# Nicki Micheaux

Nicole "Nicki" Micheaux is an American actress, known for her role as Jennifer 'Jenn' Sutton in the ABC Family drama series Lincoln Heights (2007–2009), for which she received two NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series nominations.

## Early life

Micheaux was born in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of a United States Army officer. She attended the University of Colorado Boulder where she enrolled in an acting class because she thought it would be easy. She found that, when acting, her endorphins would be "through the roof" and it would take her days to come down. Although CU Boulder did not stage many "black plays," she benefited from race-blind casting and, for example, was cast as a co-lead in Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.

## Career

Micheaux began her career appearing in supporting film roles and playing guest-starring parts on television shows include ER, Any Day Now and City of Angels. From 2001 to 2002, she had the recurring role on the Showtime drama series Soul Food. She later had the recurring roles on HBO drama Six Feet Under as Karla Charles and FX crime drama The Shield as Trish George. In film, Micheaux has appeared in Sweet Jane, Ringmaster (1998), The Trials of Cate McCall (2013) and The Pact 2 (2014). She also co-starred opposite Halle Berry in the 2005 television film Their Eyes Were Watching God.
From 2007 to 2009, Micheaux played Jennifer 'Jenn' Sutton in the ABC Family drama series Lincoln Heights. She received two NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series nominations for her role on series. She also guest-starred on Brothers & Sisters, Castle and The Mentalist. In 2016, Micheaux was cast in a recurring role in the TNT drama series Animal Kingdom playing detective Sandra Yates. She later had a recurring role in Colony, S.W.A.T., Good Trouble, Shameless and In the Dark. She played the leading role in the 2017 comedy-thriller film, Lowlife receiving positive reviews from critics.
In 2023, Micheaux directed and wrote the period drama film Summer Of Violence.

## Personal life

Micheaux was married and has two children. Micheaux has opted to keep her husband's identity private, saying "my husband is a comic book creator and makes superheroes, so he could never reveal his secret identity."

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | The Cold Equations | Ground Controller | TV movie |
| 1997 | Murder Live! | Young Woman | TV movie |
| 1998 | The Replacement Killers | Nicole, Police Technician | |
| 1998 | The Prophecy II | Detective Kreibel | Video |
| 1998 | Sweet Jane | Martielle | |
| 1998 | My Giant | P.A. Jeannie | |
| 1998 | Where's Marlowe? | Caroline | |
| 1998 | Ringmaster | Leshawnette | |
| 2000 | The Audition | Janet | Short |
| 2002 | The Trial | Mrs. Howard | |
| 2003 | With or Without You | Rochelle | |
| 2004 | With It | Cathy LaRocca | Short |
| 2004 | The Ranch | Velvet | TV movie |
| 2005 | Their Eyes Were Watching God | Phoebe Watson | TV movie |
| 2006 | God's Waiting List | Teresa Corbin | |
| 2008 | Rain | Glory | |
| 2010 | Veil | Bianca Veil | Short |
| 2011 | Narcocorrido | Naija | Short |
| 2013 | The Trials of Cate McCall | Administrator | |
| 2014 | The Pact 2 | Lieutenant Eileen Carver | |
| 2016 | Forgiveness | Helena Burroughs | Short |
| 2017 | Manic | Sierra | Short |
| 2017 | Lowlife | Crystal | |
| 2021 | Lazarus | Nina Jacobs | |
| 2024 | Summer of Violence | — | Completed; director writer and executive producer only |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | ER | Mrs. Williamns | Episode: "Ambush" |
| 1998 | The Practice | Security Guard Patricia Olah | Episode: "Swearing In" |
| 1998 | NYPD Blue | Marva | Episode: "Seminal Thinking" |
| 1999 | Pacific Blue | Helen Patois | Episode: "Gaslight" |
| 1999 | Any Day Now | - | Episode: "A Parent's Job" |
| 2000 | City of Angels | Verlynne | Episode: "Prototype" & "Weenis Between Us" |
| 2000 | The Others | Doctor | Episode: "Mora" |
| 2000 | Strong Medicine | Lori | Episode: "Performance Anxiety" |
| 2000 | Felicity | Al-Anon Leader | Recurring Cast: Season 3 |
| 2001 | Philly | Shayna | Episode: "Pilot" & "Porn Again" |
| 2001–02 | Soul Food | Lila | Guest: Season 1, Recurring Cast: Season 2 |
| 2002 | The Agency | Dr. Kendis Hunt | Episode: "The Enemy Within" |
| 2002 | The District | Irene Baxter | Episode: "Wasteland" |
| 2002 | First Monday | Charmaine | Episode: "Court Date" |
| 2002 | Six Feet Under | Karla | Recurring Cast: Season 2 |
| 2002 | The West Wing | Muriel | Episode: "We Killed Yamamoto" |
| 2003 | Presidio Med | - | Episode: "Breathless" |
| 2003 | Dragnet | Emma Guzman | Episode: "The Silver Slayer" & "Well Endowed" |
| 2003 | Robbery Homicide Division | Patrice | Episode: "Hellbound Train" |
| 2003 | NYPD Blue | Andrea Miner | Episode: "Shear Stupidity" |
| 2003 | JAG | Deputy Sheriff Linda Foyo | Episode: "Posse Comitatus" |
| 2004 | The Shield | Trish George | Recurring Cast: Season 3 |
| 2005 | Desperate Housewives | Detective Schroeder | Episode: "They Asked Me Why I Believe in You" |
| 2006 | In Justice | Mara Wainwright | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2006 | Brothers & Sisters | Michele Yearwood | Episode: "Date Night" |
| 2007 | Women's Murder Club | Nadia Delashummt | Episode: "No Opportunity Necessary" |
| 2007–09 | Lincoln Heights | Jennifer "Jenn" Sutton | Main Cast |
| 2009 | Castle | Michelle | Episode: "Always Buy Retail" |
| 2010 | Detroit 1-8-7 | Brooke Jackson | Episode: "Royal Bubbles/Needle Drop" |
| 2011 | Law & Order: LA | Vanessa Hayes | Episode: "El Sereno" |
| 2011 | The Mentalist | Detective Miller | Episode: "Scarlet Ribbons" |
| 2011 | Prime Suspect | Ms. Castillo | Episode: "Carnivorous Sheep" |
| 2012 | Perception | Ellen | Episode: "Nemesis" |
| 2014 | Real Husbands of Hollywood | Twinkie | Episode: "Black Is the Same Old Black" |
| 2015 | Battle Creek | Marina | Episode: "Sympathy for the Devil" |
| 2016 | Animal Kingdom | Detective Sandra Yates | Recurring Cast: Season 1 |
| 2017 | Veep | Nyaring Ayun | Episode: "Qatar" |
| 2017 | NCIS | Detective Naeher | Episode: "Double Down" |
| 2018 | Colony | Michelle | Recurring Cast: Season 3 |
| 2018–19 | S.W.A.T. | Leah Jankins | Guest: Season 1, Recurring Cast: Season 2 |
| 2019 | Chicago P.D. | Alicia Price | Episode: "Pain Killer" & "What Could Have Been" |
| 2019 | Good Trouble | Sandra Thompson | Recurring Cast: Season 1-2 |
| 2019 | Shameless | Michelle "Shelly" Demeter | Recurring Cast: Season 10 |
| 2019–20 | In the Dark | Nia Bailey | Recurring Cast: Season 1-2 |
| 2021 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Special Agent Effie Carlson | Recurring Cast: Season 12 |
| 2021 | BET Her Presents: The Couch | Miranda | Episode: "Through Her Eyes" |
| 2022 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Cora Green | Episode: "Tangled Strands of Justice" |

### Video Game

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2023 | Forspoken | Maya Bird (voice) |

## Award nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2006 | Black Reel Awards | Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Limited Series | Their Eyes Were Watching God | Nominated |
| 2008 | NAACP Image Awards | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series | Lincoln Heights | Nominated |
| 2009 | NAACP Image Awards | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series | Lincoln Heights | Nominated |
| 2018 | FrightFest | FrightFest Jury Award for Best Actress | Lowlife | Nominated |