Ariana DeBose | |
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![]() DeBose in 2022 | |
Born | (1991-01-25)January 25, 1991 (age 34) |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 2009–present |
Partner | Sue Makkoo (2017–2023) |
Awards | Full list |
Ariana DeBose (/ˌɑːriˈɑːnədəˈboʊz/;[1] born January 25, 1991) is an American actress and singer. She has receivedvarious accolades, including anAcademy Award, aBritish Academy Film Award, and aGolden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for aTony Award and twoPrimetime Emmy Awards. In 2022,Time magazine named her one of the100 most influential people in the world.[2]
DeBose was a contestant on thesixth season ofSo You Think You Can Dance in 2009, where she finished in the top 20. She made herBroadway debut inBring It On: The Musical in 2011 and continued her work on Broadway with roles inMotown: The Musical (2013) andPippin (2014). From 2015 to 2016, she was one of the original ensemble members inLin-Manuel Miranda's musicalHamilton, and appeared as Jane inA Bronx Tale (2016–2017). In 2018, she was nominated for theTony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance asDonna Summer inSummer: The Donna Summer Musical. She has also hosted the Tony Awards in2022,2023, and2024.
DeBose has also appeared in theNetflix musical comedy filmThe Prom (2020) and theApple TV+ musical comedy seriesSchmigadoon! (2021–2023). She gained wider recognition for her role as Anita inSteven Spielberg's musical filmWest Side Story (2021), winning theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She provided the voice ofAsha in the animated filmWish (2023).
Ariana DeBose was born on January 25, 1991, inWilmington, North Carolina. Her mother, Gina DeBose, is a middle school teacher.[3] DeBose trained in dance at CC & Co. Dance Complex inRaleigh, North Carolina, where she also grew up.[4][5] DeBose has stated that her father is Puerto Rican and her mother is White. She also has African-American and Italian ancestry.[6]
DeBose made her television debut in 2009, when she competed on the TV seriesSo You Think You Can Dance, making it into the Top 20.[7] She later appeared on the soap operaOne Life to Live and played Little Inez Stubbs in theNorth Carolina Theatre's production ofHairspray before appearing in the role of Nautica in the 2011Alliance Theatre production ofBring It On. She also appeared in the ensemble of theNew York Philharmonic production ofCompany, which was filmed for television.[8] At the end of 2011,Bring It On embarked on a national tour across theUnited States. DeBose continued her role into the 2012Broadway production and understudied the character Danielle.
In 2013, DeBose playedMary Wilson inMotown on Broadway, understudying the role ofDiana Ross.[8] She later joined the cast ofPippin on Broadway, playing a noble and a player and understudying the role of the Leading Player, which she ended up taking over for a short period in 2014.[8] She can be heard playing director/choreographer Zoey Taylor inAs the Curtain Rises, an original Broadway soap opera podcast from the Broadway Podcast Network.
In 2015, DeBose leftPippin to join the ensemble of theOff-Broadway musicalHamilton. The show moved to Broadway later that year. She leftHamilton in July 2016 and made a guest appearance on the TV seriesBlue Bloods as Sophia Ortiz. She also starred as Daphne in the thriller filmSeaside. From November 2016 to August 2017, DeBose portrayed Jane on Broadway inA Bronx Tale.[9]
In late 2017, DeBose was cast in herbreakthrough role, playingDisco Donna inSummer: The Donna Summer Musical atSan Diego'sLa Jolla Playhouse. She reprised this role in the Broadway production, which opened in April 2018.[10] Despite mixed reviews she was nominated for the 2018Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical at the72nd Tony Awards.[11] In 2018, she starred in the filmSeaside directed by Sam Zalutsky.
DeBose played Alyssa Greene in thefilm adaptation ofThe Prom, directed byRyan Murphy, where she was opposite ofJo Ellen Pellman as Emma Nolan.[12] In March 2021, DeBose released adance-pop recording and video ofRodgers & Hammerstein's "Shall We Dance" for the albumR&H Goes Pop, produced byJustin Goldner and arranged by Benjamin Rauhala.[13] In 2021, DeBose played schoolmarm Emma Tate in season 1 the parody musical comedy seriesSchmigadoon! onApple TV+.[14] In season 2 ofSchmigadoon! in 2023, she played the role of Emcee.[15]
Despite not seeing herself playing the role and initially refusing four times to audition for it,[16] DeBose played Anita in the2021 film adaptation of the musicalWest Side Story, directed bySteven Spielberg. The film was released in December 2021 to critical acclaim.[17] DeBose received critical attention for her performance of Anita,[18][19] withCaryn James ofBBC praising her performance, declaring, "Anita, in a layered, dynamic performance by Ariana DeBose, is the centre of attention, swirling her skirt and dancing to the Latin rhythms that infuse the film."[20] David Fear ofRolling Stone wrote, "DeBose...strong contender for Most Valuable Player here, whose energy—in her singing, her dancing, her line-reading, her side-eyeing—could power a metropolitan block."[21] She also receivedmultiple accolades, including aGolden Globe Award, aBAFTA Award, aCritics' Choice Movie Award, and aScreen Actors Guild Award, making her the firstAfro-Latina andqueer woman of color to win the latter award,[22] and theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the94th Academy Awards.[23][24]
Following herWest Side Story success, it was announced that DeBose would host the75th Tony Awards.[25] DeBose called the opportunity to host "a bucket list moment" that "I didn't know I had."[26] She received generally positive reviews for the show and received a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) at the75th Primetime Emmy Awards.[27][28] She also made a recurring appearance in thefourth season of theHBO science fiction seriesWestworld.[29]
DeBose went viral onTwitter after performing at the76th British Academy Film Awards, where she celebrated the female nominees by name inan original freestyle rap performance. Despite being described byVariety as “a little out of breath at some points” and that the lyrics "felt clumsy", show producer Nick Bullen defended the performance, claiming it was well received by the live audience and that the criticism was "incredibly unfair" and he "absolutely loved it".[30][31] The rap went viral with lines like "Angela Bassett did the thing" becoming pop culture memes.[32][33] DeBose has subsequently performed the rap in concert.[34] DeBose voiced the lead character ofAsha in the 2023Disney animated filmWish.[35]
In 2024, DeBose had a starring role in the science-fiction thrillerI.S.S.[36][37] and a supporting role in thespy filmArgylle.[38] She appeared asCalypso Ezili in the superhero filmKraven the Hunter, directed byJ.C. Chandor.[39] The following year, DeBose starred in the action comedyLove Hurts alongsideKe Huy Quan; DeBose was the one who presented Quan with hisOscar at the95th Academy Awards in 2022.[40][41] All the films were poorly received by critics.[42]
She will next playCordelia alongsideAl Pacino inLear Rex, a film adaptation ofWilliam Shakespeare’sKing Lear.[43]
DeBose isqueer[44] andcame out to her grandparents in 2015.[45] In December 2020, DeBose and Jo Ellen Pellman launched the Unruly Hearts Initiative. The initiative was created to help young people connect with organizations and charities that advocate for theLGBTQ+ community.[46]
DeBose is in a relationship with costume designer and professor Sue Makkoo. The pair met while working onSummer: The Donna Summer Musical in 2017.[47] Previously, DeBose was in a romantic relationship with theater props master Jill Johnson. The pair met while both were working onMotown: The Musical.[48]
† | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Company | Ensemble | |
2018 | Seaside | Daphne | |
2019 | Fragile | Her | Short film |
2020 | Hamilton | Ensemble / The Bullet / Martha | |
Bibhu Mohapatra: Spring/Summer 2021 NYFW | The Muse | Short film | |
The Prom | Alyssa Greene | ||
2021 | West Side Story | Anita | |
2023 | Once Upon a Studio | Asha | Voice; short film |
I.S.S. | Kira Foster | ||
Wish | Asha | Voice | |
2024 | Argylle | Keira | |
House of Spoils | Chef | ||
Kraven the Hunter | Calypso Ezili | ||
2025 | Love Hurts | Rose | |
TBA | Tow† | TBA | Post-production |
Lear Rex† | Cordelia | Post-production |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | So You Think You Can Dance | Contestant | Season 6 |
2016 | Blue Bloods | Sophia Ortiz | Episode: "The Road to Hell" |
Hamilton's America | Herself | Television documentary | |
2021–2023 | Schmigadoon! | Emma Tate / Emcee | Main role; 9 episodes |
2022 | Saturday Night Live | Host | Episode: "Ariana DeBose/Bleachers" |
Human Resources | Danielle | Voice; episode: "Rutgers is for Lovers" | |
75th Tony Awards | Host | Television special | |
Westworld | Maya | Recurring role; 5 episodes | |
Bubble Guppies | Lulu | Voice; episode: "A Big Splash!" | |
2023 | 76th Tony Awards | Host | Television special |
2024 | Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock | Mezzo | Voice; episode: "The Great Wind"[49][50] |
77th Tony Awards | Host | Television special[51] | |
TBA | Scarpetta | Lucy Farinelli-Watson | Main role; upcoming series[52] |
Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Hairspray | Little Inez Stubbs | North Carolina Theatre |
Bring It On | Nautica, u/s Danielle | Alliance Theatre, Atlanta | |
Company | Ensemble | Avery Fisher Hall, New York City | |
Bring It On | Nautica, u/s Danielle | National Tour | |
2012 | St. James Theatre,Broadway | ||
2013 | Motown: The Musical | Ensemble,Mary Wilson, u/sDiana Ross | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway |
2014 | Pippin | Noble, u/s Leading Player | Music Box Theatre, Broadway |
The Leading Player | |||
2015 | Hamilton | Ensemble / Martha / The Bullet | The Public Theater,Off-Broadway |
Les Misérables | Éponine Thénardier | Connecticut Repertory Theatre | |
Hamilton | Ensemble / Martha / The Bullet | Richard Rodgers Theatre, Broadway | |
2016 | A Bronx Tale | Jane | Longacre Theatre, Broadway |
2017 | Summer: The Donna Summer Musical | Disco Donna | La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego |
2018 | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway | ||
2023 | Ariana DeBose In Concert | Herself | London Palladium, UK Lincoln Center, New York City |
Gutenberg! The Musical! | The Producer | James Earl Jones Theatre, Broadway |
In2018, her performance inSummer: The Donna Summer Musical earned her a nomination for theTony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. For playing Anita inSteven Spielberg'sWest Side Story (2021), she won theAcademy Award,BAFTA,Critics' Choice,Golden Globe andSAG Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her Oscar win made her the firstAfro-Latina and firstopenly queer womanof color to win anAcademy Award for acting. Additionally, with her win followingRita Moreno's1962 win in the same category forWest Side Story (1961), made DeBose and Morenothe third pair of actors to win an Academy Award for playing the same character in different films.
my father was Puerto Rican, so I don't identify with any specific ethnicity either ... I do have African-American lineage, but I'm also part-Italian.
TBA