jeremy O. Harris has received many awards for his work:

• Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, 2018
• Lotos Foundation Prize, 2018
• Rosa Parks Playwriting Award, 2018
• Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, 2018

In June 2019, he was recognized by Queerty as one of the Pride50. This honor celebrates people who work to ensure fairness, acceptance, and respect for all people.

See Also

• LGBT culture in New York City
• List of LGBT people from New York City
• Hari Nef
• John Golden Theatre
• Isabella Summers
• Nimrod Kamer