LaKeith Lee Stanfield was born in San Bernardino, California, on August 12, 1991,[1][2] and grew up in Riverside and Victorville.[3] His mother's name is Karen.[4] He has said that he "grew up very poor in a fractured family that was dysfunctional on both sides".[5] Stanfield was middle school classmates with future singer-songwriter and record producer Dijon Duenas, who he defeated in a rap battle.[6] He decided to become an actor when he was 14 after joining his high school's drama club. He attended the John Casablancas Modeling and Career Center in Los Angeles,[5] where he was signed by an agency and began auditioning for commercials.[3]
Career
Stanfield's first acting role was in the short filmShort Term 12, Destin Daniel Cretton's thesis project at San Diego State University, which won the Jury Award for U.S. Short Filmmaking at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.[5] A year later, he appeared in the short film Gimme Grace (2010). While continuing to keep his dreams of acting alive,[7] he went on to work a number of different jobs such as roofing and gardening, and jobs at AT&T and a legal marijuana dispensary, before he was contacted by Cretton to reappear in a feature-length adaptation of Short Term 12. It was his first feature film role.[8] During production, Stanfield practiced method acting, distancing himself from the other cast members like his character.[3] He was the only actor to appear in both the short and feature versions.[9] The film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the 2013 South by Southwest film festival, and Stanfield was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male.[8]
Stanfield performs under the stage name Htiekal (his first name backwards) and is working on his debut album, titled Self Control.[21] He is a member of the band Moors, with Hrishikesh Hirway of Song Exploder.[8][22] Stanfield signed to Def Jam in 2025.[23]
Personal life
Stanfield lives in Los Angeles.[24] Stanfield has a daughter born in 2017 with actress Xosha Roquemore,[4][25] and a second daughter born in 2022 with artist Tylor Hurd.[26][27] In December 2022, Stanfield and model Kasmere Trice announced their engagement and by July 2023, they had privately married and had their first child together.[28]
Filmography
Key
†
Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released
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