Parisa Fitz-Henley

Parisa Fitz-Henley exceeded the ornamental career limits often afforded to models who turn to acting by virtue of her capable dramatic turns in numerous films and television series, most notably the Marvel Comics adaptations "Jessica Jones" (Netflix, 2016- ) and "Luke Cage" (Netflix, 2017- ). Born in Kingston, Jamaica on January 1, 1977, she was the daughter of an American father and a Jamaican mother, who brought her to the island in her mid-teens. There, Fitz-Henley was introduced to modeling through an entertainment company, which helped to establish her as a runway and print model for international companies and publications. In 2002, she made her screen debut in the Damon Dash-directed music industry drama "Death of a Dynasty," which set her on a path towards an acting career. Over the course of the next decade, Fitz-Henley worked her way up from guest roles on television series to supporting turns in features like "The Jane Austen Book Club" (2007), for which she played an aspiring author who used her own relationship with girlfriend Maggie Grace as inspiration for her writing. She was soon working steadily on television, most notably on "Private Practice" (NBC, ABC, 2007-2013) and "House of Cards" (Netflix, 2013- ) and in both mainstream features like "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (2010) and independent efforts like "Bluebird" (2013), though stardom largely eluded her. Her breakout role finally materialized in 2015 when she was cast on Marvel and Netflix's "Jessica Jones" as prison therapist Reva Connors, who fell in love with convict turned superhero Luke Cage (Mike Colter) before her untimely death at the hands of Krysten Ritter's damaged, eponymous superhero. The success of "Jones" led to Cage receiving his own spin-off series for Netflix (2016), for which Fitz-Henley reprised her role as Reva in flashbacks. Her c.v. expanded the following year to include a starring role on "Midnight, Texas" (NBC, 2017- ), a fantasy-drama series based on the novels by Charlaine Harris, who created the source material for "True Blood" (HBO, 2008-2014). Fitz-Henley played Fiji Cavanaugh, a romantic-minded witch in the titular town.