Stephanie Lee Andujar (born July 15, 1986), nicknamed StephA, is an American actress, director, producer, writer, singer, dancer and songwriter. Known to be a comedic and dramatic actress, her versatility goes far. Starring in the Academy Award-winning film '' Precious'' (2009), '' Pariah'' (2011), ''See Girl Run'' (2012), ''Babygirl'' (2013), '' A Walk Among the Tombstones'' (2014), and the film ''

Marjorie Prime ''Marjorie Prime'' is a 2017 American science-fiction film written and directed by Michael Almereyda, based on Jordan Harrison's play of the same name. It stars Jon Hamm, Tim Robbins, Geena Davis, and Lois Smith. Footage was screened for buyers a ...

'' (2017). Her television career includes CBS's '' Blue Bloods'' (2018), NBC's '' Law & Order: SVU'' (2007), nurse drama ''

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

'' (2010), and '' Blindspot'' (2015). Andujar received praise for her performance in ''

Orange is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Wo ...

'' Season 2 (2014) as young Miss Rosa. Stephanie also starred in theatre performances from ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown (writer), William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's childr ...

'', ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as a ...

'', and ''

The Good Woman of Setzuan ''The Good Person of Szechwan'' (german: Der gute Mensch von Sezuan, first translated less literally as ''The Good Man of Setzuan'') is a play written by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, in collaboration with Margarete Steffin and Ruth Berlau. ...

''.

Early life and education

Andujar was born in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on July 15, 1986.Stephanie Andujar Biography , https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2837910/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 , imdb.com Her father, Hector Andujar, was born in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

and her mother Carmen Andujar (of Puerto Rican descent) is an NYPD School Safety Agent, born in Chelsea, New York. She has an older sister Melanie Andujar and a younger brother Hector Andujar Jr. Her family first resided in Harlem, then to Queens, finally settling back to the neighborhood in Manhattan. While being raised in

Chelsea-Elliot Houses The Chelsea-Elliott Houses is a combined housing project of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), located between West 25th and 27th Streets and Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It consists ...

housing projects, Andujar started acting at the age of 12, when her parents enrolled her at a Beacon after-school arts program. At 13, she landed the part of the Scarecrow in the musical ''The Wiz''. While performing in ''The Wiz'' a talent manager noticed her and signed her up immediately. Her drama teacher Derrick Tyes pushed for her to audition for drama schools. She was then accepted at

Talent Unlimited High School Talent Unlimited High School is a public high school of the performing arts located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. History The school started as a pilot program in January 1973. Students took academic courses at their home h ...

where she performed in more than 10 drama productions. She obtained her Business Degree (2009) at

Pace University Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pac ...

in New York City.

Career

In 2007, while attending

, Stephanie auditioned for a role in '' Law & Order: SVU'' and booked her first role as Latrice Munez. She then auditioned for ''

Push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...

'', which was being turned into a film directed by

Lee Daniels Lee Daniels (born December 24, 1959) is an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter. His first producer credit was '' Monster's Ball'' (2001), for which Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress, making Daniels ...

. Andujar's role came when she played former heroin addict Rita Romero in the 2009 film '' Precious''. She went on to play young Miss Rosa in ''

'' Season 2. Hillary Busis of Entertainment Weekly raved about her performance and stated, "Stephanie Andujar, who plays Young Rosa, is mesmerizing, and I want her to star in a prequel spinoff called ''Portrait of the Prisoner as a Young Bank Robber''." In 2016, Stephanie formed Andujar Productions with her family and produced a comedy web series "StephA: One Woman Show." The YouTube series showcases Stephanie's comedic range, as she plays 10+ characters who intertwine with each other. The show is based on Stephanie's life growing up in New York City and currently has 5 seasons.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Andujar, Stephanie Living people 1986 births American film actresses Pace University alumni 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New York City American television actresses