Da'Vine Joy Randolph


Da'Vine Joy Randolph is an American actress and singer. She first gained recognition as Oda Mae Brown in the Broadway production of Ghost: The Musical, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.
Randolph's early films include The Angriest Man in Brooklyn and Office Christmas Party, as well as the television series Selfie and People of Earth. She received critical acclaim for her performance as Lady Reed in the biographical film Dolemite Is My Name. Randolph currently stars in the romantic comedy series High Fidelity.

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 masters.
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, 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 London suffered a minor knee injury. Randolph was quickly flown out 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 original Broadway production opened Monday April 23, 2012 with Randolph playing opposite Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy in the leading roles. Though branded as the "newcomer", she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Randolph played Charmonique in ABC's situation comedy series Selfie, which premiered on September 30, 2014.
Randolph is the voice of Christine in the Netflix original series The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations