Danielle Brooks Wiki, Age, Biography, Height, Boyfriend, ...

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Danielle Brooks Wiki, Age, Biography, Height, Boyfriend, Family, Images, And More

Danielle Brittany Brooks, an American actress and singer, was born on September 17, 1989. She is most known for her appearances as Leota Adebayo on the superhero series Peacemaker (2022-present) and Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson on the comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013-2019). She was nominated for a Tony Award in 2015 for her performance as Sofia in the Broadway production of The Colour Purple, and the album it was featured on took home the Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album.

As the executive producer of Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia in 2021, Brooks was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie.

Early Life and Education

Brooks was raised in South Carolina after being born in Augusta, Georgia, in a Christian household; her mother was a pastor and her father a deacon. She made her acting debut in a church-produced nativity play when she was six years old. She attended South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts & Humanities, a prestigious arts high school, for her final two years of high school. She completed her studies in drama at the Juilliard School in 2011.

Career

Following his graduation from Juilliard, Brooks was cast in Servant of Two Masters by the Shakespeare Theatre Company and Blacken the Bubble. She left both projects in 2013 to become a cast member of the Netflix television series Orange Is the New Black, which is based on Piper Kerman's memoir of the same name and is about a women's jail. Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson was portrayed by Brooks. Although her character was only supposed to appear in the first two episodes of the show, it ended up being written into the rest of the first season and subsequent seasons. Brooks has known Samira Wiley, who plays Taystee's on-screen best friend Poussey, since they first met when enrolled at Juilliard. TV critics have given Brooks' performance on the programme positive reviews, describing her as "the breakout actress of the show and one of the most refreshing and exciting new talents of 2013." For the second season of the show, Brooks was promoted from recurring cast member to series regular. On June 28, 2017, an episode of Spike's Lip Sync Battle aired, in which she faced off against co-star UzoAduba. Brooks triumphed with renditions of "1, 2 Step" by Ciara and "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi.

As the first African-American actor on the HBO series Girls, Brooks was hired to appear in an episode of the third season in September 2013.

As Sofia in the 2015 revival of The Colour Purple, Brooks made her Broadway debut. The musical premiered at the Bernard B. Jacobs on December 10, 2015. For her portrayal, Brooks garnered favourable reviews and a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She was nominated for a Drama League Award for her portrayal of Beatrice in the production of Much Ado About Nothing at The Public Theatre in June 2019.

Brooks and actor John Cena co-starred as Leota Adebayo in James Gunn's Peacemaker television series in 2022. It is the first television programme to be a part of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The series is a spin-off of Gunn's 2021 movie The Suicide Squad. In a 2022 interview, Brooks disclosed that Gunn was a huge admirer of the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black and that she was in mind when writing the role of Adebayo.

Along with Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, and Brooks, a Broadway revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson will begin performances on September 19, 2022, under the direction of LaTanya Richardson Jackson. Additionally, it is intended for this cast to play the lead roles in the play's upcoming film adaptation, whose director has not yet been chosen. She will also be seen in Blitz Bazawule's feature-length adaptation of the musical of the same name, The Colour Purple.

In the animated series Karma's World, Brooks provided the voice of Lillie Carter-Grant, the mother of the main character Karma and a doctor.

Private life

Brooks announced she was expecting her first child on July 2, 2019. She gave birth to a girl in November. Dennis Gelin is her husband.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	Time Out of Mind	Receptionist
2015	I Dream Too Much	Abbey
2015	Phenomenal Woman, a Short Film	Woman	Short film
2016	The Angry Birds Movie	Olive Blue/Monica the Crossing Guard (voice)
2018	Sadie	Carla
2019	Clemency	Evette
	The Day Shall Come	Venus
	The Public's Much Ado About Nothing	Beatrice	Filmed production
	All the Little Things We Kill	Claire Soto
2020	Eat Wheaties!	Wendy
2021	Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia	Mahalia Jackson
2023	The Color Purple *	Sofia	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Modern Love	Raimy	TV movie
2013	Black Girls Rock! 2013	Herself	TV movie
2013–2019	Orange Is the New Black	Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson	Main role, 89 episodes
2014	Girls	Laura	1 episode
2015–2017	Master of None	Shannon	3 episodes
2017	Tangled: The Series	Ruthless Ruth (voice)	Episode: "The Wrath of Ruthless Ruth"
2017	Lip Sync Battle	Herself	Episode: "Danielle Brooks vs. UzoAduba"
2018	Project Runway All Stars	Herself	Episode: "Damsels in Distress"
	High Maintenance	Regine	Episode: "Namaste"
	Elena of Avalor	Charica (voice)	Episode: "A Lava Story"
2020–2022	Close Enough	Pearle Watson (voice)	Recurring role (season 1); main (season 2)
2020	Social Distance	Imani	Episode: "And We Could All Together/Go Out on the Ocean"
2020	Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine	Jordana Bachman	TV special
2021	Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia	Mahalia Jackson	TV movie
2021	Karma's World	Dr. Lillie Carter-Grant (voice)	5 episodes
2022	Peacemaker	Leota Adebayo	Main role, 8 episodes
2022	Instant Dream Home	Host	8 Episodes

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2015-17	The Color Purple	Sofia	Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway
2019	Much Ado About Nothing	Beatrice	Delacorte Theater, Off Broadway
2022	The Piano Lesson	Berniece	St. James Theatre, Broadway

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2013	Young Hollywood Award	Breakthrough Actress	Orange is the New Black	Won
2013	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Won
2015				Won
2016				Won
	Tony Award	Best Featured Actress in a Musical	The Color Purple	Nominated
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical		Nominated
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical		Nominated
	Theatre World Award			Honoree
2017	Grammy Award	Best Musical Theater Album		Won
2020	Drama League Award	Distinguished Performance	Much Ado About Nothing	Nominated
2021	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Television Movie	Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia	Nominated
2022	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Television Series	Peacemaker	Nominated

Quick Bio

Nickname	Danielle
Gender	Female
Age	33 years old (in 2023)
Date of Birth	September 17, 1989
Full Name	Danielle Brooks
Profession	Actress, Clothing Designer, Body positive activist
Nationality	American
Birthplace	North Augusta, South Carolina, United States
Religion	Not Known
Zodiac Sign	Virgo
School	The Juilliard School, South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities
Profession	Actress, Clothing Designer, Body positive activist
Net Worth	USD $1 million approx

Height, Weight & Physical Stats

Body Measurements	42-33-44 inches
Bodytype	Apple
Height	5 feet 4 inches (1.62 m)
Weight	75 kg (165 lbs)
Waist	33 inches
Hair Color	Black
Eye Color	Dark Brown
Shoe Size	9 (US)

Family & Relatives

Father	Dunnel Brooks
Mother	LaRita Brooks
Brother	Donnie Brooks
Marital Status	Single

Facts

She began performing when she was six years old, portraying the role of "baby girl" in a black nativity play at her local church.
Danielle was actively involved in the drama group at Bethlehem Baptist Church and was raised in the little rural community of Simpsonville, South Carolina, which is 20 minutes from the city of Greenville. Her mother enrolled her in a number of regional youth arts initiatives at the Warehouse and Children's Theatres in Greenville.
When Danielle was in her teens, she was unaware of her excess weight until a church member pointed out the stretch marks on her arms and made her feel self-conscious about her appearance.
Danielle started delaying acting on her mother's advice to go for a stroll in the neighbourhood to get some exercise after the downward spiral of low self-esteem began because she did not want other lads to make fun of her weight.
She found the much-needed relief from self-criticism and a stage for unrestrained self-expression in acting classes.
Reciting a monologue was necessary for the Governor's School Arts programme audition. Danielle delivered a sonnet and a poem by Steve Williams because she didn't know what a monologue was at the time, but she was still accepted.
Brooks was once cast in a play at Governor's School as a male Reverend despite the production also featuring the traditional character of a black slave woman. She came to the realisation that her art can go much beyond what is limited by her gender or looks at that pivotal time.
She performed monologues from Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale and August Wilson's The Piano Lesson during her Juilliard School auditions.
Danielle had to endure more than a year of numerous rejections even after she graduated from Juilliard.
Danielle's knowledge of fashion and style as an actress inspired her to become a fashion designer. She struggled to locate nice clothes that fit well during her college years. She wanted to use her imagination to provide other plus-sized ladies fascinating possibilities.