Michael Michele facts for kids

Michael Michele Williams (born August 30, 1966) is an American actress and fashion designer. She started her career on stage. Later, she appeared with Wesley Snipes in the 1991 movie New Jack City.

In the 1990s, Michael Michele had main roles in two CBS TV shows. These were the crime drama Dangerous Curves (1992–93) and the soap opera Central Park West. She also played a character who was a love interest for Malik Yoba in the police drama New York Undercover.

Later, she joined the cast of the NBC police drama Homicide: Life on the Street (1998–99). There, she played Detective Rene Sheppard. From 1999 to 2002, she played Dr. Cleo Finch in the NBC medical drama ER. She also appeared in movies like The 6th Man (1997), The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998), Ali (2001), Dark Blue (2002), and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003).

From 2017 to 2018, Michael Michele starred as Ayanna Floyd in the Fox soap opera Star. In 2019, she joined The CW soap opera Dynasty as Dominique Deveraux.

About Michael Michele's Early Life

Michael Michele Williams was born in Evansville, Indiana. She is the older of two daughters. Her father, Jerry, is white and owned a furniture-rental business. Her mother, Theresa, is African American and worked for Bristol-Myers.

Michael Michele was named after her mother's best friend, Michael Ann. She went to Howard Roosa Elementary School. She also attended Benjamin Bosse High School. While there, she was an active member of the basketball team.

Michael Michele's Acting Career

Michael Michele has appeared in music videos for R&B singers Freddie Jackson and Eric Gable. In 1989, she had a legal disagreement with actor Eddie Murphy. She claimed she was fired from the movie Harlem Nights after a professional disagreement. The lawsuit was later settled out of court.

Early Film and TV Roles

In 1991, Michael Michele had a main role with Wesley Snipes in the movie New Jack City. This film was directed by Mario Van Peebles. Even though the movie was a success, Michael Michele did not get another movie role for six years.

In 1992, she starred in the CBS crime drama series Dangerous Curves. This show ran for two seasons. In 1993, she played a main role in the six-part NBC soap opera miniseries Trade Winds. The next year, she had a big recurring role in the Fox police drama series New York Undercover.

She left New York Undercover in early 1995. She then played one of the main characters in the CBS soap opera Central Park West. She starred alongside Mädchen Amick, Lauren Hutton, and Raquel Welch. The series was not very successful and ended after two seasons in 1996.

Later TV and Movie Work

In 1998, Michael Michele joined the cast of the NBC police drama Homicide: Life on the Street. She played Detective Rene Sheppard in the show's final season. She was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for this role.

Michael Michele played her character again in a Law & Order episode in 1999. She also appeared in the TV movie Homicide: The Movie in 2000. She then joined another NBC series, the medical drama ER. She played Dr. Cleo Finch from 1999 to 2002, for three seasons. She received another NAACP Image Award nomination for this role.

In 2001, Michael Michele played Veronica Porché Ali in the movie Ali. She starred opposite Will Smith in this biographical drama. She then had two more movie roles: the crime drama Dark Blue (2002) and the romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003).

She returned to television in 2004. She had a main role in the UPN legal drama series Kevin Hill with Taye Diggs. This show was short-lived. In 2007, she was a guest star on Law & Order: ... and in two episodes of House. In House, she played a doctor who had worked with the CIA.

In 2009, Michael Michele starred in the Hallmark Channel movie Relative Stranger [fr]. She acted with Eriq La Salle, who was also in ER. In 2011, Michael Michele had a recurring role on the CW teen drama Gossip Girl.

Recent Roles

In 2017, Michael Michele returned to regular TV series work. She played Ayanna Floyd, a record label president, in the Fox soap opera Star. Her character was known for being a strong and powerful woman. She also had a recurring role in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar.

On March 22, 2019, it was announced that Michael Michele was cast as Dominique Deveraux. This was for the second season of the Dynasty reboot series.

Michael Michele's Personal Life

Michael Michele has one son, who was born in 2004.

..... In 2012, Complex Magazine named her one of the "50 Hottest Biracial Women."

Michael Michele's Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

Music Videos

Awards and Nominations