Numa Perrier is a Haitian-American actress, artist, director, writer, and producer. She is a co-founder of
Black&Sexy TV. Her debut feature film, ''
'', premiered at
SXSW in 2019 and received accolades from the
American Black Film Festival and the
Indie Memphis Film Festival.
Early life
Perrier was born in
Haiti and was adopted and raised in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
state in a family of eight children.
She got to know her biological mother when she was 17.
Perrier moved to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
in late adolescence and did online "peep show" work as a
cam girl
A webcam model (colloquially, camgirl, camboy, or cammodel) is a video performer who streams on the Internet with a live webcam broadcast. A webcam model often performs erotic acts online, such as stripping, masturbation, or sex acts in exchang ...
to make money. Her savings allowed her to move to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
to pursue a career in film and visual art.
Career
Perrier co-founded
Black&Sexy TV, a creative collective and streaming service for Black millennial audiences, with former partners Dennis Dortch, Brian Ali Harding, and Jeanine Daniels in 2010.
Their first collaboration was a film called ''
A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy
''A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy'' is a 2008 film written, directed, produced and edited by Dennis Dortch. The film was originally screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was eventually given a one-week release in one theater, earning $8,6 ...
'', which premiered at
Sundance and was picked up by
Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment.
Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films. Ma ...
.
Beginning in 2011, they used
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
to post their content. Notable shows include ''The Couple'', ''The Number'', ''Hello Cupid'' and ''RoomieLoverFriends''.
Numa starred in ''The Couple'' alongside Desmond Faison, and HBO picked up the series for development.
In 2017, Perrier directed her first feature film ''
'', starring Tiffany Tenille. The film is semi-autobiographical and draws on Perrier's experience as a "cam girl" performer. Perrier also co-stars in the film, which was shot on-location in Las Vegas.
''Jezebel'' premiered at SXSW in March 2019, and received positive critical reception.
''The Hollywood Reporter'' selected ''Jezebel'' as one of its "Best of SXSW 2019" picks. ''The Los Angeles Times'' referred to Perrier as "a very fine naturalistic actor" and gave further praise to her filmmaking, noting her "striking handling and welcome thoughtfulness of style."
Array Releasing acquired the film in 2019 with a limited theatrical run and it debuted on
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 fi ...
on January 16, 2020. Perrier was awarded Best Director and Best Feature Film for ''Jezebel'' at the 2019 American Black Film Festival.
Perrier played a recurring guest star role on Showtime's ''
SMILF
''SMILF'' is an American sitcom starring, created, written, and directed by Frankie Shaw. It was based on her short film of the same title. The series premiered on Showtime on November 5, 2017. The series' name, SMILF, is a play on the term " ...
'' prior to its cancellation. She has also directed television episodes for programs including ''
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 ...
'', ''
The Wonder Years
''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super ...
'' reboot, ''Cinema Toast'',
''Reasonable Doubt'', and ''Unprisoned''.
For her work on ''The Wonder Years'', Perrier was nominated in the Outstanding Directing, Comedy Series category at the
2022 Black Reel Awards.
She also has a production company called House of Numa.
In 2020, it was announced Perrier would direct the Netflix romantic comedy ''The Perfect Find'' starring
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...
and
Keith Powers. The film is slated for a 2022 release.
In December 2021, it was announced that she will produce and star in ''The Erotic'', a biopic about poet and author
Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," wh ...
.
Perrier directed a live magic show, ''The Legend of Black Herman'', as a part of
Derek Fodjour's art installation, ''Magic, Mystery, and Legerdemain'', which ran from March 29 to May 7, 2022 at The David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles.
In June, 2022, it was announced Perrier would produce and direct ''The War and Treaty'', from a script by
Will McCormack and
Craig Borten
Craig Borten (born September 16, 1965) is an American screenwriter. Borten is best known for his Oscar-nominated script for the 2013 film ''Dallas Buyers Club''. In addition to his nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Borten ...
, based on the life of
the Nashville husband and wife vocal duo.
In November, 2022, it was announced Perrier would direct the Wall Street drama ''Midas Touch'', with
Chloe Bailey
Chloe Elizabeth Bailey (born July 1, 1998), also known by her mononymous stage name Chlöe, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is best known for being one half of the musical duo Chloe x Halle with her sister Halle Bailey. Tog ...
set to star. The film follows the true story of
Lauren Simmons, the youngest equity trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and only the second African American woman to hold that position.
Personal life
Perrier has one daughter, Rockwelle, with former partner, Dennis Dortch.
Dortch and Perrier split up in 2014.
Perrier married Gabrey Milner, son of Broadway playwright
Ron Milner
Ronald Milner (May 29, 1938 – July 9, 2004) was an American playwright. His play ''Checkmates'', starring Paul Winfield and Denzel Washington, ran on Broadway in 1988. Milner also taught creative writing at the University of Southern Californi ...
, in October 2020.
Filmography
Film
As Actress
As director
Television
As Actress
As director
References
External links
Numa Perrieron IMDb
Black&Sexy TVOfficial website
House of Numa Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perrier, Numa
21st-century American actresses
21st-century Haitian actresses
American people of Haitian descent
American women film directors
American women film producers
Living people
1979 births
Haitian women film directors