Da'Vine Joy Randolph

Da'Vine Joy Randolph (born May 21, 1986) is an American actress and singer. She first gained recognition as Oda Mae Brown in the Broadway production of Ghost: The Musical (2012) for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.
Randolph's early films include The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014) and Office Christmas Party (2016) before gaining prominence for her roles in Dolemite Is My Name (2019), and The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2020). She is known for her television roles in Selfie (2014), People of Earth (2016–17), Empire (2017–18), High Fidelity (2020), Only Murders in the Building (2021–present), and The Idol (2023).
Early life
Randolph grew up in Philadelphia and Hershey, Pennsylvania. She went to Temple University to focus on vocal performance, but in her junior year she decided to switch concentrations to musical theatre. After graduating from Temple she went to the Yale School of Drama. She graduated from Yale in 2011 with her master's degree. As a youth she attended Interlochen Arts Camp, studying theatre.
Career
Randolph auditioned for an understudy role in the Broadway transfer of Ghost: the Musical (which was playing in London's West End), but the producers decided to cast her in the principal role of Oda Mae Brown. Before the casting of the Broadway transfer was announced Sharon D. Clarke, who played Oda Mae in the London run of Ghost the Musical, suffered a minor knee injury. Randolph was quickly flown to London to cover the role in Clarke's absence. Her debut performance took place on Friday December 16, 2011, and she continued to share the role with understudy Lisa Davina Phillip until early January 2012, when Clarke returned.
After a preview period that began in March 2012, the Broadway production opened Monday April 23, 2012, with Randolph playing opposite Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy in the leading roles. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. In 2013 she acted in her feature film debut in a supporting role, in Mother of George directed by Andrew Dosunmu. The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews. The following year she played a nurse in the comedy-drama The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014) starring Robin Williams. Randolph rose to prominence acting in one of the main roles as Charmonique Whitaker in ABC's sitcom Selfie, which premiered on September 30, 2014. The show starred Karen Gillan and John Cho. It received mixed reviews and was cancelled after one season but has a cult fan base.
From 2015 to 2017 Randolph did voiceover for the role of Christine in the Netflix original series The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show. She also had guest roles on The Good Wife (2013), See Dad Run (2014), Life in Pieces (2015), and Veep (2017). She had a recurring role as Tanya on the NBC drama series This is Us (2016). That same year she had a part in the comedy ensemble film Office Christmas Party (2016). She starred as one of the main roles as Yvonne Watson, a postal worker in the TBS sitcom People of Earth from 2016 to 2017. She had recurring roles in the Fox drama series Empire from 2017 to 2018 and in the Showtime dark comedy series On Becoming a God in Central Florida in 2019.
She had her breakout role as Lady Reed in the Netflix comedy film Dolemite Is My Name (2019) starring Eddie Murphy. For her performance she received nominations for the African-American Film Critics Association, Black Reel Awards, and NAACP Image Awards for Best Supporting Actress. The following year she acted in the crime drama film Kajillionaire (2020) and was a main cast member in the Hulu series High Fidelity (2020) with Zöe Kravitz. During this time she also took voice roles as Ranger Woolf in Madagascar: A Little Wild from 2020 to 2022, Tamarind Toucan in Tuca & Bertie (2021), Detective Gail Johnson in Ultra City Smiths (2021), Tina in Chicago Party Aunt from 2021 to 2022, and various roles in Birdgirl (2022 to present). She also voice roles in the animated films Trolls World Tour (2020), and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).
She took roles in the drama film The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021), the action comedy The Lost City (2022). In 2021 she took a main role in the TBS sitcom The Last O.G. (2021). Since 2021 she has taken a recurring role as Detective Williams in the Hulu comedy series Only Murders in the Building starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. She played a manager to a pop star in the controversial HBO series The Idol (2023). The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. She earned praise for the role with Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood writing, "Randolph is simply wonderful, saying more with a look than any words could ever do. She is enormously touching and earns our tears along the way." In 2023 she played gospel singer Mahalia Jackson in the political drama film Rustin starring Colman Domingo, and starred in Alexander Payne's coming-of-age film The Holdovers (2023) opposite Paul Giamatti.
Filmography
Film
Television
Theatre
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Living people
American film actresses
American television actresses
American voice actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American stage actresses
Temple University alumni
David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni
1986 births
African-American actresses
American women singers
Actresses from Pennsylvania
People from Hershey, Pennsylvania
20th-century African-American women singers
21st-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
Singers from Pennsylvania