Grace Byers | |
---|---|
Born | Grace Gealey
Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Education |
University of South Florida (
BA) University of California, Irvine ( MFA) |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2012–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Grace Byers (née Gealey) is an American actress. She starred as Anika Calhoun in the Fox music-industry drama series, Empire from 2015 to 2018. In 2021, she began starring as Quinn Joseph in the Amazon Prime Video comedy series, Harlem. In 2022, Byers played a leading role in the comedy horror film, The Blackening.
Grace was born in Butler, Pennsylvania to Caymanian parents and raised in the Cayman Islands from about age 2. [1] [2] Her parents are deaf, so she communicates with them using sign language. [3] After moving to the United States at age 18, [1] she received her bachelor's degree in Theater Arts at the University of South Florida in Tampa. [2] Grace later attended the University of California, Irvine, where she received her Master’s of Fine Arts in acting. [2]
Byers then moved to New York City, where she performed Off-Broadway, including in Venus Flytrap: A Femme Noir Mystery, and Rent. [4] [5] In 2013, she performed in the Chicago productions of The Misanthrope and Tartuffe. [6] [7] In 2014, Gealey was cast as Anika Calhoun in the Fox musical prime time drama, Empire opposite Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson. [8] [9] The series debuted on January 7, 2015. [10] She left the series after four seasons in 2018.
In 2017, Byers was cast as Kate, a jazz singer and lounge owner, in the indie thriller Bent, making her big screen debut. [11] In 2018, Byers published a children's book titled I Am Enough, based on her experiences being bullied as a child for having deaf parents. She wrote it to empower children to love and accept themselves. [12]
From 2018 to 2019, Byers starred as Reeva Payge in the Fox superhero series The Gifted. In 2021, she began starring as Quinn Joseph in the Amazon comedy series, Harlem. [13] The following year, she starred in the comedy horror film, The Blackening. [14]
Byers became engaged to her Empire costar Trai Byers in 2015. [15] She and Byers married on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands on April 14, 2016. [16] [17] Their son was born in 2023. [18]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Bent | Kate | [11] |
2022 | The Blackening | Allison | |
2023 | The Retirement Plan | Hector |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015–2018 | Empire | Anika Calhoun | Series regular, 66 episodes | [13] |
2018–2019 | The Gifted | Reeva Payge | Series regular; 16 episodes | [13] |
2019 | Tales | Edie | Episode:"My Life" | |
2021–present | Harlem | Quinn Joseph | Series regular | [13] |
2023 | Phoenix | Katherine 'Boz' Bosworth | Series regular |
I was born in Butler, PA to an American father and Afro-Caribbean mother. Our family moved to the Cayman Islands (my mother's native home) when I was about 2 years old.