Phylicia Pearl Mpasi | |
---|---|
Born | Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. | November 16, 1993
Alma mater | Elon University |
Known for | The Color Purple |
Phylicia Pearl Mpasi (born 16 November 1993) [1] is an American actress and writer. [2] She began her career by performing in the broadway production of The Lion King (2015-2020). Mpasi made her film debut as Celie Harris-Johnson in the 2023 version of The Color Purple , being recognized with a NAACP Image Awards for her performance and being nominated with the cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and Critics' Choice Movie Awards.
Phylicia Pearl Mpasi was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, [3] and is the daughter of immigrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Growing up, she sang in her church choir. [4]
She attended Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic High School in Olney, Maryland, and graduated in 2011. [5] She then went on to complete her undergraduate studies at Elon University, where she graduated from the theater program in 2015. [6] While at Elon, the musical version of The Color Purple was part of the program's curriculum. [7]
Mpasi began her career in theater, performing in various roles in The Lion King musical on Broadway and on tour from 2015 until 2020. During the pandemic, she began creating YouTube videos. [4] She then pivoted to television writing, working on the television show Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies and the HBO scripted podcast We Stay Looking starring Terri J. Vaughn. [8]
In 2021, she initially auditioned for the role of adult Celie for the film adaptation of the musical The Color Purple. [9] After the role went to Fantasia Barrino, Mpasi went on to audition for the role of young Celie, which she was awarded with the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture. [10] Mpasi also performed the original song "Keep It Movin'" with Halle Bailey, winning the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Original Song. [11] [12]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | The Color Purple | Celie | Film debut |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015–2020 | The Lion King | Various | Broadway; National Tour |
Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Keep It Movin'" | 2023 | Halle Bailey | The Color Purple (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
"Huckleberry Pie" | |||
"Mysterious Ways" | The Color Purple Ensemble |
Year | Association | Category | Project | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | Ambies | Best Scriptwriting, Fiction | We Stay Looking | Nominated | [13] |
2023 | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Song - Onscreen Performance (Film) | "Keep It Movin'" | Nominated | [14] |
Best Original Song – Feature Film | Nominated | ||||
Celebration of Cinema and Television|Celebration of Cinema and Television | Ensemble Award – Film | The Color Purple | Won | [15] | |
2024 | Astra Film and Creative Awards | Best Cast Ensemble | Won | [16] | |
Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Breakthrough Performance | Nominated | [17] | ||
Outstanding Original Song | "Keep It Movin'" | Won | [18] | ||
Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | The Color Purple | Nominated | [19] | |
NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture | Won | [20] | ||
Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture | Won | ||||
Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Nominated | [21] |
The Color Purple is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker that won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.
The Color Purple is a 1985 American epic coming-of-age period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Menno Meyjes. It is based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker and was Spielberg's eighth film as a director, marking a turning point in his career as it was a departure from the summer blockbusters for which he had become known. It was also the first feature film directed by Spielberg for which John Williams did not compose the music, instead featuring a score by Quincy Jones, who also produced. The film stars Whoopi Goldberg in her breakthrough role, with Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery, and Adolph Caesar.
The Color Purple is a musical with music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray, and a book by Marsha Norman, based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker and its 1985 film adaptation. The musical follows the journey of Celie, an African American woman in the American South from the early to mid-20th century.
Danielle Brittany Brooks is an American actress. She is best known for her role as prison inmate Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson on the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). In 2015, she made her Broadway debut in the musical revival of The Color Purple as Sofia, for which she received a nomination for the Tony Award and won the Grammy Award. In 2023, Brooks reprised her role as Sofia in the film adaptation of The Color Purple and was nominated for an Academy Award, British Academy Film Award, and Golden Globe Award for her performance.
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Cynthia Erivo is an English actress and singer. She gained recognition for starring in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Erivo ventured into films in 2018, playing roles in the heist film Widows and the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. For her portrayal of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019), Erivo received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress; she also wrote and performed the song "Stand Up" on its soundtrack, which garnered her a nomination in the Best Original Song category.
Higher Ground Productions, also known simply as Higher Ground, is an American production company founded in 2018 by former United States President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
The Color Purple is a 2023 American musical period drama film directed by Blitz Bazawule. Marcus Gardley's screenplay is based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It is the second film adaptation of the novel, following the 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Spielberg and Quincy Jones. Spielberg and Jones return as producers for the 2023 film, along with its Broadway producers Scott Sanders and Oprah Winfrey, the latter of whom also starred in the 1985 film.
"Keep It Movin'" was released on November 11, 2023 through Gamma Records as the first promotional single from the soundtrack album of the 2023 film The Color Purple. The song is performed by the film actresses Halle Bailey and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as the younger versions of Nettie and Celie.
The Color Purple is the 2023 film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on Alice Walker's 1982 novel. Three soundtrack albums were released for the film.