Haneefah Wood
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Haneefah Wood | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 16, 1979 Prince George's County, Maryland, US |
| Education | Syracuse University (BFA)[1] |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2002–present |
Haneefah Wood is an American actress. She is known for her role as Candace De La Brix on Nurse Jackie, Vickie/Rafik's Sister in Freedomland, Blanche on Grease Live!, and Wilma Howell on Schooled and The Goldbergs.
Wood was born in Prince George's County, Maryland, but relocated to New York City, where she attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School. While in school at age 17, Wood began auditioning for the Broadway production of Rent. She received three callbacks and was eventually cast as a swing. She later graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in musical theatre.[1] [2]
Several years later, she made her television debut in 2002, playing Raleena in the Strong Medicine episode "The Philadelphia Chromosome". In 2005, she appeared as Ellie Graham in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Prisoner", along with performing in the Broadway musical Brooklyn as a vocalist. Later that year, she made her debut in the Broadway musical Avenue Q as Gary Coleman, a role she would later reprise Off-Broadway.[3][4]
She made her film debut in 2006 as Vickie/Rafik’s Sister in Freedomland. On television, she later played Candace De La Brix in Nurse Jackie (2011), Layla Mislap in NYC 22 (2012), and had guest roles on White Collar (2013) and The Millers (2014).[5]
In 2015, Wood starred as Pearl in the sitcom Zoe Ever After.[5] That year she also appeared in Life in Pieces. She went on to portray Blanche in the live musical Grease Live! (2016) and a camp administrator in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2016).[3]
From 2017 to 2020, Wood held recurring and starring roles including Ivy in Baskets, Cydie Scoville in Truth Be Told, Jill in One Day at a Time, and Wilma Howell in Schooled, where she joined the main cast in season two.[3]
Her later credits include Professor Howell on The Goldbergs (2021), Chief Rhonda Jenkins-Seattle on Murderville (2022), Shirley Stedman on Hello Tomorrow! (2023),[6] and Judge on Drag Me to Dinner (2023).[7] She also appeared as Megan in the comedy pilot St. Denis Medical (2025).[3]