DeWanda Wise (née Jackson) (born May 30, 1984) is an American actress. She starred in

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

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 ...

comedy-drama series '' She's Gotta Have It'' (2017–19), a contemporary adaptation of his 1986 film.

Early life and education

Wise was born in

Jessup, Maryland Jessup ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard and Anne Arundel counties, about southwest of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 10,535. Geography Jessup is located at (3 ...

and raised in Woodlawn,

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

, and

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In high school, she thought she wanted to be a therapist until she took AP Psychology and decided it was not for her. She began acting during her sophomore year at

Atholton High School Atholton High School is a high school in Columbia, Maryland, United States and is a part of the Howard County public school system. The school hosts an Army JROTC program. The school mascot is the Raider. History Atholton takes its name from a l ...

when her high school theatre director, Nathan Rosen, offered her a part in a production in lieu of detention. In 2006, she graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

's Tisch School of the Arts with a bachelor's in fine arts in drama and urban studies, where she befriended

Gina Rodriguez Gina Alexis Rodriguez-LoCicero (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in The CW satirical romantic dramedy series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014–2019), for which she received a Golden Glob ...

. During her undergraduate years, Wise worked as a

resident assistant A resident assistant (RA), also known by a variety of other names, is a trained peer leader who coordinates activities in residence halls in colleges and universities, mental health and substance abuse residential facilities, or similar establishm ...

and a stocker at

Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States. The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California ...

Career

Wise first appeared in episodes of television series including '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' The Good Wife'' and ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...

''. She made her film debut in the 2007 drama '' Spinning into Butter'' starring

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...

, then had secondary roles in ''

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

'' (2007) and '' Precious'' (2009). In 2016, she starred in the independent romantic comedy film ''How to Tell You're a Douchebag'' that premiered at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. The next year, she had a recurring role in the WGN period drama series ''

Underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

'', and starred opposite Sanaa Lathan in the Fox miniseries ''

Shots Fired Shots Fired may refer to: * Shots Fired (TV series), 10-part TV series 2017 * "Shots Fired", a song by American rapper Megan Thee Stallion, from her album '' Good News'' (2020) * ''Shots Fired'', album by MojoJojo 2015 See also * Shotz Fired ...

''. In 2017, she had a leading role in the Netflix comedy-drama series '' She's Gotta Have It,'' which was canceled after two seasons in 2019. In 2018, she was cast in Disney's '' Captain Marvel'', but left the project due scheduling conflicts with her Netflix series. That year, she appeared in the comedy film '' The Weekend'' directed by Stella Meghie. In 2019, she starred with

and Brittany Snow in the romantic comedy film '' Someone Great'' for Netflix, where she and a pantsless Rodriguez sung and danced to Lizzo's " Truth Hurts", ultimately making the song more popular and a #1 hit on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. She later appeared opposite Kevin Hart and

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...

in the comedy-drama '' Fatherhood'' (2021), and co-starred in the sequel ''

Jurassic World Dominion ''Jurassic World Dominion'' is a 2022 American science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Emily Carmichael from a story by Derek Connolly and Trevorrow. The sequel to '' Jurassic World: Fallen ...

''.

Personal life

Wise married actor Alano Miller in 2009 after three months of dating. She is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

. She lives in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, DeWanda Living people American television actresses 21st-century American actresses African-American actresses Atholton High School alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni Actresses from Baltimore Actresses from Pasadena, California People from Laurel, Maryland 1984 births