Danielle Brooks - wikipedia Danielle Brooks Danielle Brooks Brooks at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards ( 1989 - 09 - 17 ) September 17, 1989 ( age 28 ) Augusta, Georgia, U.S. Alma mater Juilliard School Occupation Actress, singer Years active 2011 -- present Danielle Brooks ( born September 17, 1989 ) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Tasha `` Taystee '' Jefferson on the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black, and for her Tony Award - nominated portrayal of Sofia in the 2015 Broadway production of The Color Purple. Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Filmography 3.1 Films 3.2 Television 4 Awards and nominations 5 References 6 External links Early life and education Brooks was born in Augusta, Georgia, and grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, in a Christian family ; her father was a deacon, and her mother, a minister. She began acting at the age of six in a nativity play put on by her church. For her final two years of high school, she attended South Carolina Governor 's School for the Arts & Humanities, a selective arts high school. She studied drama at the Juilliard School and graduated in 2011. Career After graduating from Juilliard, Brooks won roles in two theater productions : the Shakespeare Theatre Company 's Servant of Two Masters, and Blacken the Bubble. She left both productions in 2013 to join the cast of the Netflix - produced television series Orange Is the New Black, a show about a women 's prison based on Piper Kerman 's memoir of the same name, as Tasha `` Taystee '' Jefferson. Her character Taystee was originally intended to be featured in the show for only two episodes, but ended up being written into the rest of the first season and then into the seasons that followed. Taystee 's on - screen best friend Poussey is played by Samira Wiley, with whom Brooks has been friends since they met while studying together at Juilliard. Brooks ' performance in Orange Is the New Black has been praised by critics, with one writer from The Daily Beast calling her `` the breakout actress of the show and one of the most refreshing and exciting new talents of 2013. '' Brooks was upgraded from a recurring cast member to a series regular for the show 's second season. In September 2013, Brooks was cast in a Season 3 episode of the HBO series Girls, where she played the first black woman on the show. On May 27, 2015, the media announced that Brooks would make her Broadway debut in the upcoming fall 2015 revival of The Color Purple as Sofia. The musical opened on December 10 at the Bernard B. Jacobs, to critical acclaim. Brooks received praise for her performance, and received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Filmography Films Year Title Role Notes 2015 I Dream Too Much Abbey 2016 The Angry Birds Movie Olive Blue / Monica the Crossing Guard ( voice ) Television Year Title Role Notes 2012 Modern Love Raimy TV movie 2013 Black Girls Rock ! 2013 Herself TV movie 2013 -- present Orange Is the New Black Tasha `` Taystee '' Jefferson Main Cast 2014 Girls Laura Episode : `` Females Only '' 2015 -- 2017 Master of None Shannon 3 episodes 2016 Lasso & Comet Comet ( voice ) Pilot 2017 Tangled : The Series Ruthless Ruth ( voice ) Episode : `` The Wrath of Ruthless Ruth '' 2018 Project Runway All Stars 5 Herself Episode : `` Damsels in Distress '' 2018 High Maintenance Brooklyn Real Estate Agent Season 2 Episode : `` Namaste '' 2018 Elena of Avalor Charice ( voice ) Season 2 Episode : `` A Lava Story '' Awards and nominations Year Association Nominated work Result 2013 Young Hollywood Award Breakthrough Actress Orange is the New Black Won Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Won 2015 Won 2016 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Color Purple Nominated Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Nominated Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Nominated Theatre World Award Honoree Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Orange is the New Black Won 2017 Grammy Award Best Musical Theater Album The Color Purple Won References Jump up ^ How I became an actress and advocate : Danielle Brooks Retrieved 2018 - 06 - 21. ^ Jump up to : Fallon, Kevin ( December 11, 2013 ). `` Danielle Brooks, Taystee on ' Orange Is the New Black, ' Is the Breakout Star of the Year ''. The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 25, 2014. Jump up ^ Soloski, Alexis ( July 10, 2013 ). `` Quick Route From Juilliard to Jail ''. The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Abdulhamid, Yassmeen ( September 2013 ). `` Fame Is the New Reality for ' Orange ' Actress ''. The Juilliard School. Retrieved April 25, 2014. Jump up ^ Andrews, Helena ( September 9, 2013 ). `` Danielle Brooks on Being ' Tasytee ' and Staying Grounded ''. Ebony. Retrieved April 25, 2014. Jump up ^ Henderson, Samantha ( August 29, 2013 ). `` Danielle Brooks of ' Orange Is The New Black ' : ' We Were n't Going To Sugarcoat Things ' ''. Out. Retrieved April 25, 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Danielle Brooks Will Be ' The First Black Woman ' On ' Girls ' ''. The Huffington Post. September 15, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2014. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Danielle Brooks. Danielle Brooks on IMDb Danielle Brooks at the Internet Broadway Database Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series ( 2010 -- 2019 ) Modern Family, season 1 / season 2 ( 2010 ) : Bowen, Burrell, Ferguson, Gould, Hyland, O'Neill, Rodriguez, Stonestreet, Vergara, Winter Modern Family, season 2 / season 3 ( 2011 ) : Anderson - Emmons, Bowen, Burrell, Ferguson, Gould, Hyland, O'Neill, Rodriguez, Stonestreet, Vergara, Winter Modern Family, season 3 / season 4 ( 2012 ) : Anderson - Emmons, Bowen, Burrell, Ferguson, Gould, Hyland, O'Neill, Rodriguez, Stonestreet, Vergara, Winter Modern Family, season 4 / season 5 ( 2013 ) : Anderson - Emmons, Bowen, Burrell, Ferguson, Gould, Hyland, O'Neill, Rodriguez, Stonestreet, Vergara, Winter Orange Is the New Black, season 2 ( 2014 ) : Aduba, Biggs, Brooks, Cox, Cruz, Curtin, DeLaria, Fowler, Freeman, Gardner, Glenn, Golden, Guerrero, Harney, Jeudy, Lake, Lapkus, Leyva, Lyonne, Manning, Marsh Garland, McGorry, Moore, Mulgrew, Myles, Pimentel, Polanco, Reiner, Roberts, Rodriguez, Rosenblat, Sandow, Savage, Schilling, Shulman, Soules, Stone, Toussaint, Tucci, Wiley Orange Is the New Black, season 3 ( 2015 ) : Aduba, Birbiglia, Blake, Brooks, Cox, Cruz, Curtin, DeLaria, Fowler, Glenn, Golden, Guerrero, Harney, Jeudy, Leyva, Manning, Marsh Garland, Moore, Mulgrew, Myles, Peters, Petty, Pimentel, Polanco, Prepon, Rodriguez, Rose, Sandow, Savage, Schilling, Shulman, Soules, Stone, Wiley Orange Is the New Black, season 4 ( 2016 ) : Aduba, Aisenberg, Brooks, Brown, Cruz, DeLaria, Dover, Glenn, Golden, Gómez, Guerrero, Harney, Henke, Jeudy, Lake, Leyva, Lyonne, Manning, McMenamin, Moore, Mulgrew, Myles, Peters, Petty, Pimentel, Polanco, Prepon, Purdy, Rodriguez, Sandow, Savage, Schilling, Shulman, Soules, Stone, Tucci, Wiley Veep, season 6 ( 2017 ) : Bakkedahl, Chlumsky, Cole, Colin, Dunn, DuVall, Franklin, Hale, Louis - Dreyfus, Richardson, Scheer, Scott, Simons, Sutherland, Walsh Complete list ( 1994 -- 1999 ) ( 2000 -- 2009 ) ( 2010 -- 2019 ) ISNI : 0000 0004 6417 0455 LCCN : no2014106690 VIAF : 310622766 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Danielle_Brooks&oldid=854606529 '' Categories : Living people 1989 births 21st - century American actresses African - American actresses African - American Christians Actresses from Augusta, Georgia Actors from Greenville, South Carolina Actresses from Georgia ( U.S. state ) Actresses from South Carolina American musical theatre actresses American television actresses Grammy Award winners Juilliard School alumni People from Simpsonville, South Carolina Hidden categories : Infobox person using alma mater Articles with hCards All articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases Articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases from July 2017 Articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases from July 2018 Articles with IBDb links Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Čeština Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano Português Русский Suomi Svenska 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 12 August 2018, at 15 : 19 ( UTC ). 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Question: who plays taystee on orange is the new black
Answer: Danielle Brooks