Grace Byers

Grace Byers Headshot

Actress

Birth Date: July 26, 1984

Age: 38 years old

Birth Place: Butler, Pennsylvania

Grace Gealey was an American actress who became a breakout star in 2015 for her role as Anika Calhoun on Fox's music drama "Empire" (Fox, 2014- ). Despite being born in Pennsylvania, Gealey moved with her parents to the Cayman Islands, where she would stay throughout the remainder of her formative years. Having always nurtured a desire for performance, Gealey moved back to the States at the age of 18 to enroll in the theater program at the University of South Florida in Tampa. She received her Bachelor's degree in Theater Arts four years later, and soon after headed west to California to enroll in the University of California Irvine's graduate program in acting. After receiving her MFA from U.C. Irvine, Gealey relocated to New York City to became a professional stage actress. She soon started landing roles in several Off-Broadway plays like "Venus Flytrap" and "Rent." It was also during this time that Gealey started nabbing parts in nationally-aired commercials for companies like K-Mart. Gealey moved once again to Chicago to take part in that city's thriving theater scene. Despite her many successes in the theater world, however, Gealey longed to act in movies and on TV. By the mid-2010s she started auditioning for television roles, and was fortunate enough to be cast in the hit music drama "Empire" in 2014. "Empire" was Gealey's first ever screen role, and when the show debuted in the winter of 2015 it proved to be the breakout network hit of the year.

Credits

The Retirement Plan

Actor
Movie
2023

Sherri

Guest
TV Show
2022

Access Daily With Mario & Kit

Guest
TV Show
2022

The Blackening

Actor
Allison
Movie
2022

HarlemStream

Actor
Quinn
TV Show
2021
98%

Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices

Guest
TV Show
2020

The Kelly Clarkson ShowStream

Guest
TV Show
2019

Tamron Hall

Guest
TV Show
2019

Bent

Actor
Kate
Movie
2018

Access Live

Guest
TV Show
2017

The GiftedStream

Actor
Reeva Payge
TV Show
2017
79%

Tales

Actor
Edie
TV Show
2017

MasterChef Celebrity Showdown

Contestant
TV Show
2017

FABLife

Guest
TV Show
2015

EmpireStream

Actor
Anika
TV Show
2015
84%

The Meredith Vieira Show

Guest
TV Show
2014

Hollywood Today Live

Guest
TV Show
2014

Empire: Extras

Actor
TV Show
2014

Whose Line Is It Anyway?Stream

Guest
TV Show
2013

The Real

Guest
TV Show
2013

Home & Family

Guest
TV Show
2012

The Chew

Guest
TV Show
2011

The Doctors

Guest
TV Show
2008

The Better Show

Guest
TV Show
2007

Rachael RayStream

Guest
TV Show
2006

The View

Guest
TV Show
1997

News about
Grace Byers