Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor (born February 21, 1969) is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. She has appeared in numerous films, including Men of Honor (2000), Undercover Brother (2002), Ray (2004), Freedomland (2006), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), The Help (2011), The Birth of a Nation (2016), and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for portraying Oracene Price in the sports drama King Richard (2021). She has since starred in The Color Purple (2023), Origin (2023), and Nickel Boys (2024). On television, Ellis had regular and recurring roles in the series High Incident (1996–1997), The Practice (1999), True Blood (2008), and The Mentalist (2010–2013). She also appeared in several television films, such as Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009), Abducted: The Carlina White Story (2013), and The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (2020), as well as the miniseries The Book of Negroes (2015) and series Quantico (2015–2017). She was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for her roles in the miniseries When They See Us (2019) and Lovecraft Country (2021) series.