Tyla Abercrumbie

Last updated

Tyla Abercrumbie
Born
Austin, Chicago
Occupation
  • Actress
Years active1998–present

Tyla Abercrumbie is an American actress, director and playwright. She is best known for playing Nina Williams in the drama series The Chi and Officer Mary Jo Sullivan in the crime series NCIS: Origins .

Contents

Early life

Abercrumbie was born in Austin, Chicago. She described growing in Austin as joyful despite the city lacking resources and residents struggled. [1] Her older sister encouraged her to express herself through the arts such as writing poetry, [1] encouraging her to read books and then write about them or act them out. [2] She holds a B.A. from Columbia College Chicago. [3]

Career

Early in her career Abercrumbie took roles in Chicago’s local theater circuit before working in theater and television nationally. [1] Her first big role came playing Nina Johnson in the drama series The Chi . [2] [4] She made guest appearances in the police drama series Detroit 1-8-7 and the crime drama series The Chicago Code . [5] She also had a main role in the crime series NCIS: Origins playing Officer Mary Jo Sullivan. [6]

Abercrumbie has participated in theatre productions throughout her career as not only an actress but also a director and playwright. She joined the TimeLine Theatre Playwrights Collective, which nutured her when writing and developing her play Relentless, which debuted at the Goodman Theater in 2022. It was originally planned to open in 2020 but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. [2] Set in 1919, it is inspired by people she knew in her Austin community. [1] In 2021, she received a $25,000 grant from Chicago's Raven Theatre to produce a new work. [7]

Asylum (aka Life) is a one woman show written by and starring Abercrombie early in her career (2003) which portrays the conflicting pressures that a modern woman experiences. [8]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1998Fitting DescriptionsBridge WomanShort
1998 Placebo Effect Suit
1999 Time Served Brenda's Cellmate
2008The PorterWomanShort
2008 The Poker House Janette
2008(Mis)Leading ManDanielle HollandShort
2015 Unexpected Ms. Bryant
2017My Prom MomTiffanyShort
2018AnimatorRoz
2020 Dreaming Grand Avenue Carol
2023 We Grown Now Christine

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2000 Bette CarolEpisode; Two Days at a Time
2004 The Tracy Morgan Show Ms.BusbyEpisode; Super Boy
2009 The Beast Agent Sarah BrennerEpisode; Bitsy Big-Boy
2011 Detroit 1-8-7 Jeanelle StiltonEpisode; Road to Nowhere
2011 The Chicago Code Sara Galivaris2 episodes
2012-2013 The Mob Doctor Transplant Coordinator2 episodes
2013 Low Winter Sun Regina Cook2 episodes
2016 The Girlfriend Experience EstheticianEpisode; Seperation
2016 Empire NurseEpisode; Light in Darkness
2016 Easy ShelbyEpisode; The F**King Study
2017 Shrink Julia6 episodes
2018 Chicago Med Luke's MotherEpisode; Born This Way
2019 Proven Innocent Tamara FolsomEpisode; The Burden of Truth
2020 Utopia PattyEpisode; Tuesday's Child
2021 The Big Leap Debra SadlerEpisode; Revenge Plot
2022 Somebody Somewhere KimEpisode; Knick-Knacks and Doodads
2022 South Side Ms. LangfordEpisode; College
2023 Chicago P.D. Marlene BagleyEpisode; Trapped
2018-2024 The Chi Nina Williams49 episodes
2024-Present NCIS: Origins Mary JoMain Role

Theater

YearTitleTheatre roleNotesRef
2003Asylum (aka Life)Writer and star of one-woman showPenn Theater (Pittsburgh) [8]
2006 Intimate Apparel Actress (Mayme) Milwaukee Repertory Theater [9]
2007, 2009 The Piano Lesson Actress (Berniece) Portland Stage Company, Court Theatre [10] [11]
2015Good PeopleActress (Kate) Asolo Repertory Theatre [12]
2017Paradise BlueActress (Silver) TimeLine Theatre Company [13]
2017 East Texas Hot Links Actress (Charlesetta) Writers Theatre [14]
2021The Last Pair of EarliesDirectorRaven Theatre (Chicago) [15]
2022RelentlessPlaywright TimeLine Theatre Company (premiere), Goodman Theater [16] [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Callender, Samantha (May 6, 2022). "Austin native's new play inspired by her hometown". austinweekly.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Greene, Janaya (November 24, 2021). "Tyla Abercrumbie is about more than The Chi". chicagoreader.com. Chicago Reader . Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Tyla Abercrumbie". geffenplayhouse.org. Geffen Playhouse . Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  4. ↑ "The Chi's Tyla Abercrumbie joins NCIS: Origins Prequel Series". blackfilmandtv.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Singles 2011: Tyla Abercrumbie". chicagomag.com. Chicago Reader. June 14, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  6. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (March 26, 2024). "'NCIS: Origins' Prequel Adds Tyla Abercrumbie & Diany Rodriguez To Cast". deadline.com. Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  7. ↑ George, Doug (February 8, 2021). "Tyla Abercrumbie leads off new play initiative for Raven Theatre". Chicago Tribune – via newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 Karlin, Katherine (May 10, 2003). "'Asylum' actress shows she has lock on pressures modern women feel". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – via newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ McHale, Julie (March 2, 2006). "STAGE | An intimate look inside great characters". The Oconomowoc Enterprise. Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. p. E1 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Keyes, Bob (September 23, 2007). "Lessons learned". Portland Press Herald . p. E1 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Jones, Chris (May 18, 2009). "Parson brings out the ghost story in 'The Piano Lesson'". Chicago Tribune – via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Handelman, Jay (September 6, 2015). "And the winners are..." Sarasota Herald-Tribune . pp.  E1, E2 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Greene, Kevin (May 5, 2017). "Trouble in Paradise: A Review of Paradise Blue at TimeLine Theatre Company" . Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  14. ↑ Johnson, Lawrence B. (January 11, 2017). "Role Playing: Tyla Abercrumbie was set to run little 'Hot Links' café, but why was she there?". chicagoontheaisle.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Raven Theatre Welcomes Back Live Audiences with The Last Pair of Earlies". www.theatreinchicago.com. July 26, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  16. ↑ Weiss, Hedy (January 31, 2022). "Tyla Abercrumbie's 'Relentless' Digs Deep Into Rarely Explored Aspects of a Black Family's History". news.wttw.com. WTTW . Retrieved January 12, 2026.
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