Danielle Brittany Brooks (born September 17, 1989)
[1] is an American actress. She is best known for her role as prison inmate
Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson on the
Netflix comedy-drama series
Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). In 2015, she made her
Broadway debut in the musical revival of
The Color Purple as Sofia, for which she received a nomination for the
Tony Award and won the
Grammy Award. In 2023, Brooks acted again as Sofia in
Blitz Bazawule's film adaptation of the musical
The Color Purple, being nominated for the
Academy Award, a
Golden Globe Award and a
BAFTA Award.
After appearing in the
HBO series
Girls (2014),
Netflix's
Master of None (2015–2017), and the animated sitcom
Close Enough (2020–2022), in 2021, she received an
Emmy Award nomination for
Outstanding Television Movie as an executive producer on
Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia.
[2] In 2022, she hosted Netflix's reality series
Instant Dream Home and was nominated for a
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Program Host. The same year Brooks starred in the superhero series
Peacemaker (2022–present), and returned to Broadway in the revival of the
August Wilson play
The Piano Lesson.
