Michelle Mitchenor is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Detective Sonya Bailey on the Fox action comedy-drama series,
''Lethal Weapon'' (2016–2019), and as Jayla Wright in the BET+ comedy-drama series, ''
First Wives Club'' (2021–2022).
Early life
Mitchenor was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey. She attended Ocean County Performing Arts Academy High School in New Jersey to study dancing and acting. Mitchenor attended
Towson University
Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...
, where she graduated Bachelor of Fine Arts for dancing.
[https://www.bet.com/article/03o0ow/soul-train-awards-2022-get-to-know-presenter-michelle-mitchenor] She later went to
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
and began appearing in web-series.
Career
In 2015, Mitchenor made her big screen debut appearing in the
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 ...
’s musical-drama film, ''
Chi-Raq
''Chi-Raq'' () is a 2015 American musical crime comedy drama film, directed and produced by Spike Lee and co-written by Lee and Kevin Willmott. Set in Chicago, the film focuses on the gang violence prevalent in neighborhoods on the city's sou ...
''.
The following year, Mitchenor was cast as the regular role as Detective Sonya Bailey in the Fox action comedy-drama series, ''
Lethal Weapon
''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Shane Black. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. In ''Lethal Weapon'', a pai ...
''. The series was canceled in 2019. Later in 2019 she went to star in
BET Her
BET Her is an American basic cable television network currently owned by the BET Media Group subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group.
The channel originally launched in 1996 as BET on Jazz, a spin-off from BET with a focus on ...
thriller film, ''Fanatic'', and co-starred in the romantic comedy film, ''
Always a Bridesmaid''. In 2021, she was cast in the BET+ comedy-drama series, ''
First Wives Club''. In 2023, Mitchenor played Tonesa Welch in the biographical crime drama film, ''
First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story''.
Personal life
In 2018, Mitchenor married fellow actor, Mustafa Speaks.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video Game
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchenor, Michelle
Living people
American television actresses
1988 births
21st-century African-American actresses
21st-century American actresses
20th-century African-American actresses
20th-century American actresses