American actress
Samira Denise Wiley
(born April 15, 1987) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as
Poussey Washington
in the
Netflix
comedy-drama series
Orange Is the New Black
(2013?2019) and as Moira in the
Hulu
dystopian drama series
The Handmaid's Tale
(2017?present), for which she won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
.
Wiley also had starring roles in such films as
The Sitter
(2011),
Nerve
(2016),
Detroit
(2017), and
Social Animals
(2018). She also narrated the Netflix documentary
Night on Earth
(2020).
Early life
[
edit
]
Wiley was raised in
Washington, D.C.
[1]
Her parents, Christine and Dennis W. Wiley, were co-pastors of the
Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ
(CBUCC) until 2017; they have been described as "pillars of the
LGBT religious community
", as the CBUCC was the only
Baptist church
in D.C. performing
same-sex civil unions
in 2007, prior to the eventual legalization of
same-sex marriage
.
[2]
She has two siblings, Aiyana Ma'at
[3]
and Joshua Wiley.
[4]
[5]
Wiley attended the
Duke Ellington School of the Arts
, D.C., and the
Juilliard School
, New York City,
[6]
graduating in 2010.
[7]
At Juilliard, she trained in theater performance, and worked mainly in theater in her early career.
[8]
Career
[
edit
]
Wiley's first major acting role was in the comedy film
The Sitter
(2011).
[9]
In 2011, Wiley played Maria in a theater production of
Love's Labour's Lost
by
The Public Theater
.
[10]
When the
Netflix
television series
Orange Is the New Black
?based on
Piper Kerman
's
memoir of the same name
? came into development, Wiley was told about the auditions by a friend from
Juilliard
, Marco Ramirez, who was a writer for the show.
[9]
Wiley's future wife, Lauren Morelli, was also a writer on the show. After discovering that fellow Juilliard alumni and friend, actress
Danielle Brooks
,
[7]
had also auditioned for, and won, the role of Tastee, Wiley asked to rehearse her lines with her, as she was auditioning for the role of Poussey Washington (the on-screen best friend of Brooks' character),
[9]
a role for which she was ultimately cast. After winning the audition, Wiley appeared in all twelve episodes of the series' first season, and featured prominently throughout the second season.
[11]
The darker, more violent, plot of the second season allowed for the growth of Wiley's character, whose evolved storylines and level-headed, peaceable nature led to Wiley's prolonged screen exposure and ultimate development as a fan-favorite.
[12]
Her character's childhood and adolescence as a traveled, educated and strictly-disciplined "
military brat
" are explored, in addition to the chain of events leading up to her incarceration. Wiley was promoted to series-regular for the third season.
[13]
The fourth season revolves heavily around her character, leading up to the stunned and saddened reactions within the prison upon her beloved character's untimely passing at the hands of a young prison officer, while being detained during a prison riot.
In between seasons of
Orange Is the New Black
, Wiley filmed
Rob the Mob
(2014), an independent crime film directed by
Raymond De Felitta
.
[9]
She appeared in an advertisement for the digital monetary service
PayPal
in 2014.
[14]
In 2015, Wiley featured in the 21st episode of the 16th season of
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
, "Perverted Justice", portraying a young adult wishing to recant her rape accusation of her father when she was 6 years old, and set him free. In December 2015, it was announced Wiley had been cast to voice the titular character in the video game
The Walking Dead: Michonne
. The game was released by
Telltale Games
in February 2016.
[15]
In 2017, she narrated one of two versions of
Max Brooks
' book,
Minecraft: The Island: A Novel
.
[16]
Wiley also starred in a film called
37
(2016), a true story of thirty-seven people who witness a murder and none call the police or intervene. In 2016, she starred in a new play by
Quiara Alegria Hudes
called
Daphne's Dive
.
[17]
She competed against
New Black
co-star
Laverne Cox
in an episode of
Spike
's
Lip Sync Battle
. With performances of "
Un-Break My Heart
" by
Toni Braxton
and "
O.P.P.
" by
Naughty by Nature
, Wiley emerged victorious.
[18]
Wiley was featured in
Maniac Magazine
, appearing on the cover and in an editorial of the 2014 September/October issue displaying "a series of bold, chic, high fashion looks."
[19]
She was also featured on the cover of 2014 edition of
Out
magazine, along with
Sam Smith
,
Elliot Page
, and
Zachary Quinto
.
Awards
[
edit
]
In 2014, Wiley was named
Out
magazine's Ingenue of the Year.
[2]
In February 2015, she was awarded the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award. According to the Human Rights Campaign's website, Wiley was always accepted and embraced by her parents, regardless of her sexuality, and to this she attributes her success.
[20]
In 2017, Wiley received an
Emmy Award
nomination for
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
for her role in the
Hulu
series
The Handmaid's Tale
, going on to win
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
the following year.
[21]
In November 2017, Wiley was nominated to
Out
magazine's "OUT100" for 2017 in recognition of her work and her visibility.
[22]
Personal life
[
edit
]
On October 4, 2016, Wiley announced her engagement to
Orange Is the New Black
writer
Lauren Morelli
and they married on March 25, 2017.
[23]
[24]
Morelli gave birth to their first child, a daughter named George Elizabeth, on April 11, 2021.
[25]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Video game
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Ahearn, Victoria (July 5, 2016).
"
'Orange is the New Black' star Samira Wiley on how Black Lives Matter inspired Poussey Washington"
.
Toronto Star
.
Archived
from the original on July 6, 2018
. Retrieved
March 26,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
Berlin, Mike (November 11, 2014).
"Out100: OITNB's Samira Wiley, Ingenue Of The Year"
.
Out
.
Archived
from the original on February 15, 2017
. Retrieved
April 2,
2015
.
- ^
Wiley, Samira [@samirawiley] (September 18, 2014).
"Lol, that is Aiyana Ma'at. She's my sister"
(
Tweet
). Archived from the original on August 6, 2017
. Retrieved
August 6,
2017
– via
Twitter
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
Wiley, Josh [@imjusjoshin] (May 6, 2015).
"Watch my sister @samirawiley on Law & Order SVU tonight!"
(
Tweet
). Archived from the original on August 6, 2017
. Retrieved
August 6,
2017
– via
Twitter
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
"Wiley, Doris W."
The Washington Post
. July 5, 2009.
Archived
from the original on August 6, 2017
. Retrieved
August 6,
2017
– via Legacy.com.
Also survived by three grandchildren, Aiyana Ma'at, Samira Wiley and Joshua Wiley...
- ^
Wiley in
"Exclusive Interview: Samira Wiley on Orange is the New Black"
. Voice.Fan.TV. December 27, 2013. Archived from
the original
on September 15, 2014.
I went to a performing arts school for high school and went to Juilliard. ... I went to Duke Ellington School of the Arts in D.C.
- ^
a
b
Abdulhamid, Yassmeen (September 2013).
"Fame Is the New Reality for 'Orange' Actress"
.
The Juilliard School
.
Archived
from the original on April 26, 2014
. Retrieved
April 25,
2014
.
- ^
Martin, Rebecca (July 29, 2013).
"Orange Is the New Black's Samira Wiley on Playing Poussey and Tweets From Regina King?Exclusive!"
.
Wetpaint
.
Archived
from the original on November 13, 2014
. Retrieved
April 26,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Morales, Wilson (October 22, 2013).
"Exclusive: Catching Up With Orange is the New Black's Samira Wiley"
. Blackfilm.com.
Archived
from the original on October 21, 2018
. Retrieved
April 26,
2014
.
- ^
Brantley, Ben (October 31, 2011).
"O, That Rowdy Passage From Celibate to Celebrate"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on November 13, 2014
. Retrieved
April 26,
2014
.
- ^
Fitzpatrick, Kevin (October 28, 2013).
"
'Orange Is the New Black' Interview: Samira Wiley Talks Taystee-Poussey, Netflix Model and Season 2"
. ScreenCrush.
Archived
from the original on April 26, 2014
. Retrieved
April 26,
2014
.
- ^
Breger, Esther (July 1, 2014).
"Interview: Orange Is The New Black's Poussey on Playing the Season's Tragic Heroine"
.
NewRepublic
.
Archived
from the original on November 9, 2018
. Retrieved
April 2,
2015
.
- ^
Rowles, Dustin (July 8, 2014).
"Everything You Need to Know About Samira Wiley, The Extraordinary Poussey on 'Orange is the New Black"
.
Pajiba
.
Archived
from the original on March 17, 2015
. Retrieved
January 10,
2015
.
- ^
Kay, Ariel (August 25, 2014).
"Bustle"
.
Bustle
.
Archived
from the original on July 2, 2015
. Retrieved
April 7,
2015
.
- ^
"
'Walking Dead' Just Cast An 'OITNB' Actress As Michonne"
.
MTV News
.
Archived
from the original on January 15, 2016
. Retrieved
December 31,
2015
.
- ^
"Let Jack Black and Samira Wiley transport you to Minecraft: The Island"
.
Entertainment Weekly
.
Archived
from the original on September 18, 2017
. Retrieved
September 17,
2017
.
- ^
"Daphne's Dive - Off-Broadway | Cast"
.
Broadway.com
.
Archived
from the original on December 31, 2018
. Retrieved
December 31,
2018
.
- ^
Garner, Glenn (October 27, 2016).
"Laverne Cox & Samira Wiley Slay on
Lip Sync Battle
"
.
Out
.
Archived
from the original on February 24, 2019
. Retrieved
February 23,
2019
.
- ^
"Samira Wiley Rocks High Fashion Looks For Maniac Magazine. Images by April Hubal"
.
SUPERSELECTED Black Fashion Magazine Black Models Black Contemporary Artists Art Black Musicians
. October 31, 2014.
Archived
from the original on March 21, 2015
. Retrieved
April 2,
2015
.
- ^
Miller, Hayley (February 25, 2015).
"Human Rights Campaign"
.
Human Rights Campaign
. Retrieved
April 2,
2015
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Big Little Lies, The Handmaid's Tale Lead the 2017 Emmy Winners"
.
Vulture
. September 17, 2017.
Archived
from the original on September 18, 2017
. Retrieved
September 18,
2017
.
- ^
"OUT100: Samira Wiley, Actress"
.
Out
. November 8, 2017.
Archived
from the original on December 29, 2017
. Retrieved
November 9,
2017
.
- ^
Macatee, Rebecca (October 4, 2016).
"Samira Wiley Is Engaged To Lauren Morelli"
.
E! News
.
Archived
from the original on October 27, 2016
. Retrieved
October 6,
2016
.
- ^
Savada, Shira (March 23, 2017).
"Exclusive: Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli Are Married!"
.
Martha Stewart Weddings
. Archived from
the original
on December 29, 2017
. Retrieved
March 26,
2017
.
- ^
"Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli welcome a baby together"
.
CNN
. May 10, 2021.
Archived
from the original on June 21, 2021
. Retrieved
June 20,
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
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