# Dawn-Lyen Gardner

Dawn-Lyen Gardner is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Charley Bordelon West in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar.

## Early life

Gardner was born in Los Angeles, California. She is of mixed heritage, with an African-American father and a Chinese mother.
After graduating from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts in 1999, Gardner later moved to New York City and attended Juilliard School with actress Rutina Wesley, with whom she would later work with in the TV show Queen Sugar. Gardner graduated from Juilliard in 2003.

## Career

Gardner began acting on television at an early age, appearing in a recurring role on Viper and guest starring on ER. While attending Juilliard, she began acting on stage, appearing in such productions like For Colored Girls, The School of Night, and The Seagull. She also appeared in a number of regional productions. She had a number of guest-starring roles on television shows including Crossing Jordan, Bones, Heroes, and Castle. Gardner also worked as a voice actress, playing Steela Gerrera in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
In 2016, Gardner was cast as a lead character alongside Rutina Wesley in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar, created and produced by Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey. Gardner left the series after six seasons and made a cameo appearance in the final season in 2022. For her performance, Gardner received four Black Reel Awards nominations and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series nomination.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | The Sinbad Show | Donna | Episode: "Breaking the Pattern" |
| 1994 | Viper | Ronnie Wilkes | Recurring role, 4 episodes |
| 1994 | ER | Sandy Rochon | Episode: "Into That Good Night" |
| 2004 | Invisible Scream | Andi | Short film |
| 2004 | Married to the Kellys | Shannon | Episode: "The Other Sister" |
| 2004 | Crossing Jordan | Leever | Episode: "After Dark" |
| 2005 | Summerland | Tess | Episode: "Where There's a Will There's a Wave" |
| 2006 | Art School Confidential | Coed | |
| 2007 | Bones | Court Reporter | Episode: "The Man in the Mansion" |
| 2007 | Cane | Melissa | Episode: "The Exile" |
| 2009-2010 | Heroes | Elizabeth | Episodes: "Chapter Nine 'Brother's Keeper'" and "Chapter Thirteen 'Let It Bleed" |
| 2011 | Castle | Simone Jenkins | Episode: "Cops & Robbers" |
| 2012 | Prototype 2 | Collette Heller (voice) | Video game |
| 2012 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Steela Gerrera (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | The Mysteries of Laura | Samantha Williams | Episode: "The Mystery of the Watery Grave" |
| 2016 | Unforgettable | Erica Campbell | Episode: "Breathing Space" |
| 2016–2021, 2022 | Queen Sugar | Charley Bordelon West | Series regular, 78 episodes Nominated — Black Reel Award for Outstanding Actress, Drama Series (2017–2019, 2021) Nomination — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series (2022) |
| 2016 | Luke Cage | Megan McLaren | Recurring role, 4 episodes |
| 2017 | The Dunning Man | Alice | |
| 2018 | Conan Exiles | Jamila the Pirate Queen | |
| 2018 | God Friended Me | Katie | Episodes: "Pilot" and "The Good Samaritan" |