Caryn Michelle Ward Ross (née Ward) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer and producer.

Life and career

Ward 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 ...

, Ward's mother is a lawyer and her father is a medical doctor. She 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 ...

where she graduated with a degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. Ward also studied dance at

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She performed with various artists including

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

Arsenio Hall Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted the late-night talk show, ''The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', ''Comi ...

, and

Rosie Perez Rosa Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress, choreographer, dancer, and activist. Her breakthrough came with her portrayal of Tina in the film ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by ''White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's perf ...

. Ward began her career as a child actor in the 1980s, appearing in a recurring role in the musical-dance drama series '' Fame'' from 1985 to 1986. She later appeared in ''

Webster Webster may refer to: People *Webster (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Webster (given name), including a list of people with the given name Places Canada *Webster, Alberta *Webster's Falls, Hamilton, Ontario United State ...

'', ''

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

'' and ''

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers ...

''. From 1990 to 1991, she co-starred in the short-lived

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

sitcom ''

You Take the Kids ''You Take the Kids'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from December 15, 1990, to January 12, 1991. The series starred Nell Carter, who also performed the theme song "Nobody's Got It Easy". ''You Take the Kids'', which wa ...

'', starring

Nell Carter Nell Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy; September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American singer and actress. Carter began her career in 1970, singing in the theater, and later crossed over to television. She was best known for her role as Ne ...

. Ward later took ten year-break from acting and in 2000s, began appearing in episodes of ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

'', ''

Strong Medicine ''Strong Medicine'' is an American medical drama with a focus on feminism, feminist politics, health issues and class conflict that aired on the Lifetime Television, Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It was created and produced in part by Who ...

'', ''

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt poli ...

'', and '' Lincoln Heights''. In 2004, she made her movie debut appearing in an supporting role in the thriller '' Motives'', opposite

Vivica A. Fox Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and television host. Fox began her career on ''Soul Train'' (19821983). She eventually continued her career with roles on the daytime television soap operas ''Days of O ...

and

Shemar Moore Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor. His notable roles include Malcolm Winters on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1994–2005), Derek Morgan on ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2016), and the lead role of Sergeant II Dani ...

. She later appeared in several featuring films, including ''

Boss'n Up ''Boss'n Up'', a musical film inspired by Snoop Dogg's album '' R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece'', debuted on 6 December 2005. The film was released in DVD format, and was the first film made under Snoop Dogg's newly-founded production co ...

'' (2005), ''

Traci Townsend ''Traci Townsend'' is a 2006 comedy film directed by Craig Ross Jr. and starring Jazsmin Lewis and Mari Morrow. It was written by Bobby Thompson, who was also a producer of the film. Premise A beautiful and successful journalist interviews her thr ...

'' (2006), and ''

N-Secure ''N-Secure'' is a 2010 American crime thriller film, directed by David M. Matthews. The film stars Essence Atkins, Denise Boutte and Lamman Rucker. Cast *Cordell Moore ... David Alan Washington *Essence Atkins ... Robin Joyner *Denise Boutte ... T ...

'' (2009). From 2006 to 2015, she had a recurring role in the CW/BET comedy series, '' The Game''. Ward starred and produced films ''The Affair'' (2014) and ''Zodiac Sign'' (2015). She starred in the short-lived

Bounce TV Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel fe ...

sitcom ''Grown Folks'' in 2017, which was canceled after 13 episodes. In 2018, she received

Indie Series Awards The Indie Series Awards (formerly the Indie Soap Awards) is an annual event hosted by ''We Love Soaps'', based in Los Angeles, California, honoring the best in independently produced, scripted entertainment created for the Internet. The ceremony ...

nomination for her performance in the

Victoria Rowell Victoria Lynn Rowell (born May 10, 1959) is an American actress. She began her career as a ballet dancer and model before making her acting debut in the 1987 comedy film ''Leonard Part 6''. In 1990, Rowell joined the cast of the CBS daytime soa ...

comedy series '' The Rich and the Ruthless''. Later in 2018, she so-created alongside her husband

Craig Ross Jr. Craig Valentine Ross, Jr. is an American film/television director, editor, producer and screenwriter. Career Ross was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He then moved with his father to the San Francisco Bay area at an early age. After graduating h ...

, starred and produced Urban Movie Channel drama series ''

Monogamy Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., polyga ...

''.

Personal life

On June 26, 2011, Caryn Ward married television and film director

Craig Ross, Jr. Craig Valentine Ross, Jr. is an American film/television director, editor, producer and screenwriter. Career Ross was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He then moved with his father to the San Francisco Bay area at an early age. After graduating h ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward Ross, Caryn Actresses from Los Angeles African-American actresses American film actresses American television actresses Howard University alumni American female dancers Dancers from California African-American female dancers African-American dancers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women