Ilfenesh Hadera

Ilfenesh Hadera
Hadera on Billions in 2017
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2010–present

Ilfenesh Hadera is an American actress.

Early life

Hadera was raised in Harlem, New York. ^[1] She identifies as half Ethiopian and half white. ^[2] Her father, Asfaha Hadera, an Ethiopian refugee of Tigrayan descent, is the founder of the African Services Committee (ASC), a Harlem-based organization that works with African refugees. ^[3] . Her mother, Kim Nichols, has served as co-director of ACS since 1984. She volunteered with the organization prior to beginning her acting career. ^{[3] [4]}

Hadera attended The Harlem School of the Arts, followed by the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. She went on to receive an MFA in text and performance studies from RADA/King's College London. ^[5]

Career

In 2010, Hadera made her acting debut in the film 1/20. ^[6]

A frequent collaborator with Spike Lee, she has appeared in Oldboy , Chi-Raq , She's Gotta Have It and Highest 2 Lowest . She's also appeared in The Bricklayer , The Blacklist , Show Me a Hero , Chicago Fire , and The Punisher .

Hadera co-starred as Stephanie Holden in the 2017 film Baywatch , and in 2018 starred as Kay Daniels in the TV series Deception . She had a recurring role in the Showtime series Billions , as a secretary to billionaire fund manager Bobby Axelrod, played by Damian Lewis.

On September 29, 2019, Hadera began starring as Mayme Johnson, the wife of Bumpy Johnson in the premiere of the American crime drama television series, Godfather of Harlem on Epix. ^[7]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	1/20	Hazel
2013	Oldboy	Judy
2015	Chi-Raq	Ms. McCloud
2017	Baywatch	Stephanie Holden
2024	The Bricklayer	Tye
	Werewolves	Lucy Marshall	[8]
2025	Highest 2 Lowest	Pam King

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Da Brick	Saalinge	TV movie
2013	The Blacklist	Jennifer Palmer	Episode: "Pilot"
2015	Show Me a Hero	Carmen Febles	Main cast
	Chicago Fire	Serena Holmes	Recurring cast: season 4
2016	Difficult People	Abby	Episode: "Patches"
	Conviction	Naomi Golden	Recurring cast
2016–17	Billions	Deb Kawi	Recurring cast: season 1-2
2017	Master of None	Lisa	Recurring cast: season 2
	The Punisher	Mistress	Episode: "Crosshairs"
2017–19	She's Gotta Have It	Opal Gilstrap	Recurring cast
2018	Deception	Kay Daniels	Main cast
2019–present	Godfather of Harlem	Mayme Johnson	Main cast
2021	Run the World	Herself	Episode: "What a Co-inky-dick"
2021–22	Blue Bloods	Det. Angela Reddick	Episode: "USA Today" & "Guilt"
2023	East New York	A.D.A. Vonny Diskant	Episode: "In the Bag"
2023–24	The Equalizer	Michelle Chambers	Episodes: "Eye for an Eye", "Truth for a Truth"

References

1. "Ilfenesh Hadera: Spike Lee Alum And DJ School Dropout". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
2. Falcone, Dana (September 2017). "An Actress Advocating for Refugees". Time .
3. "Asfaha Hadera". African Services Committee. November 11, 2019. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
4. O'Donnell, Dora (January 4, 2018). "Meet 'Baywatch' Actress and Activist Ilfenesh Hadera". Red Bull.
5. "From Harlem To 'Baywatch' With Ilfenesh Hadera". Harlem World Magazine. 2017-05-27. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
6. ""Deception" Star Ilfenesh Hadera's Career is Honestly a Dream Come True |". SBU News. 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
7. Wills, Cortney (October 4, 2019). "Ilfenesh Hadera on Godfather of Harlem role". The Grio .
8. Wiseman, Andreas (2024-06-11). "Frank Grillo Horror-Thriller 'Werewolves' Set For December U.S. Release Via Briarcliff & The Solution". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-07-05.

External links

• Ilfenesh Hadera at IMDb