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 ''

'', 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 ''

'' 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 ''

''. 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 ''

''.

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 ...

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

Ariana Debose during an interview, March 2022

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 ''

'' on

. 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 ''

'', directed by

. 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. ...

...

Early life

Career

Early work and Broadway roles (2009–2016)

Breakthrough and critical success (2017–present)

Personal life

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Awards and nominations

References

External links