Bianca Jasmine Lawson is an American film and television actress. She is known for her regular roles in the television series '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'', ''

Goode Behavior ''Goode Behavior'' is an American sitcom that premiered August 26, 1996, on UPN. The series was cancelled after one season, airing its last episode on May 19, 1997, for a total of 22 episodes. Synopsis Willie Goode (Sherman Hemsley) is a newly ...

'', ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'', and '' Rogue''. She has also had recurring roles in the series '' Sister, Sister'', ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'', ''

The Steve Harvey Show ''The Steve Harvey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on The WB from August 25, 1996, to February 17, 2002. It was created by Winifred Hervey and directed by Stan Lathan. Synopsis Steve Hightower (Steve Harvey) is a 1970s funk ...

'', ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

'', ''

The Secret Life of the American Teenager ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' (often shortened to ''Secret Life'') is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It aired on ABC Family from July 1, 2008 to June 3, 2013. The series received mixed to some ...

'', ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

'', ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed ...

'', and ''

Witches of East End ''Witches of East End'' is a 2011 novel by author Melissa de la Cruz and the first entry in her ''Beauchamp Family'' series. It was published on June 21, 2011, by Hyperion Books and follows a family of Long Island witches struggling against dar ...

''. In 2016, Lawson began starring in the

Oprah Winfrey Network Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational basic cable channel jointly owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studios that launched on January 1, 2011, replacing the Discovery Health Channel. The network is led by talk show h ...

drama series, ''

Queen Sugar Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

''.

Early life

Lawson was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. She is the daughter of Denise (

Gordy ''Gordy'' is a 1994 American family comedy-drama film directed by Mark Lewis, about a livestock piglet named Gordy who searches for his missing family (who are taken away to a slaughterhouse in Omaha, Nebraska). He experiences the lives of others ...

) and actor Richard Lawson, making her the step-daughter to Lawson's second wife

Tina Knowles Tina may refer to: People *Tina (given name), people and fictional characters with the given name ''Tina'' Places *Tina, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran *Tina, Tunisia, a town in Sfax Governorate, Tunisia * Tina, Guadalcanal, Solomon ...

, and step-sister to singers

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

and

Solange Knowles Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, performance artist, and actress. Expressing an interest in music from an early age, Knowles had several temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, wh ...

. Lawson is also a grand-niece of

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 ...

founder

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

. She attended the

Stella Adler Studio of Acting The Stella Adler Studio of Acting (formerly Stella Adler Conservatory) is a prestigious acting school that was founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler.

and graduated from

Marymount High School Marymount High School is an independent, Catholic, all-girls, college-preparatory high school located in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It sits on Sunset Boulevard across from the University of California, Los Angeles camp ...

, a Catholic school in Los Angeles. She then went on to study film and psychology at

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. Lawson's parents are both

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, and she also has

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, Native American,

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, and Creole ancestry.

Career

Lawson began acting at the age of nine, having appeared in

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

and

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brothe ...

. In 1993, she was cast in the television series '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' as series regular Megan Jones. She appeared in multiple episodes of

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

sitcoms '' Sister, Sister'' as Rhonda Coley and ''

'' as Rosalind. In 1996, she co-starred in the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...

sitcom ''Goode Behavior''—which lasted for just one season—as Bianca Goode, the teenage daughter of the titular family. In 1997, she appeared in ''

'' as vampire slayer

Kendra Young This article lists the major and recurring fictional characters created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. For detailed descriptions, see individual character pages. Cast Main cast The following characters we ...

. In 1999, she appeared in The WB's ''

'' as rival character Nikki Green. In 2009, Lawson was cast as Shawna in ''

''. That same year, she was cast in the CW television series ''

'', as witch Emily Bennett. In December 2009, she was cast as Maya St. Germain in the

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

series ''

'', based on the

book series A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their pub ...

Sara Shepard Sara Shepard (born April 8, 1977) is an American author. She is known for the bestselling ''Pretty Little Liars'' and ''The Lying Game'' book series, both of which have been turned into television shows on Freeform. Early and personal life ...

. She appeared in that show from June 2010 through August 2012. Since 2012, she has had a recurring role as Ms. Morell in the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

television series ''

'', based on the

original film Original Film is an American film and television production company founded by Neal H. Moritz. Notable films the company has produced include the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. History Original Film was started out in the early 1990s by Neal H ...

from 1985. In 2014, Lawson had a recurring role as Eva in ''

''. In 2015, she was cast as series regular Talia Freeman in season three of '' Rogue''. Lawson has made appearances in two different television miniseries. In 1998, she appeared in ''

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

'' as

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 ...

(whom Lawson is related to through Ross's daughter

Rhonda Ross Kendrick Rhonda Ross Kendrick (born Rhonda Suzanne Silberstein; August 14, 1971) is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer and actress Diana Ross. She was born in Los Angeles and raised by Ross and her first husband, Robert Ellis S ...

); and in 2001, she was cast as Anna Bella Monroe in

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Christian literature. She was best known for her series of novels ''The Vampire Chronicles''. B ...

's '' The Feast of All Saints''. Some of Lawson's film credits to date include ''

Primary Colors A set of primary colors or primary colours (see spelling differences) consists of colorants or colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamut of colors. This is the essential method used to create the perception of a bro ...

'' (1998), ''

Save the Last Dance ''Save the Last Dance'' is a 2001 American teen dance film produced by MTV Films, directed by Thomas Carter and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas as a teenage interracial couple in Chicago w ...

'' (2001), ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'' (2001) and '' Breakin' All the Rules'' (2004). Aside from film and television, Lawson provided her voice to the 2011 video game '' Star Wars: The Old Republic''. In 2016, Lawson was cast in the

drama series, ''

'' created by

Ava DuVernay Ava Marie DuVernay (; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, television producer and former film publicist. She is a recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a NAACP Image Award, a BAFTA Film Award and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee ...

Filmography

Film and TV Movies

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Bianca 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles African-American actresses American child actresses American film actresses American people of Creole descent American people of Italian descent American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent American people of Portuguese descent American television actresses American video game actresses American voice actresses Gordy family Living people Stella Adler Studio of Acting alumni University of Southern California alumni 1979 births