Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins (née Featherson; born December 4, 1987) is an American actress. She is best known as the co-creator and star of Black&SexyTV's ''Hello Cupid''. She also appeared in the web series ''Roomieloverfriends'', the film '' Bad Hair'', and was a main cast member on the Netflix series ''

Dear White People ''Dear White People'' is a 2014 American satirical dark comedy-drama film written, directed and co-produced by Justin Simien. The film focuses on escalating racial tensions at a fictitious, prestigious Ivy League college from the perspective of ...

'' (2017–2021).

Early life and education

Born Ashley Blaine Featherson, she was raised in

Gaithersburg Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Ga ...

, Maryland. She first acted at age four in a school production and enjoyed it from that age. When she was 14 she began to perform at the

Studio Theatre A black box theater is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The black ...

in Washington, DC and studied under costume designer Reggie Ray. Featherson attended

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

and graduated from the Fine Arts department, where she majored in musical theater. She is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Featherson has stated that she most admires the career and work of

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...

Career

Featherson co-created the web series ''Hello Cupid'' with

Lena Waithe Lena Waithe (born May 17, 1984) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series ''The Chi'' (2018–present) and the BET comedy series ''Boomerang'' (2019–20) and '' Twenties'' (2020–prese ...

in 2012. The show was distributed by Black & Sexy TV and eventually rebooted. Featherson also starred in the series opposite

Hayley Marie Norman Hayley Marie Norman is an American actress, writer, and creator best known for her roles in ''Kenan'', '' A.P. Bio'', ''Hancock'', ''Chris Rock's Top Five'', ''Adam Ruins Everything'', ''Fired Up!'', and ''Norbit''. Norman has written, produc ...

. Her first feature film role was in

Justin Simien Justin Simien (born May 7, 1983) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. His first feature film, ''Dear White People'', won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. The film was later ...

's ''

'' in 2014. She reprised the supporting role of Joelle in the 2017

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 ...

television series adaptation of the same name. She co-starred in the 2018 web series ''Leimert Park'', which premiered at Sundance. Featherson also appeared in the re-creation of the photograph "A Great Day in Harlem", organized by Netflix's Strong Black Lead initiative. In 2020, she collaborated with Simien again on his comedy horror film '' Bad Hair''. That year she also worked with The Lip Bar on a makeup campaign. She also helped develop a three-piece collection for dark skinned women with Mented Cosmetics.

Personal life

Featherson announced her engagement to sports agent Darroll Jenkins in September 2020, and married him on September 5, 2021, at Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Santa Susana, California. Longtime friends, they began dating in 2018.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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Ashley Blaine Featherson
on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Featherson, Ashley Blaine Living people Actresses from Maryland 21st-century American actresses African-American actresses Howard University alumni Alpha Kappa Alpha members 1987 births 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women