Danielle Deadwyler (born May 3, 1982)[1] is an American actress. She began her career as a theatre actress in Atlanta, Georgia. She then transitioned to film and television roles and made her screen debut in the 2012 drama film A Cross to Bear. Deadwyler appeared in the primetime soap opera The Haves and the Have Nots (2015–2017), the drama series P-Valley (2020), and the miniseries Station Eleven (2021–2022) and From Scratch (2022).
Deadwyler was born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Southwest Atlanta.[2] She is the daughter of a legal secretary and a railroad supervisor and has three siblings.[3] Deadwyler has a son named Ezra.[4] Deadwyler graduated from Grady High School (now Midtown High School) and then Spelman College with an undergraduate degree in History and African American Studies.[5] She received a Master's of Arts in American Studies from Columbia University[6][7] and another master’s degree in creative writing at Ashland University in 2017.[3][8]
Career
2009–2020
Deadwyler began her career appearing on stage productions, including Charlotte's Web, The Real Tweenagers of Atlanta, and most notable playing the role of Lady in Yellow in For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf at the True Colors Theater in Atlanta in 2009.[9][10][11] She received positive reviews for leading performance in Alliance Theatre's The C.A. Lyons Project.[12] Deadwyler made her film debut playing the leading role of a homeless, alcoholic mother in the 2012 drama A Cross to Bear directed by Tandria Potts.[13][14] Deadwyler later acted in a number of short films, then landed roles on television.
In 2015, Deadwyler guest-starred in the second season of BET's drama series Being Mary Jane. Later that year, she joined the cast of Tyler Perry's series The Haves and the Have Nots, playing antagonist LaQuita "Quita" Maxwell.[6] She left the series during Season 4. Eventually, Deadwyler had secondary roles in the films Gifted and The Leisure Seeker, and appeared in the television series Greenleaf, Atlanta and Watchmen. On Atlanta stage, she appeared in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Clybourne Park at Aurora Theater, portrayed an actress injured doing Shakespeare in Smart People at True Colors Theater, and played multiple roles in The Temple Bombing at the Alliance Theater.[15] In 2018, Deadwyler played the title role of Jane Manning James in the period drama film Jane and Emma.[16][17] She played a leading role and produced the 2019 thriller film The Devil To Pay. The film and Deadwyler's performance received positive reviews from critics.[18][19][20] Cath Clarke from The Guardian wrote in her review: "Deadwyler’s soulful performance really grounds The Devil to Pay even as it cranks into revenge-movie mode."[20]
Deadwyler is set to executive produce and lead in the forthcoming comedic thriller, The Saviors.[50][51] She has also been cast to play Zelma Redding, the widow of American singer Otis Redding, in an upcoming biographical film titled Otis and Zelma.[52]
In February 2025, it was announced that Deadwyler had been cast as a series regular in an upcoming untitled HBO comedy series, starring opposite Steve Carell.[53] She will portray a poetry professor and published author.[53]
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