Ariana DeBose (; born January 25, 1991) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She has received
multiple accolades, including an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, a
British Academy Film Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
, a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
and a nomination for a
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
. In 2022, ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine named her one of the
100 most influential people in the world.
DeBose made her television debut competing on the
sixth season of ''
So You Think You Can Dance
''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...
'' in 2009, where she finished in the top 20. She then made her
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
debut in ''
Bring It On: The Musical'' in 2011 and continued her work on Broadway with roles in ''
Motown: The Musical'' (2013) and ''
Pippin
Pippin or Pepin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Pippin (comics), ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986
* Pippin (musical), ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life ...
'' (2014). From 2015 to 2016, she originated the role of The Bullet in
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and ''In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animate ...
's musical ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
'', and appeared as Jane in ''
A Bronx Tale
''A Bronx Tale'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age crime film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name. It tells the coming of ...
'' (20162017). In 2018, she was nominated for the
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956.
Winners and nominees
1950s
...
for her performance as
Disco Donna in ''
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical''. In 2022, she hosted the
75th Tony Awards
The 75th Tony Awards were held on June 12, 2022, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2021–22 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with Ariana DeBose serving as host of the main ceremo ...
.
DeBose appeared in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
musical film ''
The Prom'' (2020) and the
Apple TV+
Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...
musical comedy series ''
Schmigadoon!
''Schmigadoon!'' is an American musical comedy television series created by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, with all songs written by Paul, who also serves as showrunner. The series airs on Apple TV+ and premiered on July 16, 2021. The series has b ...
'' (2021), before gaining widespread recognition for her role as Anita in
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
's musical ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...
'' (2021). For her performance, she won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first
queer woman of color to
receive an Oscar in an acting category.
Early life
DeBose was born on January 25, 1991, in
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States.
With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...
. Her mother, Gina DeBose, is an eighth grade teacher. DeBose trained in dance at CC & Co. Dance Complex in Raleigh. DeBose has stated that her father is Puerto Rican and her mother is white. She also has African American and partial Italian ancestry.
Career
Early work and Broadway roles (2009–2016)
DeBose made her television debut in 2009, when she competed on the TV series ''
So You Think You Can Dance
''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...
'', making it into the Top 20. She later appeared on the soap opera ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...
'' and played Inez in the
North Carolina Theatre's production of ''
Hairspray
Hairspray may refer to:
* Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind
* ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters
** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album
** ''Hairspray ...
'' before appearing in the role of Nautica in the 2011
Alliance Theatre
The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia, based at the Alliance Theatre, part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, and is the winner of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal T ...
production of ''
Bring It On Bring It On may refer to:
Books
* ''Bring It On'' (book), by Pat Robertson
* ''Bring It On!'' (manhwa), a romance manhwa by Baek Hye-Kyung
Film and stage
* ''Bring It On'' (film series), an American series of teen comedy cheerleading films capit ...
''. She also appeared in the ensemble of the
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
production of ''
Company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
'', which was filmed for television.
At the end of 2011, ''Bring It On'' embarked on a national tour across the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. DeBose continued her role into the 2012 Broadway production and understudied the character Danielle.
In 2013, DeBose played
Mary Wilson in ''
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
'' on Broadway, understudying the role of
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...
.
She later joined the cast of ''
Pippin
Pippin or Pepin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Pippin (comics), ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986
* Pippin (musical), ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life ...
'' on Broadway, playing a noble and a player and understudying the role of the Leading Player, which she ended up taking over for a short period in 2014.
She can be heard playing director/choreographer Zoey Taylor in ''As the Curtain Rises'', an original Broadway soap opera podcast from the Broadway Podcast Network.
In 2015, DeBose left ''Pippin'' to join the ensemble of the off-Broadway musical ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
''. The show moved to Broadway later that year. She left ''Hamilton'' in July 2016 and made a guest appearance on the TV series ''
Blue Bloods'' as Sophia Ortiz. She also starred as Daphne in the thriller film ''Seaside.'' From November 2016 to August 2017, DeBose portrayed Jane on Broadway in ''
A Bronx Tale
''A Bronx Tale'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age crime film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name. It tells the coming of ...
''.
Breakthrough and critical success (2017–present)
In late 2017, DeBose received her
breakthrough role, playing Disco Donna in ''
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical'' at
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
's
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego.
History
La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...
. She reprised this role in the Broadway production, which opened in April 2018. She was nominated for the 2018
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956.
Winners and nominees
1950s
...
.
DeBose played Alyssa Greene in the
film adaptation
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
of ''
The Prom'', directed by
Ryan Murphy. In March 2021, DeBose released a dance-pop recording and video of
Rodgers & Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...
's "
Shall We Dance Shall We Dance may refer to:
Films
* ''Shall We Dance'' (1937 film), a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical
* ''Shall We Dance?'' (1996 film), a Japanese film about ballroom dancing
* ''Shall We Dance?'' (2004 film), an American remake of the ...
" for the album ''R&H Goes Pop,'' produced by
Justin Goldner
Justin Goldner is an American music producer, songwriter, arranger and session musician based in New York City, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
His performances have been featured on Grammy, Latin Grammy and Tony award-winning projects ...
and arranged by Benjamin Rauhala. In 2021, DeBose played Emma Tate in the parody musical comedy series ''
Schmigadoon!
''Schmigadoon!'' is an American musical comedy television series created by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, with all songs written by Paul, who also serves as showrunner. The series airs on Apple TV+ and premiered on July 16, 2021. The series has b ...
'' on
Apple TV+
Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...
. She will also star in the
spy film
The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...
''
Argylle
''Argylle'' is an upcoming spy film directed and produced by Matthew Vaughn, and written by Jason Fuchs, based on the yet-to-be-released novel by first-time author Elly Conway. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Henry Cavill, Sa ...
'' for the service.
Despite initially not seeing herself playing the role and refusing to audition for it, DeBose played Anita in the
2021 film adaptation of the musical ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...
'', directed by
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
. The film was released in December 2021 to critical acclaim. DeBose herself received critical attention for her performance of Anita, with Caryn James of
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
praising her performance, declaring, "Anita, in a layered, dynamic performance by Ariana DeBose, is the centre of attention, swirling her skirt and dancing to the Latin rhythms that infuse the film." David Fear of ''
'' wrote, "DeBose...strong contender for Most Valuable Player here, whose energy—in her singing, her dancing, her line-reading, her side-eyeing—could power a metropolitan block." She also received
.
Following her ''West Side Story'' success, it was announced that DeBose would host the
. DeBose called the opportunity to host "a bucket list moment" that "I didn't know I had." She received generally positive reviews for the show.
DeBose will next star in the upcoming science-fiction thriller ''
''. She will also appear in the upcoming superhero film ''
. She also made a recurring appearance in the fourth season of the
.
launched the Unruly Hearts Initiative. The initiative was created to help young people connect with organizations and charities that advocate for the
.
DeBose is in a relationship with costume designer and professor Sue Makkoo. The pair met while working on ''Summer: The Donna Summer Musical'' in 2017. Previously, DeBose was in a romantic relationship with theater props master Jill Johnson. The pair met while both were working on the musical ''Motown: The Musical''.