Tawny Cypress is an American actress. She has appeared in various

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

and

stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and intended for theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Reading (process), reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Pla ...

s. She starred as art dealer

Simone Deveaux Simone Deveaux is a fictional character in the TV series ''Heroes''. She is portrayed by Tawny Cypress. Character's background Genesis When Simone Deveaux is introduced in the premiere episode, she is an art dealer living in New York City who ...

on the TV series ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

''. She previously held roles on several TV series, including

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

's drama '' K-Ville'' as Ginger "Love Tap" LeBeau, Carly Heath on ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an Expression (language), expression that dates back to ...

,'' and Cherie Rollins-Murray on the second and third seasons of the CBS series ''

Unforgettable Unforgettable may refer to: Film * ''Unforgettable'' (1996 film), a thriller starring Ray Liotta * ''Unforgettable'' (2014 film), a Bollywood film * ''Unforgettable'' (2016 film), a South Korean film * ''Unforgettable'' (2017 film), an America ...

.'' In 2019, Cypress starred as Inez in the film ''Inez & Doug & Kira'', for which she has received critical acclaim. Since 2021, Cypress has starred as Taissa Turner on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's ''

Yellowjackets A yellowjacket is a black-and-yellow vespid wasp. Yellowjacket(s) or Yellow Jacket(s) may also refer to: Places * Yellow Jacket, Colorado, an unincorporated town * Yellow Jacket, Florida, an unincorporated area in Dixie County, Florida Arts, e ...

''.

Early life

Tawny Cypress was born in

Point Pleasant, New Jersey Point Pleasant is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was down from 19,306 in 2000 but still up from 18,177 in 1990. The Borough is a Jersey Shore community situa ...

. She spent her childhood living in communities along the Jersey Shore, including the towns of Sea Girt, Belmar and Red Bank. She attended Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Cypress also attended William Esper Studio, where she was invited to teach in 2020.

Career

Since 2000, she has been actively working in film and television. In 2021, Cypress was cast on ''Yellowjackets'' as Taissa Turner, a survivor of a horrific plane crash in the 1990s, now running for the

New Jersey State Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

while trying to keep quiet the demons of eighteen months of survival in the Canadian wilderness.

Personal life

Cypress's mother is of Hungarian descent and her father was black and Native American, a partial descendent of the

Accawmacke The Accomac people were a historic Native American tribe in Accomack and Northampton counties in Virginia.Frederick Webb Hodge, ''Handbook'', 8. They were loosely affiliated with the Powhatan Confederacy. The term Accomac was eventually applied ...

Nation of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Cypress still resides in her native New Jersey. Her brother is comic book artist Toby Cypress. Since 2011, she has been married to Tom Dillon. They have one child and reside in New Jersey with their many dogs and cats. Cypress revealed to the website Autostraddle that she identifies as a queer woman.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* Actresses from New Jersey Living people People from Point Pleasant, New Jersey 21st-century American actresses American television actresses American film actresses American stage actresses American people of Hungarian descent African-American actresses 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people Year of birth missing (living people) Queer women Queer actresses LGBT African Americans LGBT people from New Jersey {{US-theat-actor-stub