Samira Wiley Biography

Fast Facts

• Was inspired to become an actress in the third grade after hearing a classmate do a dramatic reading of Nikki Giovanni's poem "Ego-Tripping
• " Her parents are co-pastors of Anacostia's Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ and are public advocates for LGBTQ rights and same-sex marriage
• Met Orange Is The New Black co-star Danielle Brooks when both were students at The Juilliard School
• Has done charitable work with the Woman's Prison Association packing back-to-school backpacks for young women returning to society after incarceration
• Met script writer wife Lauren Morelli when they both worked on Orange Is The New Black
• Morelli subsequently came out of the closet and divorced her husband to be with Wiley