Teyonah Parris facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Teyonah Parris
Parris in 2019
Born	(1987-09-22) September 22, 1987 (age 37) Hopkins, South Carolina, U.S.
Education	Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2010–present
Spouse(s)	James Parris
Children	1

Teyonah Parris (say it like tee-ON-uh) is an American actress. She was born on September 22, 1987. Teyonah went to the famous Juilliard School to study acting. She started her acting career in 2010.

Some of her first big roles were in the TV show Mad Men (from 2012 to 2015) and the movie Dear White People (2014). She also appeared in the TV series Empire (2014) and the movie Chi-Raq (2015), directed by Spike Lee. Later, she starred in the drama film If Beale Street Could Talk (2018).

In 2021, Teyonah starred in the horror movie Candyman. She also joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Monica Rambeau. Her first appearance as Monica was in the Disney+ series WandaVision. She has continued to play Monica Rambeau in Marvel movies. More recently, she was in the comedy series No Good Deed (2024).

Growing Up and Learning

Teyonah Parris was born on September 22, 1987, and grew up in Hopkins, South Carolina. She went to Lower Richland High School for her first two years. Then, she was accepted into the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts & Humanities. This special school helped her finish her last two years of high school. After that, she went to and graduated from the Juilliard School, which is a very well-known performing arts school.

Her Acting Journey

Teyonah first appeared on TV in 2010. She had a guest role in the show The Good Wife. In 2012, she got a regular role in the AMC drama series Mad Men. She played a character named Dawn Chambers. This was important because she was the first main African American character on Mad Men.

In 2014, Teyonah had a big moment in the independent film Dear White People. Later that year, she started starring in the Starz comedy series Survivor's Remorse. In 2015, Teyonah starred in the movie Chi-Raq, directed by Spike Lee. She was even nominated for an award, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, for her work in this film. She also played the main role in Where Children Play and acted alongside David Oyelowo in Five Nights in Maine. In 2015, she played the singer Miki Howard in a movie about her life called Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story.

In 2016, Teyonah was chosen to play the main character in a movie called Buffalo Soldier Girl. This film was about a woman who dressed as a man to join and fight with the African American soldiers known as Buffalo Soldiers after the Civil War. In 2017, she had a recurring role as Detective Pamela Rose in the TV show Empire. In early 2018, Teyonah got a main role in a TV pilot called Murder. That same year, she co-starred in If Beale Street Could Talk. This drama film was based on a novel by James Baldwin. She also played the main role of Kaneisha in a play called Slave Play in New York in 2018.

Teyonah plays the grown-up version of Monica Rambeau in the Disney+ series WandaVision. Monica Rambeau was first seen as a child in the Marvel movie Captain Marvel. Teyonah continued her role as Monica in the movie The Marvels, which came out in November 2023.

Her Life Outside Acting

In September 2022, Teyonah and her husband, James, shared that they were going to have a baby. Their daughter was born in early 2023.

On August 22, 2024, Teyonah started her own line of hair extensions called blūm by Teyonah. This line includes different types of hair extensions like clip-ins, wigs, and bundles, all in six unique hair textures.

Movies and TV Shows

Movies

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	How Do You Know	Riva
2013	A Picture of You	Mika
2014	Dear White People	Colandrea "Coco" Conners
	They Came Together	Wanda
2015	Five Nights in Maine	Penelope
	Where Children Play	Bellissima Mccain
	Chi-Raq	Lysistrata
2016	Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story	Miki Howard	Also a producer
	90 Days	Jessica	Short film
2018	If Beale Street Could Talk	Ernestine Rivers
2019	Point Blank	Taryn
2020	Charm City Kings	Terri
	The Photograph	Asia
2021	Candyman	Brianna Cartwright
2023	They Cloned Tyrone	Yo-Yo
	The Marvels	Monica Rambeau
	Dashing Through the Snow	Allison Garrick
TBA	Matchbox		Filming

Television Shows

Awards and Nominations

Teyonah Parris has won and been nominated for several awards for her acting.

See also

In Spanish: Teyonah Parris para niños