
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
Acting
Born 1969-02-21 · San Francisco, California, USA
Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor (born February 21, 1969) is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. She has appeared in numerous films, including Men of Honor (2000), Undercover Brother (2002), Ray (2004), Freedomland (2006), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), The Help (2011), The Birth of a Nation (2016), and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for portraying Oracene Price in the sports drama King Richard (2021). She has since starred in The Color Purple (2023), Origin (2023), and Nickel Boys (2024). On television, Ellis had regular and recurring roles in the series High Incident (1996–1997), The Practice (1999), True Blood (2008), and The Mentalist (2010–2013). She also appeared in several television films, such as Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009), Abducted: The Carlina White Story (2013), and The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (2020), as well as the miniseries The Book of Negroes (2015) and series Quantico (2015–2017). She was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for her roles in the miniseries When They See Us (2019) and Lovecraft Country (2021) series. Description above from the Wikipedia article Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for

The Mentalist
2008 · TV

Quantico
2015 · TV

High Incident
1996 · TV

E-Ring
2005 · TV

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999 · TV

NCIS: Los Angeles
2009 · TV

MDs
2002 · TV

Lovecraft Country
2020 · TV

Justice
2006 · TV

Justified: City Primeval
2023 · TV

61st Street
2022 · TV

Designated Survivor
2016 · TV

The Practice
1997 · TV

The Book of Negroes
2015 · TV

Lucky
Releases Jul 14, 2026

True Blood
2008 · TV

When They See Us
2019 · TV

Blue Bloods
2010 · TV

Third Watch
1999 · TV

Missing
2012 · TV

The Good Wife
2009 · TV

Law & Order: Criminal Intent
2001 · TV

Jonny Zero
2005 · TV

The Oscars
1953 · TV

Numb3rs
2005 · TV

Sleepy Hollow
2013 · TV

New York Undercover
1994 · TV

The D.A.
2004 · TV

The Jennifer Hudson Show
2022 · TV

Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003 · TV

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
2014 · TV