Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

Acting · Born 1969-02-21 in San Francisco, California, USA

Biography

Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor (born February 21, 1969) is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. She has appeared in numerous films, including Men of Honor (2000), Undercover Brother (2002), Ray (2004), Freedomland (2006), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), The Help (2011), The Birth of a Nation (2016), and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for portraying Oracene Price in the sports drama King Richard (2021). She has since starred in The Color Purple (2023), Origin (2023), and Nickel Boys (2024). On television, Ellis had regular and recurring roles in the series High Incident (1996–1997), The Practice (1999), True…

Filmography

• Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story as Candy
• Men of Honor as Jo
• The Express as Marie Davis
• The Help as Yule Mae Davis
• The Color Purple as Mama
• Notorious as Sandy
• Ray as Mary Ann Fisher
• King Richard as Oracene 'Brandy' Price
• The Subject as Leslie
• The Caveman's Valentine as Lulu

TV

• Third Watch as Gail Moore
• The Practice as Sharon Young
• The Mentalist as Madeleine Hightower
• Blue Bloods as Sylvia Marshall
• True Blood as Diane
• When They See Us as Sharonne Salaam
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Laura Chase
• Numb3rs as Ivy Kirk
• Justice as Miranda Lee
• E-Ring as Jocelyn Pierce