Danielle Brooks
Danielle Brooks landed a role most acting graduates only dream of when she took on the part of Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson in the hit series "Orange is the New Black" (Netflix 2013-) just two years after graduating from Juilliard. Taystee was a bubbly, foul-mouthed inmate at a women's correctional facility who quickly became the show's breakout character. Brooks was born on September 17, 1989 in Greenville, South Carolina. As the daughter of a minister and a deacon, she discovered her love of music and drama in the church, which helped to shape her future ambitions and moral center. She started acting in church plays at the age of six and was inspired to try out for Juilliard School after seeing a powerful performance of "The Color Purple" on Broadway. To her surprise, she nailed the audition and graduated from the prestigious drama school in 2011. After graduating, she found herself juggling two roles: one in the Shakespeare Theater Company production of "The Servant of Two Masters" (2012) and the other in "Blacken the Bubble" (2012). While her stage work suited her formal training at school, she ended up having to leave both productions for the opportunity to appear on the Netflix dramedy. Initially slated to only appear in a few episodes, her interpretation of the character impressed the show's creator, Jenji Kohan (previously responsible for creating the series "Weeds" (Showtime 2005-2012)) and was announced as a series regular. Based on Piper Kerman's memoir about her time spent in prison for money laundering and the subsequent relationships she forged with her fellow inmates, "Orange Is The New Black" struck a chord with audiences and critics alike. Brooks prepared for the role by studying Kerman's book and watching countless hours of the show "Beyond Scared Straight" (A&E 2011-). The show also reunited her with her friend of six years and fellow Julliard alum Samira Wiley, who played Taystee's enemy turned soulmate Poussey. Bringing a vivacious energy to the role, Brooks described her character as the light inside the prison. Brooks also became the first African-American female character on the show "Girls" (HBO 2012-17), making a guest star appearance in the show's third season. Brooks also appeared in an episode of Aziz Ansari's sitcom "Master of None" (Netflix 2015- ) and took on a voice role in the animated hit "The Angry Birds Movie" (2016) while continuing her work on "Orange is the New Black."
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Danielle Brooks
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
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No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Bad Guys 2 | Kitty Kat (Voice) | - | 2025 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A Minecraft Movie | Dawn (Character) | - | 2025 |
81% |
|
The Color Purple | Sofia (Character) | $60.6M | 2023 |
67% |
|
Eat Wheaties! | Wendy (Character) | - | 2021 |
No Score Yet |
|
Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia | Mahalia Jackson (Character) | - | 2021 |
92% |
|
Clemency | Evette (Character) | $361.7K | 2019 |
65% |
|
The Day Shall Come | Venus (Character) | $24.9K | 2019 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | All the Little Things We Kill | Claire Soto (Character) | - | 2019 |
78% |
|
Sadie | Carla (Character) | - | 2018 |
No Score Yet |
|
Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image | Unknown (Character) | - | 2017 |
44% |
|
The Angry Birds Movie | Olive Blue, Monica the Crossing Guard (Voice) | $107.5M | 2016 |
No Score Yet |
|
I Dream Too Much | Abbey (Character) | - | 2015 |
80% |
|
Time Out of Mind | Receptionist (Character) | $162.3K | 2014 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Finding Your Roots | Guest | 2024 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Talk | Guest | 2024 |
No Score Yet | 42% | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Guest | 2016 2024 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Jennifer Hudson Show | Guest | 2023 |
No Score Yet | 12% | The View | Guest | 2022-2023 |
No Score Yet | 61% | Late Night With Seth Meyers | Guest | 2016-2017 2019 2023 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Afropop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange | Host | 2019-2023 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Karma's World | Dr. Lillie Carter-Grant (Voice) | 2021-2022 |
No Score Yet | 44% | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Guest | 2022 |
No Score Yet | 51% | Instant Dream Home | Host | 2022 |
No Score Yet | 91% | Close Enough | Pearle (Voice) | 2020-2022 |
88% | 9% | Get Organized With The Home Edit | Guest | 2022 |
93% | 89% | Peacemaker | Leota Adebayo (Character) | 2022 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Guest | 2021 |
58% | 73% | Social Distance | Unknown (Character) | 2020 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Floored | Judge | 2020 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Great Performances | Unknown (Character) | 2019 |
90% | 82% | Orange Is the New Black |
Taystee (Character), Unknown (Guest Star) |
2013-2019 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Elena of Avalor | Charica (Guest Voice) | 2018 |
98% | 80% | High Maintenance | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2018 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Project Runway All Stars | Guest | 2018 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Harry | Guest | 2016-2017 |
No Score Yet | 81% | Last Week Tonight With John Oliver | Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson (Guest Star) | 2017 |
No Score Yet | 81% | Tangled: The Series | Ruthless Ruth (Guest Voice) | 2017 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Chew | Guest | 2016-2017 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Lip Sync Battle | Contestant | 2017 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen | Guest | 2017 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Conan | Guest | 2015-2016 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Wendy Williams Show | Guest | 2014 2016 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Daily Show | Guest | 2016 |
No Score Yet | 50% | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | Guest | 2016 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | 106 & Park |
Unknown (Character), Guest |
2014 |
89% | 76% | Girls | Laura (Guest Star) | 2014 |