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IMDbPro

DeWanda Wise

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000851
DeWanda Wise
A woman returns to her childhood home to discover that the imaginary friend she left behind is very real and unhappy that she abandoned him.
Play trailer2:04
Imaginary (2024)
28 Videos
66 Photos
In film, television, and theater, DeWanda Wise has established herself as one of the industry's most consistently critically acclaimed artists.

Of her work as Kayla Watts in Jurassic World Dominion, she's been nearly universally considered a standout of the sixth installment with critics noting her magnetism, swagger, wit, and charisma. Entertainment Weekly notes,

"Dominion's most memorable star might be its newest: DeWanda Wise, who joins the series as high- flying pilot Kayla Watts...Playing a daring pilot, (she) is basically starring in a one- woman Raiders of the Lost Ark in her head. Let's get that concept to the sequel writers stat."

In Sony's Fatherhood directed by Paul Weitz, Wise plays Lizzie Swan. Her performance was similarly singled out for her depth of characterization, charm, and grace. While Variety noted that Swan was, "Saucy, gorgeous, so-supportive-she's-saintly," The Wrap observed how

"Lizzie Swan is the kind of ideal romantic partner that might seem eye-rollingly implausible were it not for the efforts of actor DeWanda Wise who makes Swan's healthy outlook and emotional patience seem like hard-earned positive qualities of a healthy, real human being."

As Erin Kennedy in Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's subversive rom com, "Someone Great," Variety declared,

"It's Wise who's this film's MVP, wittily delivering many hilarious, quotable one-liners with effervescence and charm."

Largely considered her breakout role, In the Netflix adaption of "She's Gotta Have It," created by Spike Lee, Wise appears as the iconic Nola Darling. Following its season one release, the series acquired great critical acclaim, and as a result, won an African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) award as one of the "Top 10 Television Shows." The Hollywood Reporter calls Wise's work "superb," while Deadline exclaimed, "With a star revealing herself before us, Underground alum Wise hits nothing but high notes." Other critics describe her performance as "fiery," "complex," "brilliant," and "moving."

Other acclaimed television work includes CBS All Access "The Twilight Zone," FOX's drama "Shots Fired," and WGN's hit historical drama "Underground."

Additional film credits include the 2016 Sundance romantic-comedy hit, "How to Tell You're a Douchebag," by Tahir Jetter. A film in which Wise both starred in and executive produced..

In 2016, Wise expanded her talents into screenwriting and wrote the short film entitled, "Where You Go," which premiered at Cannes in the "Short Film Corner."

Stage credits include Atlantic Theater Company's "Fireflies," by Donja R. Love, a performance universally acclaimed. Sara Holdren at Vulture states:

"Wise's smoldering, taut-as-a-bowstring Olivia is almost part animal. It's an electrically charged performance, the kind that you imagine an actor passing out after. Wise has extraordinary bright hazel eyes, cat-like in their intensity: They're the eyes of a domestic creature that should have been wild, a creature that's never at rest, whose small body contains a whole history of life before walls, before cages, before dependence."

Previous stage credits include a host of theater roles, notably originating the role of 'Nina' in acclaimed playwright Dominique Morisseau's "Sunset Baby." Ben Brantley of The New York Times stated,

"...it's the woman who's the toughest of them all. Ms. Wise, a beauty, makes us see and feel just how ugly Nina is...she also insists we understand why."

The Village Voice called her Nina, "commanding and severe," while The New Yorker described her performance as "Brutal and riveting."

Other praised performances include her work as Susan in the west coast premiere of David Mamet's "Race" with Center Theater Group, Mercy in "Flight," at City Theatre, and Abigail, a Zimbabwean wife grappling with an HIV diagnosis, in Danai Gurira's heartbreaking "In the Continuum" at Playmakers, Chapel Hill.

DeWanda Wise graduated from New York University with honors as a double major in Drama and Urban Social and Cultural Analysis with a minor in Community-based Theater and Performance. She is a Tisch Scholar Award recipient, the Atlantic Achievement in Studio Award recipient, and the BFA Representative of her graduating class of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
BornMay 30
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornMay 30
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000851
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations total

    Photos66

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    Known for

    Jurassic World: Le Monde d'après (2022)
    Jurassic World: Le Monde d'après
    5.6
    • Kayla Watts
    • 2022
    Brittany Snow, Gina Rodriguez, and DeWanda Wise in Quelqu'un de bien (2019)
    Quelqu'un de bien
    6.2
    • Erin Kennedy
    • 2019
    The Harder They Fall (2021)
    The Harder They Fall
    6.6
    • Eleanor Love
    • 2021
    Kevin Hart and Rhythm Hurd in Un papa hors pair (2021)
    Un papa hors pair
    6.6
    • Swan
    • 2021

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actress



    • Killing Faith
      • Sarah
      • Completed
      • 2025
    • Killer Bee
      • Pre-production



    • Alexander Skarsgård, Shane Daly, Tamara Podemski, Akshay Khanna, Noma Dumezweni, Sabrina Wu, Jennifer Sendaula, Kayla Mirage, David Dastmalchian, Leah Kilpatrick, Tattiawna Jones, Josh Cruddas, Anna Konkle, Maroc Rey, and Negin Kamali in Murderbot: Journal d'un AssaSynth (2025)
      Murderbot: Journal d'un AssaSynth
      7.3
      TV Series
      • Navigation Unit
      • 2025
    • André Holland and Nicole Beharie in Love, Brooklyn (2025)
      Love, Brooklyn
      7.3
      • Nicole
      • 2025
    • Behind the Lines (2024)
      Behind the Lines
      9.1
      • Christine McNeff
      • 2024
    • The South Jersey Horror Podcast (2020)
      The South Jersey Horror Podcast
      6.9
      Podcast Series
      • 2024
    • Ronald Binion in Imaginary (2024)
      Imaginary
      4.7
      • Jessica
      • 2024
    • Shailene Woodley, DeWanda Wise, Betty Gilpin, and Gabrielle Creevy in Three Women (2023)
      Three Women
      6.8
      TV Series
      • Sloane Ford
      • 2023
    • Danny DeVito, Annette Bening, Chris Pine, and DeWanda Wise in Poolman (2023)
      Poolman
      4.0
      • June Del Rey
      • 2023
    • Kaz Ps, DeWanda Wise, Lauren Hines, and Jenny Strassburg in Proxy (2022)
      Proxy
      5.6
      Short
      • Lisa
      • 2022
    • Jurassic World: Le Monde d'après (2022)
      Jurassic World: Le Monde d'après
      5.6
      • Kayla Watts
      • 2022
    • Jurassic World Evolution 2 (2021)
      Jurassic World Evolution 2
      7.6
      Video Game
      • Kayla Watts (voice)
      • 2021
    • Invasion (2021)
      Invasion
      6.2
      TV Series
      • Deputy Grady
      • 2021
    • The Harder They Fall (2021)
      The Harder They Fall
      6.6
      • Eleanor Love
      • 2021
    • Kevin Hart and Rhythm Hurd in Un papa hors pair (2021)
      Un papa hors pair
      6.6
      • Swan
      • 2021
    • Nola Darling n'en fait qu'à sa tête (2017)
      Nola Darling n'en fait qu'à sa tête
      6.9
      TV Series
      • Nola Darling
      • 2017–2019
    • The Twilight Zone: La quatrième dimension (2019)
      The Twilight Zone: La quatrième dimension
      6.0
      TV Series
      • Alexa Brandt
      • 2019

    Producer



    • Killer Bee
      • executive producer
      • Pre-production



    • Hosea Chanchez in Will I See You Again? (2024)
      Will I See You Again?
      9.4
      Short
      • executive producer
      • 2024
    • Ronald Binion in Imaginary (2024)
      Imaginary
      4.7
      • executive producer
      • 2024
    • White Face (2017)
      White Face
      Short
      • executive producer
      • 2017
    • William Jackson Harper in How to Tell You're a Douchebag (2016)
      How to Tell You're a Douchebag
      5.2
      • executive producer
      • 2016

    Additional Crew



    • Walls
      Short
      • production assistant
      • 2007
    • Banished: How Whites Drove Blacks Out of Town in America
      7.5
      • voices
      • 2006

    Videos28

    Official Trailer
    Clip 0:38
    Official Trailer
    Chris Pratt Compares the Feathered Pyroraptor to a Thanksgiving Gone Wrong  
    Clip 2:51
    Chris Pratt Compares the Feathered Pyroraptor to a Thanksgiving Gone Wrong  
    Chris Pratt Compares the Feathered Pyroraptor to a Thanksgiving Gone Wrong  
    Clip 2:51
    Chris Pratt Compares the Feathered Pyroraptor to a Thanksgiving Gone Wrong  
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:08
    Official Trailer
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:29
    Official Trailer
    Official Teaser
    Trailer 1:52
    Official Teaser
    Official Trailer 2
    Trailer 2:04
    Official Trailer 2

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Official site
      • Official Instagram Page
    • Height
      • 1.68 m
    • Born
      • May 30
      • Jessup, Maryland, USA
    • Spouse
      • Alano MillerJune 26, 2009 - present

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Graduated with honors from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a dual degree in Drama and Metropolitan Social and Cultural Analysis.
    • Trademark
        Honey hazel eyes
    • Nicknames
      • Deda
      • Pooh

    FAQ

    Powered by Alexa
    • Where was DeWanda Wise born?
      Jessup, Maryland, USA
    • What is DeWanda Wise's birth name?
      DeWanda Jackson
    • How tall is DeWanda Wise?
      5 feet 6 inches, or 1.68 meters
    • What is DeWanda Wise known for?
      The Harder They Fall, Fatherhood, Jurassic World: Dominion, and Someone Great
    • Is DeWanda Wise married?
      Yes, to Alano Miller since June 26, 2009

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