Mekia Cox | |
|---|---|
 Cox in 2007 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Florida State University (BM) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, dancer, vocal artist |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Mekia Cox is an American actress and dancer, known for her recurring role asSasha in thesecond &third seasons ofThe CW drama90210, Dr. Robin Charles in theNBC medical dramaChicago Med and her role as a dancer in the Michael Jackson concert seriesThis Is It and the related filmMichael Jackson's This Is It. In 2010, she co-starred as Lizzy Gilliam in the short-lived NBC spy dramaUndercovers. She is also known for her role as PrincessTiana in theABC fantasy dramaOnce Upon a Time and for her role as Detective Nyla Harper in theABC police dramaThe Rookie.
As a youth, Cox had a history of dance and theater training experience. Much of her early work was associated withUniversal Studios andNickelodeon. She continued to train in the performing arts in high school and college. Subsequently, she toured nationally in stage productions of musicals, includingFame.
Cox, aSt. Croix native,[1] moved with her family toOrlando, Florida, at age seven after spending five years of her youth studying dance in theU.S. Virgin Islands. In 1989, Cox was invited to participate in theDisney's Magic Kingdom Christmas Spectacular. As a child actor, Cox appeared inNickelodeon shows, includingMy Brother and Me,Kenan & Kel andAll That.[2]
Cox was a 1999 graduate ofDr. Phillips High School where she was enrolled in the Visual and Performing Arts magnet program for vocal performance.[3] She earned aBachelor of Music degree fromFlorida State University in 2003 after being accepted to their Musical Theater program. During her summers she worked at the Heritage Repertory Theater inCharlottesville, Virginia, where she played roles inSmokey Joe's Cafe andAnything Goes one summer and performed as a recurring character in theNickelodeon sitcomNoah Knows Best during another.[2] Other regional theater credits includeRent, where she played club dancer and drug addict Mimi Márquez, theChicago role of Liz, and Frenchie inCabaret.[4]
After graduating, she played Sarah inRagtime, the musical at Merry-Go-Round Theater inAuburn, New York. Then Cox toured nationally for two years as Carmen inFame, as well as revisiting her role as Brenda inSmokey Joe's Café. After touring and landing her first television role, she moved to Los Angeles,[2] where she established a permanent residence.[1]
Prior to her role onUndercovers, Cox guest-starred in a number of television series. In 2005, she appeared inCSI: NY, andHalf & Half, and she appeared inOne Tree Hill as Faith in season 3 episode 10 the following year. She also appeared in the romantic comedy-dramaCrazy, Stupid, Love., which was released in July 2011.[5]
Cox was one of only two women selected for the 11-member dance group from a field of over 500 for the This Is It concert series.[3] She was one of the featured dancers in the documentary filmMichael Jackson's This Is It.[1] She can be seen dancing with Jackson during the rehearsal of "The Way You Make Me Feel".[3]
During the 2009 second season of90210 she appeared in six episodes. She also appears in the fourth episode of season three (October 4, 2010).[6] Her 20-something character, Sasha, becomes the controversial love interest ofTristan Wilds' 17-year-old character,Dixon Wilson. The character is aDJ who met his character at a pizza parlor and a party she DJed on a yacht. Dixon led her to believe he was her age.[7] One of the things that helped them bond despite his status as a high school junior was that they had the samecell phoneringtone. Eventually, Cox's character lies about becoming pregnant to keep Dixon from breaking up with her.[8]
On October 29, 2009, she was one of the This Is It dancers who appeared onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show to fulfill hostEllen DeGeneres' birthday wish.[9]
She appeared in all first-season episodes of the short-lived NBC spy dramaUndercovers. She played Lizzy Gilliam, who is the sister of the female lead and who is unaware of her family's involvement inCentral Intelligence Agency activities. Originally,Jessica Parker Kennedy was cast in the role, but Cox replaced her in June 2010 before the first episode of the first season was aired in September 2010.[10][11] Her character is described as "Boy crazy".[12] Cox says that Lizzy's character, which spends much of her onscreen time running the family catering business, embodied much of her own true character and described the character as follows: "Lizzy's a good character; very light-hearted, very fun loving, she’s got a good heart and an interesting past and she’s trying to deal with it".[13]
In 2015, she was cast in the second season of the crime dramaSecrets and Lies.[14] In 2016, Cox appeared in theModern Family episode "The Cover-Up".[15] On August 23, 2016, Cox began a recurring role in the NBC medical dramaChicago Med as Dr. Robyn Charles, an epidemiologist and daughter of the chief of psychiatry Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt).[16] She playedTiana, known as Sabine under the curse in Hyperion Heights in the seventh and final season ofOnce Upon a Time.[17] Tiana is regarded as the first African-American Disney Princess.[18] In August 2017, Cox was promoted to a series regular.[19][20] She appeared in 15 episodes of the season.
In 2019, she began co-starring in the second season of the ABC police procedural dramaThe Rookie as Detective Nyla Harper, first appearing in the fourth episode "Warriors and Guardians".[21]
On April 28, 2018, Cox married basketball analyst Britt Leach.[22] In December 2018, she gave birth to their daughter.[23][24] She announced her pregnancy with their second child in January 2022; it was written into her role as Detective Nyla Harper onThe Rookie.[25] Cox expressed gratitude for the show's writers doing this.[26]On May 18, 2022, Cox posted a photo of her second daughter on Instagram, giving the baby's date of birth as May 13, 2022.[27]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Michael Jackson's This Is It | Herself | |
| 2010 | I Kissed a Vampire | Nikki No | |
| 2011 | Crazy, Stupid, Love. | Hip Hairdresser aka Tiffany | |
| 2012 | Battlefield America | Sarah Miller | |
| 2013 | The Exchange | Lisa | Short |
| After Dark | Bree | ||
| 2015 | The Squeeze | Lana | |
| 2019 | If Not Now, When? | Suzanne |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | My Brother and Me | Myra | Episode: "The Weekend Aunt Helen Came" |
| 2005 | CSI: NY | Kia Rowe | Episode: "Dancing with the Fishes" |
| Half & Half | Alicia | Episode: "The Big State of the Reunion Episode" | |
| 2006 | One Tree Hill | Faith Banks | Episode: "Brave New World" |
| 2008 | Bones | Celeste Cutler | Episode: "Player Under Pressure" |
| 2009–10 | 90210 | Sasha | Recurring Cast:Season 2, Guest:Season 3 |
| 2010 | Undercovers | Lizzy Gillian | Main Cast |
| 2011 | The Mentalist | Tracy Zuniga | Episode: "Strawberries and Cream: Part 1" |
| 2012 | Necessary Roughness | Zetty Liston | Recurring Cast: Season 2 |
| Common Law | Destiny | Episode: "Role Play" | |
| Leverage | Katrina Hardt | Episode: "The Frame-Up Job" | |
| 2012–14 | Key and Peele | Various | Guest Cast: Season 2–4 |
| 2013 | Mob City | Anya | Recurring Cast |
| 2013–14 | Almost Human | Anna | Recurring Cast |
| 2014 | Gotham | Dr. Thawson | Episode: "Penguin's Umbrella" |
| 2015 | Grey's Anatomy | Blair Vinson | Episode: "Don't Dream It's Over" |
| 2016 | Modern Family | Angie | Episode: "The Cover-Up" |
| Impastor | Jasmine | Recurring Cast: Season 2 | |
| Secrets and Lies | Amanda Warner | Main Cast: Season 2 | |
| 2016–19 | Chicago Med | Dr. Robin Charles | Recurring Cast: Seasons 2–4, guest: Season 5 |
| 2017–18 | Once Upon a Time | Tiana / Sabine | Main Cast:Season 7 |
| 2019–present | The Rookie | Det. Nyla Harper | Main Cast: Season 2–present |
| 2023 | Celebrity Family Feud | Herself/Contestant | Episode: "Episode #10.8" |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
