DeWanda Wise

She was born DeWanda Jackson in Jessup, Maryland and raised in Woodlawn, Laurel, and Baltimore.[1][3] In high school, Wise thought she wanted to be a therapist until she took AP Psychology and decided that was not the case.[4] She began acting during her sophomore year at Atholton High School when her high school theatre director, Nathan Rosen, offered her a part in a production in lieu of detention.[3] In 2006, she graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a bachelor's in fine arts in drama and urban studies where she befriended Gina Rodriguez.[3] During her undergraduate years, Wise worked as a resident assistant and a stocker at Trader Joe's.[5]

Wise began her career appearing in an episodes of television series include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Good Wife and Boardwalk Empire. She made her film debut appearing in the 2007 drama film Spinning into Butter starring Sarah Jessica Parker, and later had secondary roles in films Steam (2007) and Precious. In 2016, she played a leading role in the independent romantic comedy film How to Tell You're a Douchebag that premiered at Sundance Film Festival.[6][7] The following year, Wise had a recurring role in the WGN period drama series Underground, and starred opposite Sanaa Lathan in the Fox miniseries Shots Fired.[8]

In 2017, Wise was cast in a leading role in the Netflix comedy-drama series She's Gotta Have It. The series was canceled after two seasons in 2019.[9] In 2018, she was cast in Disney's Captain Marvel, but left the project due scheduling conflicts with her Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It.[10] The same year, she appeared in the comedy film The Weekend directed by Stella Meghie.[11] In 2019, Wise starred alongside Gina Rodriguez and Brittany Snow in the romantic comedy film Someone Great for Netflix.[12] She later was cast opposite Kevin Hart and Alfre Woodard in the comedy-drama Fatherhood, and Jurassic World: Dominion.[13][14]

Wise married actor Alano Miller in 2009 after three months of dating.[15][16][17][3] Wise is a vegan.[3][18] She lives in Pasadena, California.[19]

• DeWanda Wise at IMDb