Danielle Brooks

Acting

Danielle Brooks

Born 1989-09-17 · Augusta, Georgia, USA

Danielle Brooks is an American actress whose work spans television, film, and Broadway. She first gained widespread recognition as Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson on Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019), a role that became one of the series’ emotional centers and established her as a major presence on television. She later reached a broader mainstream audience starring as Leota Adebayo in James Gunn’s HBO series Peacemaker, where her performance played a central role in the show’s balance of action, satire, and character-driven storytelling. The series marked a high-profile expansion of her work into genre television tied to DC Comics. Brooks made her Broadway debut in 2015 as Sofia in the revival of The Color Purple, earning a Tony Award nomination and winning a Grammy Award with the cast. She reprised the role in the 2023 film adaptation, a performance that brought her nominations from the Academy Awards, BAFTA, and Golden Globes, solidifying her transition into major film roles. Alongside acting, Brooks has taken on producing and hosting work. She portrayed Mahalia Jackson in the television biopic Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (2021), serving as an executive producer and earning a Primetime Emmy nomination. She later hosted Netflix’s Instant Dream Home, receiving a Daytime Emmy nomination for her work as a program host. Brooks has continued to balance screen and stage appearances, returning to Broadway in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and starring in the fantasy adventure comedy A Minecraft Movie, further expanding her range across genres.

Acting credits

A Minecraft Movie poster
6.2

Four misfits find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they'll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve.

A Minecraft Movie

2025

The Bad Guys 2 poster
7.6

The now-reformed Bad Guys are trying (very, very hard) to be good, but instead find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes, globe-trotting heist, masterminded by a new team of criminals they never saw coming: The Bad Girls.

The Bad Guys 2

2025

The Angry Birds Movie poster
6.3

An island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red, a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck, and the volatile Bomb have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.

The Angry Birds Movie

2016

Oh. What. Fun. poster
5.6

Claire Clauster is the glue that holds her chaotic, lovable family together at the holidays. But this year, after planning a special outing for them, they make a crucial mistake and leave her home alone. Fed up and feeling under appreciated, she sets off on an impromptu adventure of her own. As her family scrambles to find her, Claire discovers the unexpected magic of a Christmas gone off-script.

Oh. What. Fun.

2025

A Minecraft Movie Squared poster
NR

The second installment in the franchise. Plot TBA.

A Minecraft Movie Squared

2027

The Color Purple poster
7.0

A decades-spanning tale of love and resilience and of one woman's journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.

The Color Purple

2023

If I Go Will They Miss Me poster
NR

A poetic, emotionally expansive father-son story about Black family, grace, imagination, and the hope that love can transform even the most fragile relationships into something more healing and beautiful.

If I Go Will They Miss Me

2026

Fireproof poster
7.7

A heroic fire captain values dedication and service to others above all else, but the most important partnership in his life, his marriage, is about to go up in smoke.

Fireproof

2008

Eat Wheaties! poster
5.6

Sid Straw leads a dull life until he accidentally stalks famous college friend Elizabeth Banks on social media. With each failed attempt to prove he knows her, he rediscovers more of himself and the true meaning of friendship.

Eat Wheaties!

2020

The Day Shall Come poster
5.8

An impoverished leader of a small religious commune in Miami is offered cash to save his family from eviction. He has no idea his sponsor works for an FBI agent, who plans to turn him into a criminal by fueling his madcap revolutionary dreams.

The Day Shall Come

2019

Time Out of Mind poster
5.6

Evicted from his squat and suddenly alone on the streets, George is a man without a home. Struggling with his demons and desperately trying to connect with the daughter he abandoned, he navigates the system, hustling for change and somewhere safe and quiet to gather his thoughts. But the streets are relentless and soon, George finds himself teetering on the edge, alone and abandoned.

Time Out of Mind

2015

Clemency poster
6.3

Years of carrying out death row executions have taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine Williams. As she prepares to execute another inmate, Bernadine must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill.

Clemency

2019

Soul of a Nation Presents: Screen Queens Rising poster
6.0

Exploring how Black actresses, a historically overlooked and under-valued group in Hollywood, have in recent years begun to ascend to the top echelons of entertainment and American culture. The special examines how Black actresses of Hollywood have become power brokers and the iconic moments and roles have paved the way for them today.

Soul of a Nation Presents: Screen Queens Rising

2022

Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine poster
5.4

Comedian and Trump lip-synching sensation Sarah Cooper tackles politics, race and other light topics in a sketch special packed with celebrity guests.

Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine

2020

No artwork available
NR

American tv movie with no plot outline available on the imdb

Modern Love

2012

No artwork available
NR

A single mom fights to keep one little promise to her daughter on the absolute worst day of her life.

Bad Day

2026

Oprah & The Color Purple Journey poster
3.3

A behind-the-scenes look into the making of the new feature film “The Color Purple,” and the impact the story has had on our culture. Oprah Winfrey takes viewers inside the four-decade phenomenon, exploring the importance of the novel, films and musical, and the ever-evolving conversation around this seminal work.

Oprah & The Color Purple Journey

2023

Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia poster
6.7

The true story of Mahalia Jackson, who began singing at an early age and went on to become one of the most revered gospel figures in U.S. history, melding her music with the civil rights movement.

Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia

2021

All the Little Things We Kill poster
4.0

A college professor takes her students hostage to force the passage of a bill that bans semi-automatic weapons.

All the Little Things We Kill

2021

Sadie poster
6.8

While her father is away serving in the military, Sadie battles to preserve his place on the home front when her mother takes an interest in the newest resident at the Shady Plains Trailer Park.

Sadie

2018

I Dream Too Much poster
4.8

Dora Welles is an imaginative college grad ready to experience all the excitement of life. Instead she finds herself in snowy upstate New York caring for her reclusive great aunt (who has lived a much more exciting life than anyone realizes).

I Dream Too Much

2016

Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image poster
7.0

A documentary about body image and the industry leaders challenging society's unrealistic and dangerous standards of beauty.

Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image

2017

The Public's Much Ado About Nothing poster
7.5

This bold interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedic masterpiece features Danielle Brooks (“Orange is the New Black,” Broadway’s “The Color Purple”) and Grantham Coleman (“Buzzer,” “The Americans”) as the sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick. Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (“American Son,” “A Raisin in the Sun”) directs with choreography by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown (“Choir Boy”). Set in contemporary Georgia with an election race underway, Great Performances: Much Ado About Nothing finds the community of Messina celebrating a break from an ongoing war, but not all is peaceful amid the merriment. Former rivals battle it out, revenge is sought and trickery runs amok in this timeless comedy of romantic retribution and miscommunication. Earning a New York Times Critic’s Pick, the play was recorded during its final weekend of Free Shakespeare in the Park performances, June 22-23, 2019.

The Public's Much Ado About Nothing

2019

The Same Difference poster
2.7

The Same Difference is a documentary about lesbians who discriminate against other lesbians! The Same Difference, through a series of lesbian women stories, discusses the hypocrisy in terms of gender roles and the per formative expectations.

The Same Difference

2015