Da’Vine Joy Randolph

Da'vine Joy Randolph is an American singer and actress who landed major roles on stage, film, and TV early on in her career. She was born on May 21, 1986 and grew up in Pennsylvania. Initially interested in becoming a singer, she attended Temple University to study vocal performance, but later switched her concentration to musical theater. She went on to study theater at the Yale School of Drama, where she received her Master's in 2011. Shortly after, she auditioned for an understudy role in "Ghost the Musical," based on the popular 1990 romantic film. Instead, Randolph was cast in the role of the mysterious medium Oda Mae Brown in London's West End. Randolph continued the role on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Moving on to cinema, she appeared in "Mother Of George" (2013), an independent film centering around Nigerians struggling to live and reproduce in Brooklyn. Her first regular TV role was a lead in the short-lived "Selfie" (ABC 2014), in which Randolph played Charmonique Whitaker, a friendly receptionist. The show was cancelled after only a handful of episodes aired. She was next cast as the lead in "Vice Principals" (HBO 2015- ), a show about the quirks and dramas of high school administration starring Danny McBride. Randolph played Dr. Belinda Brown, a confident new principal at Lincoln High.