Aunjanue Ellis

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is an American producer stage and screen actress best recognized for her roles in films in Ray Undercover Brother and on the television series The Mentalist. She has an BA in African-American Studies from Brown University as well as an MFA in acting from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Aunjanue Lisa Ellis is a producer and American actress active in theatre, television and film. She started acting on stage and went onto appear in mainstream, independent, as well as television shows. She became famous as Miranda Shaw in ABC's Quantico, and also appeared in BET's epic show The Book of Negroes. For both of these roles she was praised by critics and received various nominations and awards including an award from the Television Critics Choice Award for Best Actress. She started her career acting in 1995 as Ariel on the stage in The Tempest. On Broadway she's appeared as a character in Come and Gone A Winter's Tale Seeking the Genesis and Joe Turner's Come and Gone. Her film career is highlighted through her performances in Men of Honor The Caveman's Valentine The Express, and The Help. Her part as a regular in ABC's drama-police series High Incident earned her praises.