Nicole Beharie Biography

Nicole Beharie (born January 3, 1985) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles in the drama film American Violet (2008), the drama Shame (2011), and the biographical sports drama 42 (2013). From September 2013 to April 2016, she starred in the Fox fantasy series Sleepy Hollow.

Early life and education

Beharie was born in West Palm Beach, Florida. She attended Orangeburg Wilkinson High School in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and is a 2003 graduate of the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts & Humanities, a public residential high school in Greenville. Beharie was then accepted into Juilliard School, a performing arts conservatory (Drama division Group 36: 2003-07). She was awarded a Shakespeare scholarship and trained in England.

Career

Beharie made her feature film debut in the 2008 film American Violet, where she played the leading role. Also in the same year she played Sarah Ward in the American sports film The Express opposite actor Rob Brown. In the Lifetime movie, Sins of the Mother (2010), Beharie portrayed Shay Hunter, a struggling university student who goes on a journey to mend her fractured relationship with her mother Nona played by Jill Scott.

In 2011, Beharie performed five original songs as a singer-songwriter opposite German actor Ken Duken in the romantic comedy My Last Day Without You. In the Russell Leigh Sharman film adaptation of his play Apartment 4E, she played Piper, a troubled young woman who never leaves her apartment. Beharie played Marianne in the Steve McQueen film Shame, about a 30-something sex addict played by Michael Fassbender, his myriad of sexual escapades, and what happens when his wayward younger sister moves in with him. Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe praised her performance, calling her "a marvel of natural transparency".

In 2013, Beharie starred as Rachel Robinson, wife of Jackie Robinson (played by Chadwick Boseman), in the historical baseball feature 42. The same year, she began portraying Abbie Mills on the Fox fantasy series Sleepy Hollow, which is based on the 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving. In Spring 2016, Beharie departed the series after three seasons, with her character dying in the series' third season finale, the episode entitled "Ragnarok", which was aired on April 8, 2016.

Filmography

Film

2016	The Accountant	Lady	Notes
2008	American Violet	Dee Roberts
2008	The Express	Sarah Ward
2011	My Last Day Without You	Leticia Johnson
2011	Shame	Marianne
2012	Apartment 4E	Piper
2012	The Last Fall	Faith Davis
2012	The Mirror Between Us	Zora	Short film
2012	Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day	Beth Hutchins
2013	42	Rachel Robinson
2017	Jacob's Ladder	TBA	In post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Three Rivers	Helen Reed	Episode: "Win-loss"
2010	Sins of the Mother	Shay	Movie
2011	The Good Wife	Imani Stonehouse	2 episodes
2012	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Tracy Harrison	Episode: "Child's Welfare"
2013-16	Sleepy Hollow	Abbie Mills	Main role (49 episodes)
2015	Bones	Abbie Mills	Episode: "The Resurrection in the Remains"

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue
2010-11	A Free Man of Color	Margery Jolicoeur	Vivian Beaumont Theatre (Broadway)

Soundtrack appearances

Year	Album	Songs
2013	My Last Day Without You	"Two Hands", "Catch Me", "Morning Light", "Scars", "My Last Day Without You"

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
2009	African-American Film Critics	Best Actress	American Violet
2010	Black Reel Awards	Best Actress
		Best Breakthrough Performance
		Best Ensemble
2012		Best Song	My Last Day Without You
2014	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series	Sleepy Hollow
2015		Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Favorite Actress on Television