Rochelle Aytes (born May 17, 1976) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as April Malloy on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

drama series ''

Mistresses Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...

'' (2013–16) and as the voice of Rochelle in the critically acclaimed video game ''

Left 4 Dead 2 ''Left 4 Dead 2'' is a 2009 first-person shooter video game developed and published by Valve. The sequel to '' Left 4 Dead'' (2008) and the second game in the '' Left 4 Dead'' series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in November ...

'' (2009). Aytes also starred in the auto-biography story film of

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

titled '' CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story'' as

Perri "Pebbles" Reid Perri Arlette Reid (née McKissack; August 29, 1964), known professionally as Pebbles, is an American singer-songwriter, businesswoman, pastor, and record producer and executive. She is known for her hits during the late 1980s and early 1990s s ...

, short-lived series ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" * ...

'' and '' The Forgotten'' (2009–10), as well as ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

'' and '' Work It''. In film, Aytes has appeared in ''

White Chicks ''White Chicks'' (stylized as ''WHiTE CHiCKS'') is a 2004 American buddy cop crime comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contrib ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Trick 'r Treat ''Trick 'r Treat'' is a 2007 American anthology horror film written and directed by Michael Dougherty (in his directorial debut) and produced by Bryan Singer. The film stars Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox. It relates ...

''. Aytes also had a recurring role as Agent Greer, an ex-CIA officer, 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 ...

television series ''Hawaii Five-0''. From 2019 to 2024, Aytes has played Nichelle Carmichael in the

action series '' S.W.A.T.'' and since 2025, she has portrayed

Mary Morstan This article describes minor characters from the ''Sherlock Holmes'' stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and from non-canonical derived works. The list excludes the titular character as well as Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, Inspector Lestrade, ...

in CBS mystery crime drama series ''

Watson Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) is an ultraviolet Raman spectrometer that uses fine-scale imaging and an ultraviolet (UV) laser to determine fine-scale mineralogy, and detect orga ...

''.

Early life and education

Aytes was born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, New York City, and attended

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia or "LaG", is a public High school (North America), high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, near Lincoln ...

. She graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

from

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 compr ...

college. She began her career as a model and has appeared in commercials for

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

, L'Oreal,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

and

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

Career

She began her acting career doing commercials for Coca-Cola, McDonalds, L'Oreal and Mercedes Benz. In 2003, she made her television debut as a hostess on an episode of "Sex And The City," which led to small roles on the shows "Jonny Zero," "House of Payne" and "Half & Half." Aytes made her film debut in the 2004 comedy ''

'', as Denise Porter. She is also known for playing Lisa Breaux 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 ''

'', where Aytes plays a woman who is caught in a relationship in which her fiancé (

Blair Underwood Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American actor. He made his debut in the 1985 musical film '' Krush Groove'' and from 1987 to 1994 starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series ''L.A. Law''. Underwood has ...

) beats and threatens her. In 2006, she played Nicole Jamieson in the test pilot episodes of ''

Tyler Perry's House of Payne ''Tyler Perry's House of Payne'', also known as simply ''House of Payne'', is an American sitcom television series created and produced by Tyler Perry that premiered in syndication on June 21, 2006. The series revolves around a multi-generation ...

''. She also provides the voice for Rochelle in ''

''. In 2007, Aytes guest starred in the Fox series ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'' as Felicia Saroyan, the sister of Lab Supervisor, Cam. She starred in the independent film ''

''. She played role Leigh Barnthouse in the 2007

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

series ''

''. She also played Tara Kole in the TV show ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'' from CBS. Aytes also appeared in the TNT drama series '' Dark Blue'' in 2010. Aytes was a regular cast member in the

drama series '' The Forgotten'' from 2009 to 2010, playing Detective Grace Russell who teams up with a volunteer group, including former Chicago police detective,

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor. He made his film debut with a leading role in '' The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakout role as Jason "J.D." Dean, a sociopath ...

, to solve cases of missing or unidentified homicide victims. From 2010 to 2011, she had a recurring role in the ABC series ''

Detroit 1-8-7 ''Detroit 1-8-7'' is an American police procedural drama series about the Detroit Police Department's leading homicide unit, created by Jason Richman for ABC. It featured an ensemble cast of actors including Michael Imperioli and James McDani ...

'' as prosecutor Alice Williams, until her character was murdered in the episode "Key to the City", which aired on January 11, 2011. In 2011, Aytes guest starred in three episodes as Amber James, the former girlfriend of Keith Watson, in the seventh season of ABC comedy-drama ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...

''. She also starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom '' Work It'' in 2012. In 2012, Aytes was cast as one of the four leads, along with

Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano ( ; born December 19, 1972) is an American actress and activist. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), Jennifer Mancini in '' Melrose Place'' (1997–1998), Phoebe Halliwell in '' Charmed'' ...

Yunjin Kim Yunjin Kim (; born November 7, 1973) is a South Korean and American actress. She is best known for her role as North Korean spy Bang-Hee in the South Korean film '' Shiri'' (1999) and Sun-Hwa Kwon on the American television series '' Lost'' (200 ...

and

Jes Macallan Jes Macallan is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Josslyn Carver in ABC drama series '' Mistresses'' and Ava Sharpe in The CW superhero comedy-drama ''Legends of Tomorrow''. Early life Macallan trained in dance in her you ...

, in the ABC drama series ''

'' about the lives of four female friends and their involvement in an array of illicit and complex relationships. The series premiered on June 3, 2013. Aytes played the role of

in the 2013 biographical film '' CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story'' about the R&B and hip hop musical trio

. In 2013, she also began appearing as Dr. Savannah Hayes, the girlfriend of Special Agent Derek Morgan (

Shemar Moore Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor. His notable roles include Malcolm Winters on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1994–2002, 2004–05, 2014, 2019, 2023), Derek Morgan on ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–17), and the l ...

) on the

crime thriller series ''

''. When Moore moved to '' S.W.A.T.'', her character was written out. However, Aytes was then cast as his character Hondo's girlfriend Nichelle on ''S.W.A.T.'' as well, starting in season 3. She was promoted to the main cast in season 6. In 2024, Aytes was cast as a lead in the

medical-mystery series ''

'', playing

(

Dr. Watson Dr. John H. Watson is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). "The Adventure of Shosc ...

's ex-wife) from the

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

stories. As a result of her casting, she is expected to depart as a regular on ''S.W.A.T.'', although she may remain as a guest star.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aytes, Rochelle 1976 births Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Manhattan People from Harlem State University of New York at Purchase alumni American film actresses American television actresses American video game actresses American voice actresses 21st-century African-American actresses Year of birth missing (living people)