Danielle Moné Truitt

Danielle Moné Truitt may not have been a household name, but she left an indelible mark on entertainment, from accomplished stage work to sitcoms to inspiring the likeness of the first African-American Disney Princess. Born and raised in Sacramento, California, Truitt studied Theater and Dance at Sacramento State University before moving to Los Angeles in the hopes of making it in film and television. However, she never forgot her theater roots, and appeared in many stage productions over the years, including West Coast stagings of "The Mountaintop," "Dreamgirls," "In The Heights," "Aida," and "A Raisin In The Sun." She made her film debut in the action thriller "Fugitive Hunter" (2005). Truitt made history when her likeness was used as inspiration for Princess Tiana, the first African-American Disney Princess, in "The Princess and the Frog" (2009). Further film roles for Truitt came in the form of "Thespians" (2010) and "Stolen Moments" (2013), and she enjoyed guest roles on the sitcoms "Super Fun Night" (ABC, 2013-14) and "Mulaney" (FOX, 2014-15) before landing the lead role of Rebecca 'Rebel' Knight on director John Singleton's police procedural "Rebel" (BET, 2017).