Teyonah Parris

Teyonah Parris
Parris attending the Sundance Film Festival, 2014.
Born	(1985-09-22) September 22, 1985 (age 31) Hopkins, South Carolina, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2010–present

Teyonah Parris (born September 22, 1985) is an American actress. She began her career playing a recurring role as Dawn Chambers in the AMC drama series, Mad Men (2012–15), before landing her breakthrough role in the 2014 independent film Dear White People. In 2015, Parris went to star in the satirical drama film Chi-Raq directed by Spike Lee.

Parris was raised in Hopkins, where she attended the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities South Carolina, before she later attended and graduated from the Juilliard School. She made her television debut in 2010, with guest starring role on The Good Wife. In 2012, she was cast in a recurring role as Dawn Chambers in the AMC drama series, Mad Men. She played the first major African American character on Mad Men.

In 2014, Parris had her breakthrough role in the independent film Dear White People. Later in that year, Parris began starring in the Starz comedy series, Survivor's Remorse. In 2015, Parris went to star in the satirical drama film Chi-Raq directed by Spike Lee. She received her first NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture nomination for this film. She played the leading role in Where Children Play directed by Leila Djansi, and starred alongside David Oyelowo in Five Nights in Maine. Later in 2015, she played R&B/Jazz singer Miki Howard in the biopic The Miki Howard Story.