DeWanda Wise (née Jackson; born May 30, 1984) is an American actress. She starred in

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

comedy-drama series ''

She's Gotta Have It ''She's Gotta Have It'' is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Spike Lee in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell ...

'' (2017–19), a contemporary adaptation of his 1986 film.

Early life and education

Wise was born in

Jessup, Maryland Jessup ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard and Anne Arundel counties, about southwest of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 10,535. Geography Jessup is located at ( ...

and raised in Woodlawn,

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

, and

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. In high school, she thought she wanted to be a therapist until she took

AP Psychology Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology (also known as AP Psych) and its corresponding exam are part of the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. This course is tailored for students interested in the field of psychology and as an opportunity t ...

and decided it was not for her. She began acting during her sophomore year at

Atholton High School Atholton High School is a high school in Columbia, Maryland, United States and is a part of the Howard County Public School System. The school hosts an Army JROTC program. The school mascot is the Raider. History Atholton takes its name from a ...

when her high school theatre director offered her a part in a production in lieu of detention. In 2006, she graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

with a bachelor's in fine arts in drama and urban studies, where she befriended

Gina Rodriguez Gina Alexis Rodriguez (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in The CW satirical romantic dramedy series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014–2019), for which she received a Golden Globe Award f ...

. During her undergraduate years, Wise worked as a

resident assistant A resident assistant (RA), also known by a variety of other names, is a trained peer leader who coordinates activities in residence halls in colleges and universities, mental health and substance abuse residential facilities, or similar establish ...

and a stocker at

Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is an American grocery store chain headquartered in Monrovia, California, with 597 locations across the US. The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California. In 1979, the chain was s ...

Career

Wise first appeared in episodes of television series including '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...

'' and ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...

''. She made her film debut in the 2007 drama '' Spinning into Butter'' starring

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...

, then had secondary roles in ''

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

'' (2007) and ''

Precious Precious may refer to: Music * Precious (group), a British female pop group Albums * ''Precious'' (Chanté Moore album), 1992 * ''Precious'' (Conrad Sewell album), 2023 * ''Precious'' (Cubic U album), 1998 * ''Precious'' (Ours album), 200 ...

'' (2009). In 2016, she starred in the independent romantic comedy film ''How to Tell You're a Douchebag'' that premiered at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. The next year, she had a recurring role in the WGN period drama series '' Underground'', and starred opposite

Sanaa Lathan Sanaa McCoy Lathan (; born September 19, 1971) is an American actress. She is the daughter of actress Eleanor McCoy and film director Stan Lathan. Her career began after she appeared in the shows ''In the House'', '' Family Matters'', ''NYPD Bl ...

in the Fox miniseries '' Shots Fired''. In 2017, she had a leading role in the Netflix comedy-drama series ''

,'' which was canceled after two seasons in 2019. In 2018, she was cast in Disney's '' Captain Marvel'', but left the project due scheduling conflicts with her Netflix series. That year, she appeared in the comedy film '' The Weekend'' directed by

Stella Meghie Stella Meghie is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. She is known for her feature films '' Jean of the Joneses'' (2016), '' Everything, Everything'' (2017)'', The Weekend'' (2018), and '' The Photograph'' (2020). Meghie has also directed ...

. In 2019, she starred with

and

Brittany Snow Brittany Anne Snow (born March 9, 1986) is an American actress. She came to prominence for her role in the CBS soap opera ''Guiding Light'' (1998–2001), for which she won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress and was nominated for two o ...

in the romantic comedy film '' Someone Great'' for Netflix, where she and a pantsless Rodriguez sung and danced to

Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo (), is an American singer and rapper. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas, with her family at the age of ten. After college, she moved to Minn ...

's "

Truth Hurts Truth Hurts or The Truth Hurts may refer to: Film, television and radio *''The Truth Hurts'', a 1993 skateboard film from '' Thrasher'' magazine *"Truth Hurts", a 2006 episode of '' McLeod's Daughters'' * "The Truth Hurts" (''Kim Possible''), a '' ...

", ultimately making the song more popular and a #1 hit on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

. She later appeared opposite

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. The accolades he has received include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and nominations for two Grammy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. After winning se ...

and

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard ( ; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. Known for portraying strong-willed and dignified roles on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and three Scree ...

in the comedy-drama ''

Fatherhood A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fathe ...

'' (2021), and co-starred in ''

Jurassic World Dominion ''Jurassic World Dominion'' is a 2022 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Emily Carmichael (filmmaker), Emily Carmichael from a story by Derek Connolly and Tre ...

''.

Personal life

Wise married actor

Alano Miller Alano Herberto Miller (born 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Cato on the short-lived WGN America drama series '' Underground''. Early life and education Miller was born and raised in Orlando, Florida, U.S. He is of ...

in 2009 after three months of dating. She is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

. She lives in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, DeWanda Living people 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses 1984 births Actresses from Baltimore Actresses from Pasadena, California American television actresses Atholton High School alumni People from Laurel, Maryland Tisch School of the Arts alumni