Da'Vine Joy Randolph

Da'Vine Joy Randolph was born on May 21, 1986, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[4] Her first name is pronounced "Day Vine Joy"; she has no middle name.^[5][6] It took her parents seven years to have children. When Da'Vine was born, they said she was a "divine joy".

Randolph grew up in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia.^[7] As a youth, she attended Interlochen Arts Camp, studying theatre.^[8] She went to Temple University to focus on classical vocal performance and opera,^[9][7] but switched to musical theatre^[10] in her junior year. After graduating from Temple in 2008,^[11] she attended the Yale School of Drama. She graduated from Yale in 2011 with her master's degree.^[12] Randolph became an alumna of the British American Drama Academy (BADA)^[13] after spending a summer studying Shakespeare at the University of Oxford.^[14][15][16]

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Randolph auditioned for an understudy role in the Broadway transfer of Ghost: the Musical (which was playing in London's West End), but the producers decided to cast her in the principal role of Oda Mae Brown.^[17] Before the casting of the Broadway transfer was announced, Sharon D. Clarke, who played Oda Mae in the London run of Ghost the Musical, suffered a minor knee injury. Randolph was quickly flown to London to cover the role in Clarke's absence.^[18] Her debut performance took place on December 16, 2011, and she continued to share the role with understudy Lisa Davina Phillip until early January 2012, when Clarke returned.

After a preview period that began in March 2012, the Broadway production opened Monday April 23, 2012, with Randolph playing opposite Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy in the leading roles. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. In 2013 she made her feature film debut in a supporting role, in Mother of George directed by Andrew Dosunmu. The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews. The following year she played a nurse in the comedy-drama The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014) starring Robin Williams. Randolph rose to prominence acting in one of the main roles as Charmonique Whitaker in Selfie, which premiered on September 30, 2014. The show starred Karen Gillan and John Cho. It received mixed reviews and was canceled after one season, but the show continued to have a cult fan base.^[19] When asked about a Selfie revival in May 2022, Randolph responded that she would return in a movie or limited series if given the opportunity. She mentioned that it meant a lot to her and the cast, and that fans still talk about the series years after it aired.^[20] Randolph commented that she loved working on the show and that her character was one of her favorite roles.^[21]

From 2015 to 2017, Randolph performed a voice role as Christine in the series The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show. She also had guest roles on The Good Wife (2013), See Dad Run (2014), Life in Pieces (2015), and Veep (2017). She had a recurring role as Tanya in the drama series This Is Us (2016). The same year, she had a part in Office Christmas Party (2016). She starred in one of the main roles as Yvonne Watson, a postal worker, in the sitcom People of Earth for two seasons from 2016 to 2017. She had recurring roles in the series Empire from 2017 to 2018 and in the series On Becoming a God in Central Florida in 2019.

She had her breakout role as Lady Reed in Dolemite Is My Name (2019) starring Eddie Murphy. For her performance she received nominations for the African-American Film Critics Association, Black Reel Awards, and NAACP Image Awards for Best Supporting Actress. The following year, she acted in Kajillionaire (2020), and she was a main cast member in High Fidelity (2020). During this time, she took voice roles as Ranger Woolf in Madagascar: A Little Wild from 2020 to 2022, Tamarind Toucan in Tuca & Bertie (2021), Detective Gail Johnson in Ultra City Smiths (2021), Tina in Chicago Party Aunt from 2021 to 2022, and various roles in Birdgirl (2022). She also voiced roles in the animated films Trolls World Tour (2020) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).

She took roles in the drama film The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021) and the comedy The Lost City (2022). In 2021. she took a main role in the sitcom The Last O.G. (2021). Since 2021, she has taken a recurring role as Detective Williams in the series Only Murders in the Building starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. She played a manager to a pop star in the controversial series The Idol (2023).

In 2023, she played gospel singer Mahalia Jackson in the political drama film Rustin. She also starred in Alexander Payne's coming-of-age film The Holdovers as Mary Lamb, a cook and bereaved mother. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. She earned praise for the role, with Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood writing "Randolph is simply wonderful, saying more with a look than any words could ever do. She is enormously touching and earns our tears along the way."^[22] Randolph received numerous nominations and awards for the role, including winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, the BAFTA, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.^[23]

Randolph filmed an action comedy film with Rebel Wilson called Bride Hard, which was released in June 2025.^[24][25] In September 2025, Randolph appeared in the Bi-ray music video "Butterfly (Narrative Version)" directed by Japanese rock star Yoshiki.^[26] She then starred as afterlife coordinator Anna in A24's fantasy romantic comedy Eternity alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, and Callum Turner.^[27] Her next film, The Gallerist, premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and will be followed by a theatrical release later in the year.^[28]

Film

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Mother of George	Marsea
	The Purge: The Morning After	De'Shondranique	short[29]
	A Long Walk	Mom	short[30]
2014	The Angriest Man in Brooklyn	Nurse Rowan
2016	The Secrets of Emily Blair	Fran
	Office Christmas Party	Carla
2019	Dolemite Is My Name	Lady Reed
2020	Kajillionaire	Jenny
	The Last Shift	Shazz
	Trolls World Tour	Bliss Marina / Shelia B	voice[31]
	Mama Got A Cough	Yolanda	video short[32]
2021	The United States vs. Billie Holiday	Roslyn
	The Guilty	CHP Dispatcher	voice[31]
2022	The Lost City	Beth Hatten
	On the Come Up	Pooh
	A Little White Lie	Delta Jones
	Puss in Boots: The Last Wish	Mama Luna	voice[31]
2023	Rustin	Mahalia Jackson
	The Holdovers	Mary Lamb
2024	Golden	—N/a	Unreleased
2025	Shadow Force	"Auntie" / Marvella Owens
	Bride Hard	Lydia
	Eternity	Anna
2026	The Gallerist	Stella Burgess

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Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	The Good Wife	Margie	Episode: "A More Perfect Union"
	Brenda Forever	Pearl	Television film
2014	See Dad Run	Mrs. Rothschild	Episode: "See Dad Become Room Mom"
	Selfie	Charmonique Whitaker	Main cast
2015	Life in Pieces	Janice	Episode: "Babe Secret Phone Germs"
2015–2017	The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show	Christine / Abby Fisher	Voice, main cast[31]
2016	This Is Us	Tanya	Recurring cast (season 1)
2016–2017	People of Earth	Yvonne Watson	Main cast
2017	Veep	Roberta Winston	Episode: "Qatar"
2017–2018	Empire	Poundcake	Recurring cast (season 4)
2018	Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh	Crushtina	Voice, episode: "Like Mother, Like Pit of Fire"[31]
2019	On Becoming a God in Central Florida	Rhonda	Recurring cast
2020	High Fidelity	Cherise	Main cast
2020–2022	Madagascar: A Little Wild	Ranger Hoof	Voice, recurring cast
2021	Cinema Toast	Vivian	Voice, episode: "Kiss, Marry, Kill"
	Tuca & Bertie	Tamarind Toucan	Voice, 2 episodes
	Ultra City Smiths	Detective Gail Johnson	Voice, main cast
	The Last O.G.	Veesy	Main cast (season 4)
2021–present	Only Murders in the Building	Detective Williams	Recurring cast
2021–2022	Chicago Party Aunt	Tina	Voice, main cast
2022	Birdgirl	Various voices	Recurring cast[33]
2023	The Idol	Destiny	Recurring cast[34]

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Theatre

More information Year, Title ...

List of stage performances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Hair	Tribe	Prince Music Theater May 26, 2007 – June 17, 2007
2010	The Servant of Two Masters	Clarice	Yale Repertory Theatre March 12, 2010 – April 3, 2010
2012	Ghost: The Musical	Oda Mae Brown	Lunt-Fontanne Theatre April 23, 2012 – August 18, 2012
2013	The Cradle Will Rock	Performer	New York City Center July 10, 2013 – July 13, 2013

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• List of people nominated for the Triple Crown of Acting
• List of black Academy Award winners and nominees – Best Supporting Actress