Cleopatra Coleman (born 29 October 1987) is an Australian actress. She is known for playing Erica on the American comedy series '' The Last Man on Earth'' and Rya in the

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 ...

original sci-fi thriller '' In the Shadow of the Moon''.

Early life

Coleman was born in

Wentworth Falls Wentworth Falls (postcode: 2782) is a town in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, situated approximately west of the Sydney central business district, and about east of Katoomba, Australia on the Great Western Highway, with a Went ...

, to a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

n-born mother, Turquoise Coleman, and Mick Coleman, an Australian father of Scottish descent, and moved to

Byron Bay, New South Wales Byron Bay (Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a hea ...

when she was 18 months old.

Career

Coleman started her professional film and television career in her home country of Australia at age 15. In 2005 Coleman was cast as a lead in the sci-fi teenage drama ''

Silversun ''Silversun'' is a science fiction children's television series made in Australia by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The show features the adventures of the adolescent members of the crew of the ''Star Runner,'' an interstell ...

'' for

ABC (Australian TV channel) ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship (broadcasting), flagship ABC Television (Australian TV network), AB ...

and

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

. In 2006, Coleman was cast as Glenn Forrest in the long running Australian soap opera ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

''. Coleman went on to appear in other Australian television programs, including ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

'', ''

Holly's Heroes ''Holly's Heroes'' is a children's drama series produced as a collaboration between the Nine Network in Australia and TVNZ in New Zealand. It was produced as a series of 26 episodes and first screened in 2005. Plot summary Holly McKenzie is a 1 ...

'', '' Wicked Science'', ''

City Homicide ''City Homicide'' is an Australian television drama series that aired on the Seven Network between 27 August 2007 and 30 March 2011. The series was set on the Homicide floor of a metropolitan police headquarters in Melbourne. The main characte ...

'' and '' Rush''. In 2008, Coleman appeared in a stage production of Simon Stephens' ''Motortown'' with Melbourne's

Red Stitch Actors Theatre Red Stitch Actors Theatre is an ensemble theatre company based in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 2001 and with its first season in 2002, Red Stitch has presented over 100 contemporary plays. These include works from international playwrig ...

, receiving positive reviews. In 2011, Coleman co-wrote, executive-produced, and starred in the short film ''Trains'', the first project for Coleman/Coleman productions, created by Cleopatra Coleman and her father, Mick Coleman. In the same year, she was cast in her breakout motion picture role as DJ Penelope in ''

Step Up Revolution ''Step Up Revolution'' (released in some countries as ''Step Up 4: Miami Heat'') is a 2012 American 3D dance film directed by Scott Speer (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Amanda Brody. It serves as a sequel to ''Step Up ...

'', a film released on 27 July 2012. She also featured in multiple music videos by Nervo (" You're Gonna Love Again"), Far East Movement ("Change Your Life") and

Galantis Galantis is a Swedish electronic dance music production, songwriting and DJ duo consisting of Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw. Karlsson is also known as Bloodshy as part of two other musical groups, a duo (Bloodshy & Avant) and a trio (Mi ...

("Runaway (U & I)") in 2014. In 2014, Coleman was cast as a series regular in the Fox ensemble comedy series '' The Last Man on Earth''. She played the role of Erica Dundee for four seasons. In 2016, Coleman guest-starred in the series '' Better Things''. A year later, she wrote, produced, as well as starred in the environmental sci-fi thriller ''Hover'' for

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. La ...

Films. The same year, she starred as Sadie Lewis in the Showtime comedy ''

White Famous ''White Famous'' is an American sitcom starring Jay Pharoah, based on the life of Jamie Foxx, which aired on Showtime from October 15, 2017 until December 10, 2017. It is co-created by Tom Kapinos, Chris Spencer and Buddy Lewis, directed by T ...

'' which ran for one season. In 2019, Coleman guest-starred in Gregg Araki's ''

Now Apocalypse ''Now Apocalypse'' is an American Television comedy, comedy television series that aired for one season of ten episodes from March 10 to May 12, 2019, on Starz. The series was written by Gregg Araki and Karley Sciortino. Araki also was director an ...

'' and critically acclaimed series '' Sorry for Your Loss''. The same year, she also appeared as Rya in '' In the Shadow of the Moon'' for

, directed by

Jim Mickle Jim Mickle (born 1979) is an American director and writer, known for such films as '' Mulberry Street'', '' Stake Land'', '' We Are What We Are'' and '' Cold in July''. He also co-developed the SundanceTV series '' Hap and Leonard'', and the Net ...

. In 2020, Cleopatra played Trina in the quirky independent comedy ''

The Argument ''The Argument'' is the sixth and most recent studio album from the post-hardcore band Fugazi released on October 16, 2001, through Dischord Records. It was recorded at Don Zientara's Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA and the Dischord House bet ...

'', directed by Robert Schwartzman. In 2021, Coleman played the bubbly and charismatic Sarah, the female lead of ''The Right One'', a romantic comedy that was written and directed by

Ken Mok Ken Mok is a television producer, and also the founder and president of 10x10 Entertainment, a production company which produces television, film and alternative media. Among the television projects being produced under the 10x10 banner are the ...

and released through

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

. She also starred in the music video for "Ceremony" by

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first f ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
Cleopatra Coleman official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Cleopatra 1987 births Australian people of Jamaican descent Australian people of Scottish descent Australian soap opera actresses Australian stage actresses Living people 21st-century Australian actresses People from the Blue Mountains (New South Wales)