Alexandra Shipp (born July 16, 1991) is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence for portraying singer

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...

in the Lifetime television film '' Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B'' (2014) and Kimberly Woodruff in the film ''

Straight Outta Compton ''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by American hip-hop group N.W.A, released on January 25, 1989, through Priority Records, Priority and Ruthless Records. It was Record producer, produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, a ...

'' (2015). Shipp is best known for playing

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

in the ''X-Men'' franchise, starting with '' X-Men: Apocalypse'', Abby Suso in the 2018

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

Love, Simon ''Love, Simon'' is a 2018 American teen romantic comedy drama film directed by Greg Berlanti from a screenplay by Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker, based on the 2015 novel '' Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda'' by Becky Albertalli. The fi ...

'', and Susan Wilson in musical drama '' tick, tick... BOOM!''

Early life

Shipp was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Her mother is a Kundalini yoga teacher, and her father James Sr. is a marketing executive. She has two brothers, James and Jordan, and a stepsister, Kasia. Shipp was educated at Squaw Peak Elementary School, Arizona School for the Arts, and St. Mary's Catholic High School in Phoenix. She moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at the age of 17 to pursue an acting career.

Career

In 2009, Shipp made her acting debut with a minor role in '' Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel''. She went on to star in the third season of

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

's mystery teen drama series ''

House of Anubis ''House of Anubis'' is a mystery television series developed for Nickelodeon based on the Dutch–Belgian television series '' Het Huis Anubis''. The series was created by Hans Bourlon and Gert Verhulst and premiered on Nickelodeon on 1 Jan ...

'', playing the role of KT Rush. In 2014, Shipp gained attention for her roles as Dani Raymond in the

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 ...

television film sequel '' Drumline: A New Beat'' and Aaliyah Haughton, the title role, in the Lifetime television film '' Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B''. For the latter performance, Shipp also sang. She next portrayed

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

's wife, Kimberly Woodruff, in the biographical drama film ''

'', which chronicled the careers of hip hop group

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

. In 2016, she co-starred in

Bryan Singer Bryan Jay Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed, as well as multiple television series. After graduating from the Univ ...

's superhero film '' X-Men: Apocalypse'' as Ororo Munroe/Storm, a weather-controlling mutant previously portrayed by Halle Berry. In 2018, she starred alongside Nick Robinson and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. in ''

'' and Kathryn Prescott and Lucy Hale in ''

Dude ''Dude'' is Regional vocabularies of American English, American slang for an individual, typically male. From the 1870s to the 1960s, dude primarily meant a male person who dressed in an extremely fashionable manner (a dandy) or a conspicuous ...

'', both high school comedy films. She reprised the role of Ororo Munroe / Storm in the 2019 film '' Dark Phoenix'', and, the same summer, also starred as Sasha Arias in the ''Shaft'' sequel. In 2021 she starred in the film adaptation of '' tick, tick... BOOM!'' as Susan. Shipp starred in Greta Gerwig’s ''

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

'', released on July 21, 2023.

Personal life

Shipp publicly came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in June 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Discography

Singles

Promotional singles

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shipp, Alexandra 1991 births 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Phoenix, Arizona American film actresses American television actresses Living people American LGBTQ actresses African-American LGBTQ people LGBTQ people from Arizona 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American LGBTQ people