Emayatzy Corinealdi ( ; born January 14, 1980) is an American actress. She starred in the

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 ...

2012 drama film '' Middle of Nowhere'' for which she won

Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Performer The Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Performer is one of the annual Gotham Awards, Gotham Independent Film Awards. It was first awarded in 1998, with Sonja Sohn and Saul Williams being the first recipients of the award for their roles ...

and received Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead nomination. Corinealdi later starred in films '' Miles Ahead'' (2016), and '' The Invitation'' (2015). On television, she played the role of Belle in the 2016 remake of ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

''. She also starred in '' Hand of God'' (2014-2017), ''

Ballers ''Ballers'' is an American sports comedy drama television series created by Stephen Levinson and starring Dwayne Johnson as Spencer Strasmore, a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career of choice as the financial manager of other NF ...

'' (2017-2019), and ''

The Red Line ''The Red Line'' (''Punainen viiva'') is an opera in two acts with music by Aulis Sallinen to a libretto by the composer, which premiered on 30 November 1978 at the Finnish National Opera.Arni E. The Red Line. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Op ...

'' (2019). In 2022, Corinealdi began starring in the Hulu legal drama series, ''

Reasonable Doubt Beyond a reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the balance of probabilities standard commonly used in civil cases, bec ...

''.

Early life

Corinealdi was born January 14, 1980, in Fort Knox,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, the daughter of Rosemarie Hilton and Edward Corinealdi. Her father is Panamanian, while her mother is African-American from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. As a member of a military family, she was raised between Germany and the U.S. states in Ohio, Kansas, and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. She studied in New Jersey at the Actor's Training Studio, then at the

William Esper Studio The William Esper Studio was founded in 1965 as a school for the performing arts in Manhattan, New York. The school is dedicated to the acting technique of Sanford Meisner. Its founder, William "Bill" Esper, is often referred to as the best-kno ...

in New York City, and then at Playhouse West.

Career

In her early career, Corinealdi co-starred in a number of independent and short films, had the recurring role on the CBS daytime soap opera, ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...

'', and appeared in the Hallmark television film, ''

The Nanny Express ''The Nanny Express'' is a Hallmark Channel television film. It premiered on Hallmark Channel on July 11, 2008, and stars Vanessa Marcil, Dean Stockwell, and Brennan Elliott. Plot After the passing of their mother three years prior, Ben and Emil ...

'' (2008). In 2012, she made her feature film debut as the lead in the drama, '' Middle of Nowhere''. Corinealdi won the 14th Annual American Black Film Festival Star Project, an international acting competition for emerging multicultural artists. Later that year, she won the

Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor The Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Performer is one of the annual Gotham Independent Film Awards. It was first awarded in 1998, with Sonja Sohn and Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapp ...

for the film. She was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for best female lead. Middle of Nowhere cast2

In 2013, Corinealdi appeared in the short film ''The Door'', part of

Miu Miu Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women's clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. It is headed by Miuccia Prada and headquartered in Paris, France. History Miu Miu was established in 1992 by Miuccia Prada. The name ...

's fashion series ''Women's Tales'', which reunited her with her ''Middle of Nowhere'' director

. In 2014, Corinealdi was cast in the drama series '' Hand of God''. Later that year, she won the role of Frances Taylor Davis, the wife of

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

in the biographical film '' Miles Ahead''. She also starred in the horror film '' The Invitation'' and the coming-of-age drama '' Beats''. In 2016, Corinealdi played the role of

Kunta Kinte Kunta Kinte ( – ; ) is a character in the 1976 novel '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family'' by American author Alex Haley. Kunta Kinte was based on one of Haley's ancestors, a Gambian man who was born around 1750, enslaved, and taken to ...

's wife, Belle, in A&E's ''

'' reboot. From 2017 to 2019, she had a recurring role in the HBO comedy-drama series, ''

'', and in 2019 starred in the Ava DuVernay-produced limited series ''

'' on CBS. In 2022, she was cast in her first series television leading role in the Hulu legal drama ''

'' produced by

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corinealdi, Emayatzy 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Kentucky Actresses from New Jersey American film actresses American people of Panamanian descent American television actresses Living people African-American actresses 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 1980 births