Anika Noni Rose

A slight actress with a big voice, Anika Noni Rose studied at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater. After learning all she could to prepare herself, she moved to New York to pursue a career on the stage, getting her first break with a role in the Broadway production of +Footloose. Rose's voice, acting, and unmistakable stage presence assured that doors would continue to open for her and she would continue to rack up prominent roles, becoming what could only be described as a truly successful career stage actress, starring in such Broadway productions as +Eli's Comin', +Purlie, +Threepenny Opera, and +Tartuffe. The actress was honored with an Obie Award as well as a Garland/Drama-Logue Award for her work, but she received by far the most success and acknowledgement for her role in the acclaimed +Caroline or Change, for which she won a Tony award in 2004 for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, as well as a Lucille Lortell Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Clarence Derwent Award.Intent on exploring every possible avenue as a performer, Rose began a career onscreen in the new millennium. She guest-starred in an episode of Third Watch, and scored a role in the American Idol contestant-driven From Justin to Kelly in 2003. Then in 2006, Rose took a role in an ideal hybrid of her talents with the big-screen version of the musical Dreamgirls, a roman à clef based on Motown girl group the Supremes. Rose played Lorrell Robinson, the member of the group who experiences the least drama in the story, but whose solid presence &#8212 not to mention voice &#8212 is vital to the script. The longtime pro had no problem surrendering the media spotlight to über-divas Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Hudson, who played the other two members of the group, but few could help but notice what a force to be reckoned with the Broadway talent was. After the movie and its impending media blitz was over, Rose reprised her role in +Caroline or Change in L.A. and San Francisco before she returned with the musical to Broadway. ~ Rovi