Ryan Destiny Irons (born January 8, 1995) [1] is an American actress, singer and songwriter. Destiny is best known for her roles in the Fox TV musical drama Star , and the Freeform sitcom Grown-ish .
Destiny was born in Detroit, Michigan. [2] Her father is a member of the 90s R&B group Guesss. [3] [4] [5] Destiny attended West Bloomfield High School. In January 2011, Destiny won a singing contest to attend the red carpet premiere of Justin Bieber's Never Say Never . [2] [6] Her maternal grandmother is of Irish ancestry, while the rest of her family is black.
In junior high school, the 12-year-old Destiny formed musical trio New Limit. Managed by her mother Dawn, the trio auditioned for America's Got Talent in 2010 and they made it to the finals until they decided it was not for them. By 2011, Destiny had signed with Universal Republic. [2] The group would later split, with Destiny and her manager holding auditions forming a new group called "Love Dollhouse" The trio signed to All Def/Capitol Records, a label partnership with Russell Simmons, Steve Rifkind and Brian Robbins. The group released their debut single "Can I." [3] [5] The group disbanded in 2015. [7]
In 2016, Destiny announced plans for a solo EP. [8] She released her first single "The Same" in 2018, with a remix featuring rapper Tobi Lou being released the following year. Her second single "Do You" was released in 2020. Her other songs are : “How Many“, released in 2022; “Lie Like That”, released in 2023 and “How Your Hands Feel”, released in 2024.
In 2010, Destiny appeared in an episode of the web series The Wannabes Starring Savvy. In 2011, she traveled to Los Angeles with her mother to start auditioning for projects. [2] In 2013, she appeared in several episodes of the Detroit-based crime drama, Low Winter Sun . [5] Destiny later appeared as the lead in the independent film A Girl Like Grace opposite Garcelle Beauvais, Meagan Good, and Raven-Symoné. The Ty Hodges produced film premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June 2015. [9]
Destiny initially booked the role of Tiana on Lee Daniels's hit musical drama Empire but due to her contract with All Def Music, she could not accept the role. [5] In December 2015, Destiny booked one of the lead roles as Alexandra in Daniels' series Star – opposite Queen Latifah. [10] The series premiered on Fox December 14, 2016 and ended after three seasons in 2019. [11] [12]
In November 2019 it was announced that Destiny was cast to play Claressa Shields in Flint Strong , a sports biopic written by Barry Jenkins and directed by Rachel Morrison. Originally, it was in development at Universal Pictures. [13] However, the film was put in a turnaround in October 2021. [14] It was then picked up by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in May 2022. [15]
Destiny currently has a recurring role on season 3 of Grown-ish as Jillian, a transfer student from Spelman College. [16] [17]
Destiny cites entertainers Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Prince and Aaliyah as her primary influences. [18] [19] Destiny has also expressed admiration for singers such as Lauryn Hill, Brandy, India Arie, and Beyoncé. [19]
Ryan Destiny was in a relationship with actor Keith Powers from 2017 till their split in 2022. [20] [21]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | A Girl Like Grace | Grace | Lead role |
2023 | Oracle | Shay | Lead role |
2024 | The Fire Inside | Claressa Shields | Lead role |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | The Wannabes-Starring Savvy | Customer | |
2013 | Low Winter Sun | April Geddes | Recurring role (6 episodes) |
2016–2019 | Star | Alexandra Crane | Lead role |
2020–2021 | Grown-ish | Jillian | Recurring role |
2021 | The Lower Bottoms | Rebecca Cooper | Main role |
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Breakout TV Star | Herself | Nominated |
2018 | Choice Drama TV Actress | Nominated | ||
2019 | Nominated | |||
2024 | Denver International Film Festival | Rising Star Award | The Fire Inside | Won |
Gotham Awards | Breakthrough Performer | Nominated | ||
Celebration of Cinema and Television | Rising Star Award – Film | Won | ||
Michigan Movie Critics Guild | MMC Award for Film Excellence | Won | ||
2025 | Indie Spirit Awards | Best Lead Performance | to be announced |
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Black-ish is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons with 176 episodes. Black-ish follows an upper class well-off black family headed by Andre "Dre" Johnson, a successful advertising executive, and his wife Rainbow "Bow", an anaesthesiologist. The show revolves around the wealthy Johnson family as they juggle personal, familial and sociopolitical issues, particularly in trying to reconcile their desire to stay true to their black identities with their choice to live in a wealthy, suburban white neighborhood.
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