Samira Wiley Biography

Samira Denise Wiley (born April 15, 1987) is an American actress and model best known for playing Poussey Washington in the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black.

Early life

Wiley was born in Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of Burgundy Farm Country Day School and Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Her parents, Christine and Dennis W. Wiley, are the co-pastors of Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ. Wiley's parents have been referred to as "pillars of the LGBT religious community," as the Covenant Baptist Church was the only Baptist church in Washington D.C. performing same-sex unions in 2007. She has two siblings: Aiyana Maat and Joshua Wiley.

Career

Theater

Wiley studied drama at the Juilliard School in New York, and graduated in 2010. She trained in theater performance and worked mainly in theater in her early career. In 2011, she played Maria in a production of Love's Labour's Lost by The Public Theater.

Television

When the Netflix television series Orange Is the New Black—based on Piper Kerman's memoir of the same name about her experiences of being incarcerated in a women's prison—came into development, Wiley was told about the auditions by a friend from Juilliard, Marco Ramirez, who was a writer for the show. After discovering that another Juilliard friend, Danielle Brooks, had won a role in the show, Wiley asked Brooks to rehearse lines with her to prepare for her audition for the role of Poussey Washington, the on-screen best friend of Brooks' character. Wiley's audition was ultimately successful; she appeared in all twelve episodes of the series' first season and was featured prominently throughout the second season. The darker and more violent plot of the second season allowed for the growth of Wiley's character, whose evolved story lines lead to Wiley's prolonged screen exposure and ultimate development as a "fan-favorite." She was promoted to series regular for the third season. The fourth season revolves heavily around her character leading up to her character's death. Fans were outraged at the death of her character which ultimately drew a larger fan base to the series. Her girlfriend Lauren Morelli is a writer on the show. She was the person assigned to write the last episode Wiley would appear in.

Wiley appeared in an advertisement for the digital monetary service PayPal in 2014.

Film

Wiley's first major acting role was in the comedy film The Sitter (2011). In between seasons of Orange Is the New Black, Wiley filmed Rob the Mob, an independent crime film directed by Raymond De Felitta and released in March 2014.

Modeling

Wiley has modeled for Maniac Magazine, appearing on the cover and in an editorial of the 2014 September/October issue. She was pictured modeling "a series of bold, chic, high fashion looks." Wiley was also featured on the cover of 2014 edition of OUT Magazine along with Sam Smith, Ellen Page, and Zachary Quinto.

Voice Work

In December 2015, it was announced Wiley had been cast to voice the titular character in the video game The Walking Dead: Michonne. The game was released by Telltale Games in February 2016.

Awards

In 2014, Wiley was named OUT100 Magazine's Ingenue of the Year. In February 2015, she was awarded the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award. According to the Human Rights Campaign's website, Wiley was always accepted and embraced by her parents, regardless of her sexuality, and to this she attributes her success.

In part, Samira Wiley won the 2015 Screen Actor's Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, along with numerous members of the cast of Netflix's Original Series Orange Is The New Black.

Personal life

Wiley is openly lesbian.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	The Sitter	Tina
2012	Being Flynn	Asha
2014	Rob the Mob	Agent Annie Bell
2016	Nerve	Azhar

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Unforgettable	Gina	2 episodes
2012	Person of Interest	Triage Nurse	Episode: "Many Happy Returns"
2013-2016	Orange Is the New Black	Poussey Washington	50 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
2015	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Michelle	Episode: "Perverted Justice"
2016	The Catch	Captain Nia Brooks	Episode: "The Benefactor"
2016	You're the Worst	Justina
2017	The Handmaid's Tale	Moira

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	The Walking Dead: Michonne	Michonne	Miniseries