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Empire (season 3)
The third season of the American television drama series ''Empire'' premiered on September 21, 2016, in the United States on Fox. The third season was ordered on January 15, 2016. The show is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, in association with Imagine Entertainment, Lee Daniels Entertainment, Danny Strong Productions and Little Chicken Inc. The showrunners for this season are Ilene Chaiken, Danny Strong and Lee Daniels. The season aired on Wednesday at 9:00 pm, the same slot as the previous seasons. The season concluded on May 24, 2017 and consisted of 18 episodes. Premise The show centers around a hip hop music and entertainment company, Empire Entertainment, and the drama among the members of the founders' family as they fight for control of the company. Cast and characters Main cast * Terrence Howard as Lucious Lyon * Taraji P. Henson as Cookie Lyon * Bryshere Y. Gray as Hakeem Lyon * Jussie Smollett as Jamal Lyon * Trai Byers as Andre Lyon * Grace Byers as A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films ''Dead Presidents'' and '' Mr. Holland's Opus'', Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and cinema roles between 2004 and 2006. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in ''Hustle & Flow''. Howard has had prominent roles in many other movies, including ''Winnie Mandela'', '' Ray'', ''Lackawanna Blues'', ''Crash'', '' Four Brothers'', ''Big Momma's House,'' ''Get Rich or Die Tryin''', '' Idlewild'', ''Biker Boyz'', ''August Rush'', '' The Brave One,'' and ''Prisoners''. Howard played James "Rhodey" Rhodes in the first ''Iron Man'' film. He starred as the lead character Lucious Lyon in the television series ''Empire''. His debut album, ''Shine Through It'', was released in September 2008. In September 2019, Howard announced that he had retired from acting, as he was "tired of pretending". However, in February 202 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Daniels
Lee Daniels (born December 24, 1959) is an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter. His first producer credit was '' Monster's Ball'' (2001), for which Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress, making Daniels the first African-American film producer to solely produce an Oscar-winning film. He made his directorial debut with ''Shadowboxer'' in 2005 and has since then directed the films '' Precious'' (2009), '' The Paperboy'' (2012, which he co-wrote), ''The Butler'' (2013) and '' The United States vs. Billie Holiday'' (2021). Of these, ''Precious'' was the most critically acclaimed, and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including two nominations for Daniels, for Best Director and Best Picture. Other films he has produced include '' The Woodsman'' (2004), ''Tennessee'' (2008), '' Pimp'' (2018) and ''Concrete Cowboy'' (2020). Daniels has co-created and co-executive produced the TV series ''Empire'' (2015–2020) and '' Star'' (2016–2019), b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaitlin Doubleday
Kaitlin Janette Doubleday (born July 19, 1984) is an American actress. She played a number of supporting film roles in her early career, including in '' Waiting...'' (2005) and ''Accepted'' (2006). From 2015 to 2016, she starred as Rhonda Lyon in the Fox musical prime time soap opera ''Empire''. In 2017, Doubleday joined the cast of CMT musical drama series ''Nashville'', playing Jessie Caine. In 2019, she appeared as the lead in ''Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays''. Early life Doubleday, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, is the elder of two daughters raised by Frank Doubleday and Christina Hart. She grew up in a show business family: her parents are former professional actors, and her younger sister, Portia, is an actress as well. Her mother works in the entertainment industry as a playwright and also as a producer in the theater. She attended the Music Academy at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles. Career Doubleday made her acting debut in an episode of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bre-Z
Calesha "Bre-Z" Murray (born July 22, 1987) is an American actress and rapper, best known for her roles as Tamia "Coop" Cooper in the American drama series '' All American'' and as Freda Gatz in ''Empire''. Early life Bre-Z was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was raised in Wilmington, Delaware. Her grandmother gave her the nickname "Bre-Z" at birth when she would not stop crying until a window was shut, so they called her "breezy". She found out it wasn't her real name when she began elementary school. As a child, she had short hair and people would often mistake her for a boy. In sixth grade, she decided that she wanted to pursue music. Her mother worked in the entertainment industry, and once woke up to Wu-Tang Clan in her living room, so she knew that she would become involved in the entertainment industry from a young age. Bre-Z graduated high school in 2005. She attended Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. In 2008, she moved to Atlanta when her mom found a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serayah (entertainer)
Serayah Ranee McNeill (born June 20, 1995) also known mononymously as Serayah, is an American actress, model and singer, best known for her role as singer Tiana Brown on the television show ''Empire''. Early life Serayah Ranee McNeill was born in Encinitas, California. She graduated from Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California, where she played for the girls' varsity basketball team, in 2013. Acting career The character of Tiana on ''Empire'' marks her first major acting role. In a 2015 interview with ''Black Enterprise'', Serayah stated of her role, "One thing I always say about this show is it's a lot of drama, but it's family drama so people relate. Every family has some type of drama, and I think that it touches on a lot of the entertainment business and the music business. Some exaggerated parts, but it really does touch on some of the things that happen." She was added to the series regular cast on August 26, 2015. In March 2021, Serayah joined the cast of ''Blac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grace Gealey
Grace Byers (née Gealey; born July 26, 1984) Note: While some sources give her birthplace as the Cayman Island, Gealey says she was born in Butler, Pennsylvania. See interview in LumiereMagazine.com, below. is a Caymanian actress, known for her role as Anika Calhoun in the Fox music-industry drama, ''Empire''. Early life Grace Gealey was born in Butler, Pennsylvania July 26, 1984, and raised in the Cayman Islands from infancy.Gealey in She knows sign language due to having deaf parents. After moving to the United States, she received her bachelor's degree in Theater Arts at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Gealey later attended the University of California, Irvine, where she received her Master’s of Fine Arts in acting. Career Byers then moved to New York City, where she performed Off-Broadway, including in ''Venus Flytrap: A Femme Noir Mystery'', and ''Rent''. In 2013, she performed in the Chicago productions of ''The Misanthrope'' and ''Tartuffe''. In 2014, Gealey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andre Lyon (Empire)
Andre Martin Lyon is a fictional character from the American musical drama ''Empire (2015 TV series), Empire'', on Fox Broadcasting Network, Fox. Portrayed by Trai Byers, Andre is the oldest son of hip-hop mogul Lucious Lyon, Lucious (Terrence Howard) and his wife Cookie Lyon, Cookie (Taraji P. Henson). Storylines Andre, the college-educated executive in the company, is pitted against his two younger brothers, Hakeem Lyon (Bryshere Y. Gray) and Jamal Lyon, Jamal (Jussie Smollett), for control of the family business after their father's developing illness. He is portrayed as the son with the most business acumen and unlike his younger siblings does not want to follow in the Lyon family's musical footsteps. This creates tensions with Lucious, who likes to push him aside. He is afflicted with bipolar disorder, and is on a spiritual journey to find his identity. He is the one Lyon "son" who chooses business over singing. He was in an interracial relationship, married to scheming ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamal Lyon
Jamal Joseph Lyon is a fictional character from the American musical drama, ''Empire'' on Fox. Portrayed by Jussie Smollett, Jamal is the middle son of hip-hop mogul Lucious (Terrence Howard) and his wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson). Jamal, a talented R&B singer and songwriter, struggles to gain his father's approval, but is able to overcome this adversity with Cookie's support. He initially expresses resentment towards fame and is hesitant to be in the limelight, but he gradually embraces it once Cookie begins to manage his career. Jamal engages in what was once a friendly competition against his younger brother and best friend Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) to determine who is more musically gifted, while maintaining a cold distance from his older brother Andre (Trai Byers) for his perpetual scheming. Jamal struggles with his father's objection to his homosexuality, which was inspired by ''Empire'' creator Lee Daniels' own relationship with his father. In 2019, Smollett was fired from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jussie Smollett
Jussie Smollett (, born June 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor in 1991 debuting in ''The Mighty Ducks (film), The Mighty Ducks'' (1992). In 2015, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox drama series ''Empire (2015 TV series), Empire'', a role that was hailed as groundbreaking for its positive depiction of a black gay man on television. In January 2019, Smollett Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax, staged a fake hate crime against himself in Chicago and later made false police reports regarding the incident. In December 2021, Smollett was convicted of five felony counts of disorderly conduct; he was sentenced in March 2022 to 150 days in Cook County Jail, county jail. He has since been released on bond while his case is on appeal. Early life Jussie Smollett was born in Santa Rosa, California, Note: ''TV Guide'' erroneously gives Santa Rosa, Brazil. the son of Joel and Janet (née Harris) Smollett. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hakeem Lyon
Hakeem Lyon is a fictional character from the original FOX musical drama ''Empire'' played by Bryshere Y. Gray. Hakeem, one of the main characters within the series, is the youngest and once-favorite son of hip-hop mogul Lucious (Terrence Howard) and his wife Cookie ( Taraji P. Henson). Hakeem has the star quality to become a superstar like his father, but lacks the discipline and guidance because of his strained relationship with Cookie. Storyline Season 1 Hakeem Lyon was born to Lucious and Cookie Lyon. He grew up in a Philadelphia ghetto with his father, brothers, his cousin Bunkie Williams, and father's friend Vernon Turner. He was only a baby when his mother was arrested; she was helping his father sell drugs to pay for his music career. Hakeem becomes a successful rapper signed to his father's record company, Empire Entertainment. Lucious announces plans to take the company to the NYSE, and he wants to groom Hakeem into his successor and the future CEO. However, Hakeem' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cookie Lyon
Loretha "Cookie" Lyon (née Holloway) is a fictional character from the American musical drama ''Empire'' on Fox. Portrayed by Taraji P. Henson, Cookie is one of the main characters within the series, the queen bee and the wife of former drug dealer turned hip-hop mogul, Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) who gets released from prison and strikes out to lay claim to half of their multimillion-dollar record label, which was initially funded by her drug money. Storyline In the show's first episode, Cookie gets released from prison and immediately visits Jamal, her gay son (Jussie Smollett), the only member of the family that has kept in touch with her. Cookie then confronts Lucious (Terrence Howard) demanding half of the company, but he refuses and instead offers her a seven-figure income and living arrangements. She quickly realizes that her youngest son Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) wants nothing to do with her. The oldest and most qualified businessman, Andre (Trai Byers), convinces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucious Lyon
Lucious Lyon (born Dwight Walker) is a fictional character from the Fox drama series ''Empire'', portrayed by Terrence Howard. Lucious is the main protagonist and anti-hero of the series. Created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, Lucious is the founder and CEO of Empire Entertainment, a world-famous and renowned record company that he runs with his family. Realizing he will need a successor after he is diagnosed with ALS, Lucious pits his three sons: the college-educated executive Andre Lyon (Trai Byers), the talented and gay singer-songwriter Jamal (Jussie Smollett), and youngest, rapper Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray), against one another. The story has parallels to William Shakespeare's ''King Lear'' and James Goldman's ''The Lion in Winter''. Lyon is married to former drug dealer and ex-con Cookie Lyon ( Taraji P. Henson). The company is preparing to go public on the NYSE. However, Lyon must contend with his wife Cookie (Henson) upon her release from prison as she demands her piec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
