Nafessa Williams is an American actress. She is most known for her 2011 role as Nicole Gordon in the Meek Mill film Streets, her 2011 role as Deanna Forbes on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, and her 2016 role as Dr. Charlotte Piel on the CBS drama Code Black. From 2018 to 2021, she has played Anissa Pierce in The CW's Black Lightning. Williams portrayed Robyn Crawford in the 2022 Whitney Houston biopic Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.[1]
Nafessa Williams | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Williams in 2018 | |
| Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Alma mater | West Chester University |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Known for | Black Lightning |
Early life and education
Williams was raised in West Philadelphia. She attended Robert E. Lamberton High School. Williams studied criminal justice at West Chester University and interned in the homicide unit of the District Attorney's Office.[2]
Career
In 2010, Williams was cast opposite Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill in Streets. The film was released in 2012.[2] In March 2011, it was announced that Williams would join the cast of ABC's One Life to Live in the contract role of Deanna.[3] When Williams auditioned, the character was only supposed to appear in three episodes. However by the time of her debut, Williams had signed a four-year contract.[2] Only a month into her stint, it was announced that ABC had decided to cancel the series.[4] Williams was released from her contract early and last appeared in July 2011.[5]
In March 2012, Williams announced that she would be appearing on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.[6] Williams made her debut on May 8, 2012.[7] However, the role was short lived and Williams only appeared in two episodes. In 2015, Williams appeared in the Queen Latifah executive produced feature film, Brotherly Love, opposite Keke Palmer.[8] In April 2016, Williams was cast in the Showtime continuation of the 1990s ABC drama Twin Peaks.[9] In July 2016, Williams was cast in the recurring role of Charlotte on the CBS prime time drama, Code Black.[10] In 2017, Williams was cast as Anissa Pierce in the 2018 Mara Brock Akil/Greg Berlanti series Black Lightning.[11]
In May and June 2019, Williams, DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee, writer Tom King, and fellow CW series actresses Candice Patton and Danielle Panabaker toured five U.S. military bases in Kuwait with the United Service Organizations (USO), where they visited the approximately 12,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in that country as part of DC's 80th anniversary of Batman celebration.[12]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Streets | Nicole Gordon | |
| 2013 | Dumb Girls | Female Co-Ed #1 | TV movie |
| 2014 | The Dirty 30 | Samantha Kimm | |
| 2015 | Whitney | Kim | TV movie |
| Brotherly Love | Simone | ||
| The Man in 3B | Krystal | ||
| 2016 | Restored Me | Monica Berry | |
| Asterisk | Angela | Short | |
| 2017 | Burning Sands | Toya | |
| True to the Game | Sahirah | ||
| 2019 | Black and Blue | Missy | |
| 2021 | A Holiday Chance | Noel Chance | |
| 2022 | Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody | Robyn Crawford |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | One Life to Live | Deanna Forbes | Regular Cast |
| 2012 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Margo Ivey | Episode: "Episode #1.6316" & "#1.6323" |
| 2014 | Survivor's Remorse | Adina Parker | Episode: "Six" |
| 2015 | Real Husbands of Hollywood | Eboni | Episode: "Hart Medication" |
| 2016 | Code Black | Dr. Charlotte Piel | Recurring cast: season 2 |
| 2017 | Twin Peaks | Jade | Recurring cast: season 3 |
| Tales | Jenny | Episode: "F*ck the Police" | |
| 2018–21 | Black Lightning | Anissa Pierce/Thunder | Main cast |
| TBA | The Spook Who Sat by the Door | TBA | |
| TBA | Rivals | Cameron Cook | In-production[13] |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | NBA 2K17 | Tiffany Rasberry (voice) |
References
Further reading
- Wills, Cortney (January 18, 2018). "Interview with Nafessa Williams on Playing Thunder on Black Lightningn". The Grio.