Danai Gurira

Danai Gurira Biography

Danai Jekesai Gurira (born February 14, 1978) is a Zimbabwean-American actress and playwright. She is best known for her role as Michonne on the AMC drama series The Walking Dead.

Early life

Gurira was born in Grinnell, Iowa, to parents from Zimbabwe. She has an older brother who is a chiropractor and two sisters, while her mother is a university librarian and her father was a chemistry teacher. She graduated from Grinnell High School and went onto Macalester College. She earned her MFA at the New York University.

Career

In 2006, Gurira won an Obie Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for writing, and a Helen Hayes Award for Best Lead Actress for off-Broadway play In the Continuum. She starred in the 2007 film The Visitor, for which she won Method Fest Film Festival for Best Supporting Actress. She appeared in Ghost Town, 3 Backyards, My Soul to Take, and Restless City. She has guest starred in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Life on Mars, and Law & Order.

In 2009, Gurira debuted on Broadway in August Wilson's play Joe Turner's Come and Gone. From 2010 to 2011, she appeared in the HBO drama series Treme. Gurira's play, In the Continuum, commemorated World AIDS Day in December 2011.

In March 2012, it was announced that she would join the cast of AMC's drama series The Walking Dead in the third season as Michonne. The same year, she received the Whiting Writers' Award.

Gurira played a lead role in the independent drama film Mother of George, which premiered at 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Gurira received critical acclaim for her performance in the movie.

In June 2013, Gurira won the Jean-Claude Gahd Dam award at the 2013 Guys Choice Awards.

Personal life

Gurira is a Christian. In 2008, she appeared at the Global Green Sustainable Design Awards to read a letter written by a New Orleans native displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Gurira co-founded Almasi in 2011, an organization dedicated to continuing arts education in Zimbabwe.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	The Visitor	Zainab	Method Fest Film Festival for Best Supporting Actress Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast Nominated Gotham Awards for Best Ensemble Cast
2008	Ghost Town	Assorted ghost
2010	3 Backyards	Woman in Blue Dress
2010	My Soul to Take	Jeanne-Baptiste
2011	Restless City	Sisi
2013	Mother of George	Adenike Olumide Balogen	Closing Night selection of Maryland Film Festival 2013
2013	Lives of the Saints	Angela	In-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Marei Rosa Rumbidzai	1 episode
2009	Life on Mars	Angela	1 episode
2009	Law & Order	Courtney Owens	1 episode
2010	American Experience	Sarah Steward	1 episode
2010	Lie to Me	Michelle Russo	1 episode
2010"2011	Treme	Jill	6 episodes
2012"present	The Walking Dead	Michonne	Season 3-present (series regular) Satellite Award for Best Cast " Television Series (2012)

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	In the Continuum	Unknown	Writer Obie Award Outer Critics Circle Award Helen Hayes Award John Gassner Award
2009	Joe Turner's Come and Gone	Martha Pentecost
2011	Measure for Measure	Isabella
2012	The Convert	Unknown	Writer Nominated Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Writing

This webpage uses material from the Wikipedia article "Danai_Gurira" and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Reality TV World is not responsible for any errors or omissions the Wikipedia article may contain.

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