Ciera Payton (born January 26, 1986) is an American actress and writer. She has appeared in television series such as '' The Walking Dead'', ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'', ''

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

'', and ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

.'' She also had a supporting role as Sylvia in

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmmak ...

's ''

A Madea Family Funeral ''A Madea Family Funeral'' is a 2019 American comedy film written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry. It is the eleventh installment of the ''Madea'' cinematic universe, and stars Perry in several roles, including as the titular character, a ...

''. She currently stars in the

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

soap opera ''

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

''.

Early life

Ciera Payton graduated from the

New Orleans Center for Creative Arts New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, or NOCCA, is the regional, pre-professional arts training center for high school students in Louisiana. NOCCA opened in 1973 as a professional arts training center for secondary school-age children. Locate ...

and received her

bachelor of fine arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

degree in drama from the

University of North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

Career

Payton got her start in the feature film '' Flight of Fury'' (2007), playing the female lead role of CIA agent Jessica opposite

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...

. She was a junior in college while filming ''Flight of Fury''. In 2009, she made her

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

debut, starring as the lead role of Savannah in ''Savannah Black and Blue'', produced by the

Negro Ensemble Company The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) is a New York City-based theater company and workshop established in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer-actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald S. Krone, with funding from the Ford Foundation. ...

. In 2010, Payton transitioned from New York to Los Angeles where she booked the role of Janet Tanner in the BBC American reboot of ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing ...

''. She later appeared on ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an Television in the United States, American television police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department Chief of police#United States, deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator o ...

'', playing opposite Keira Sedwick as Keisha Murphy. After gaining a few roles on the small screen, Payton was granted the role of Capri in Spike Lee's film '' Oldboy'', sharing the screen with

Josh Brolin Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), ''Mimic'' (1997), ''Hollow Man'' (2000), ''Grindhouse'' (2007), ''No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gangste ...

. In 2014, she appeared as the cheerleading coach who takes down a prominent campaign in '' The Runner'' starring

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

. In 2016, she received the Los Angeles Pioneer Woman Award for her work providing arts programs to at-risk youth. In 2019, she starred in the film ''

''. Payton portrayed talk show host

Wendy Williams Wendy Williams Hunter ( Wendy Joan Williams; born July 18, 1964) is an American broadcaster and writer. From 2008 to 2021, she hosted the nationally syndicated television talk show ''The Wendy Williams Show.'' Prior to television, Williams ...

in the 2021 Lifetime biopic '' Wendy Williams: The Movie''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *http://www.nocca.com/alum-spotlight-congrats-ciera-payton/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20180901015620/http://casaesperanzaihm.org/volunteer.html * {{DEFAULTSORT:Payton, Ciera 1986 births African-American actresses Actresses from New Orleans University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni Living people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women