Tangi Miller
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Tangi Miller (born February 28, 1970) is an American
actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
,
model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...
,
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
, and
dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
. As an actress she is known for the role of Elena Tyler on the popular television drama '' Felicity''. Miller has received two
NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...
nominations throughout her career. Starting in the mid 2000s, Miller focused on
indie films An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...
and has worked as a producer and director.


Early life

Miller was born and raised in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, the eldest of six children. She and her siblings were not permitted to watch television as they grew up due to their parents' religious beliefs. At
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
, Miller began acting in stage productions. She did not plan to become an actress and chose to
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
in
marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...
while attending
Alabama State University Alabama State University (ASU, Bama State, or Alabama State) is a public historically Black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, during the Reconstruction era, it was one of about 180 " normal schools" established by state gove ...
. Miller realized she spent all of her free time acting, so after graduation she pursued that at Alabama State. She earned a
Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...
degree at the
University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...
. She studied at the
Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, as well as at the
Alabama Shakespeare Festival The Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF) is among the ten largest Shakespeare festivals in the world. The festival is permanently housed in the Carolyn Blount Theatre in Montgomery, Alabama. ASF puts on 6-9 productions annually, typically includin ...
.


Acting

After appearing on the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
comedy ''
Arli$$ ''Arliss'' (rendered in its logo as ''Arli$$'') is an American dark comedy series, created by and starring Robert Wuhl (who was also the series' showrunner), about the glitzy, big-money world of professional sports, with Wuhl playing the etern ...
'' (1996), and on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
drama '' Michael Hayes'' (1997), Miller went on to stardom as a cast member of
The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...
hit show '' Felicity'' (1998−2002), playing smart and stylish Elena Tyler, a premedical student. For her work on the series, Miller was nominated in 2002 for an
NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...
in the category of Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. She was named as one of ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
's'' Sexiest Faces. Miller was also featured in
Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), known professionally as Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan, which forme ...
's music video of "
Got Your Money "Got Your Money" is a song by American rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, released in 1999 as the only single from his second studio album, '' Nigga Please''. Both the single and the album were the last to be released by Ol' Dirty Bastard, before his dea ...
" in 1999 as a dancer. Miller played the lead role in
BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...
movie ''Playing with Fire'', starring opposite
Vanessa Estelle Williams Vanessa Estelle Williams (born May 12, 1963) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her roles as Maxine Joseph–Chadway in the Showtime drama series, ''Soul Food'' (2000–2004), for which she received NAACP Image Award f ...
. She appeared alongside
Mekhi Phifer Mekhi Phifer ( ; born December 29, 1974) is an American actor. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s, Phifer was known for a few notable roles in films including ''Clockers (film), Clockers'', ''Soul Food (film), Soul Food'', ''High School High' ...
in the independent film '' The Other Brother'' (2002). She was the wife of
MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit", and "Pumps and a Bump", flashy dance movements, e ...
, Stephanie, in the 2001
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
film ''Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story''. Miller was the lead in '' Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood'' and played Donna in
Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Madea, Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her ...
's ''
Madea's Family Reunion ''Madea's Family Reunion'' is a 2006 American comedy-drama film and an adaptation of the Madea's Family Reunion (play), stage production of the same name written by Tyler Perry. The film is a sequel to ''Diary of a Mad Black Woman''. It was writt ...
'' (2006). She portrayed the daughter of Claudette Wyms (
CCH Pounder Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder (born December 25, 1952) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Claudette Wyms in the FX police drama series '' The Shield'' (2002–2008), Mo'at in the ''Avatar'' (2009–present) franchise, ...
) on ''
The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...
'' in 2002. In 2005, she earned her second NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for acting in sci-fi film ''Phantom Force''. Miller appeared in guest roles on crime dramas ''
The District ''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series that aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department. P ...
'' (2003) and ''
The Division ''The Division'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Deborah Joy LeVine starring Bonnie Bedelia. The series focuses on a team of female detectives and police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. Th ...
'' (2004), as well as an appearance on sitcom ''
Half & Half ''Half & Half'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeffrey Klarik and executive-produced by Yvette Lee Bowser through her Sister Lee Productions banner that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006 (related to the come ...
'' (2005), her latest acting role on television to date. Following her role in ''Madea's Family Reunion'', Miller has chiefly acted in independent films, including ''Hurricane in the Rose Garden'', ''Guardian of Eden'', ''Hollywood Chaos'' and ''Diva Diaries''.


Producer and director

Miller produced the
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
ian film ''Police Officer 3'' and the 2008 film ''After School''. She produced her third film ''Love & Other 4 Letter Words'' in April 2006. Miller's directorial debut was in 2017, for the film ''Diva Diaries'' — in which she also was producer and co-star. The film was first shown at the Pan African Film Festival in 2017.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Tangi 1970 births African-American actresses American film actresses American television actresses Living people Actresses from Miami American female dancers African-American female dancers Alabama State University alumni University of California, Irvine alumni Female models from Florida 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women