DeWanda Wise

DeWanda Wise is an American actress who garnered new attention when she landed a starring role on the Spike Lee television series "She's Gotta Have It" (Netflix, 2017- ) as well as a role on the Fox series "Shots Fired." Born and raised in a working class area of Baltimore, Maryland, Wise always dreamt of becoming an actress.

She would perform for friends and family members throughout her childhood, with her eyes set on making a career for herself in Hollywood. When it came time to enter college, Wise enrolled in the acting program in New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. While attending NYU, Wise learned to hone her acting craft, while also performing in various Off-Broadway plays.

After graduation, Wise spent her days auditioning for film and TV roles in New York, while performing in local theater at night. She drew wide acclaim amongst New York's haughty theater critics for her role in playwright Dominique Morisseau's acclaimed drama "Sunset Baby." Despite her success on stage, however, Wise longed to be a screen actress.

In the mid-2000s she started landing small roles in acclaimed indie films like "Spinning Into Butter" (2007) and "Precious" (2009), thus quickly establishing herself as a talented young actress to watch. The roles continued into the 2010s, with Wise branching out into TV with guest spots on "Boardwalk Empire" (HBO, 2010-14) and "The Mentalist" (CBS, 2008-2015). Then in 2016 she nabbed lead roles in the Fox show "Shots Fired" and as the star of Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It."

Adapted from Lee's 1986 film of the same name and set to stream on Netflix, Wise played the lead role of Nola Darling, a progressive young woman who is in love with three men at the same time.