Grace Gealey

Bio:
Grace Gealey (born July 26, 1984 in Butler, Pennsylvania) is an American actress. Though Grace was born in Pennsylvania, she was two-years-old when her family moved to her mother’s homeland of the Cayman Islands. Grace returned to America when she was 18, enrolling in the University of California at Irvine. She graduated with a Master’s Fine Arts degree in acting. Grace then relocated to New York City to introducer herself to the theater. Grace performed in several Off-Broadway plays, including Venus Flytrap: A Femme Noir Mystery and a production of Rent. After finding work in short films and national commercials, Grace’s career led her to Chicago in 2013. While in the Windy City, she performed in productions of The Misanthrope and Tartuffe. Grace made her television debut in a big way: in 2015, she was cast in the FOX musical prime-time drama, Empire. Along with Terrence Howard, Tajari P. Henson and the rest of the phenomenal cast, Grace made Empire a huge hit.

Best Known For:
Grace Gealey is best known as the actress who portrays Anika Calhoun on the FOX hit drama series, Empire.

Personal Life:
Grace’s father is American and her mother is Afro-Caribbean. Grace is reportedly the daughter of two non-hearing parents, as her father was deaf since birth and her mother lost her hearing when she was 2-years-old. She is fluent in sign language. She makes 2-3 trips a year to the Cayman Islands to see her family. When it comes to beauty products, she is a fan of brands Murad and Renee Roleau. While filming Empire, Grace began dating her co-star, Trai Byers. Tai proposed to Grace during her 31st birthday.