Brandee Evans is an American actress and former choreographer, best known for her leading role as Mercedes Woodbine in the

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

drama series, ''

P-Valley ''P-Valley'' is an American drama television series created by Katori Hall. The series is an adaptation of Hall's play ''Pussy Valley'', and follows primarily African-American women working at The Pynk strip club in the Mississippi Delta under t ...

''.

Life and career

Evans was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. Her mother suffers from multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's. Before her acting career, she worked as a high school English teacher. She began her acting career playing supporting roles in films including ''

Beyond the Lights ''Beyond the Lights'' is a 2014 American romantic drama film written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The film stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Machine Gun Kelly, and Danny Glover. The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto ...

'' (2014), and appearing on TV miniseries ''

The New Edition Story ''The New Edition Story'' is an American biographical three-part miniseries about the R&B group New Edition, from their rise to fame as a boy band from the Orchard Park Projects of Roxbury, Massachusetts, to becoming a successful adult act. It ...

'' and ''The Bobby Brown Story''. As a backup dancer, Evans appears with pop singer

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

in 2010 with the music video of

California Gurls "California Gurls" is a song by American singer Katy Perry from her third studio album, '' Teenage Dream'' (2010). It was released as the album's lead single on May 7, 2010, through Capitol Records. The song features rap verses from Snoop Dog ...

as "Bubblegum Girl". In 2020, Evans began starring as Mercedes Woodbine in the

drama series, ''

''. She received positive reviews from critics for her performance. She was nominated for the

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. Not to be confused with the Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. Currently, Della Re ...

in 2021 and 2023. In 2023, she starred in the female stoner comedy film, ''Pretty Stoned''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Brandee Living people American television actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Tennessee 1991 births 21st-century African-American people