Actress Alisha Wainwright, 30, was seen holding hands with Justin Timberlake, 38, on Thursday, Nov. 22 at The Absinthe House in New Orleans, Louisiana. In photos obtained by The Sun, Alisha could be seen resting her hand on Justin’s knee and the pair could also be seen locking hands under an outdoor table. The “Filthy” singer has been married to actress Jessica Biel since 2012 and the couple share 4-year-old son Silas. Justin and Alisha are both in the Big Easy for production on the film Palmer, which stars Justin as a high school football star who returns home after spending time in prison who then begins caring for a young boy. The pair reportedly play lovers in the film, which is one of many credits on Alisha’s iMDB profile. A rep for Alisha tells HollywoodLife that the two were “filming a movie where their characters have a relationship, which is probably what was [shot.] No validity to any other rumor other than that they are filming together.” Here are five things to know about Alisha.
1. She’s an actress. Alisha has been acting since 2008, but is best known for her role as werewolf Maia Roberts in the series Shadowhunters — based on the popular Mortal Instruments books — which ran from 2017-2019. Earlier this year, she also played Nicole Warren in the Netflix series Raising Dion alongside her close friend Michael B. Jordan. “I’m super proud and grateful that [Michael] chose to executive produce the show…because it was crowdfunded, and the idea had the backing of hundreds of thousands of people because they believe in this — wanting to follow the journey of a young mother with a young kid with special abilities,” she gushed about her co-star to BET. She was announced to play Justin Timberlake’s love interest in the film Palmer earlier this year, which began producing in New Orleans in Nov. 2018. She originally got her start on YouTube.
2. She’s an avid traveller. Alisha regularly posts about her travel adventures to her 642,000 Instagram followers, and has shared snaps from all over the world! A quick glance through her IG shows trips to Mexico and Peru — where she spotted Jaguars — as well as New Zealand, Miami, San Francisco, Toronto, Trinidad and more! She appeared to dress up in traditional clothing for Trinidad and Tobago Carnival in 2019, and stunned in a bright turquoise and gold number. “The first trip I ever took alone was to the Cayman Islands for two weeks,” she revealed to Conde Nast Traveler in September. “I was always super open to the idea of traveling by myself, and the experience of being a young woman out exploring taught me that I have a good head on my shoulders and that the world isn’t as scary as maybe my mother thought it was. That trip gave me the confidence to then go and travel and live in Central America for a year. If you’re scared, you don’t take meaningful risks. I don’t mean to say you should do risky things, but you need to take chances. I feel incredibly comfortable traveling by myself because I know what works for me and what doesn’t—and when I need to ask for help, which is often hard for me to do.” She also appeared to take a trip to New Orleans last year, captioning the snap “Antiquing, jazz, gumbo and oysters.”
3. She’s educated. She’s beautiful and smart! Prior to acting full-time, Alisha studied Botany at the University of Florida, which is located up north in Gainesville. After graduating, she continued her studies in Panama and wanted to pursue a PhD. “My mum always hoped I’d become a doctor,” she revealed to Wonderland magazine. “But I realized I didn’t really have the passion that a lot of my peers had,” also adding that she was a “bookworm” growing up. She later turned her attention to winemaking, before deciding she wanted to pursue acting after a year of traveling.
4. She’s from Florida. She was born and raised in the Sunshine state but has Caribbean roots! Her mother hails from Jamaica, and her dad is from Haiti. “My mother is Jamaican and my father is Haitian, so growing up I spent a lot of my very early years going back and forth between both countries,” she said in an interview with Conde Nast Traveler, also noting she was raised by a single mom. “I remember Jamaica being full of fresh fruit and family and greenery and positivity. Jamaican cultures always err on the side of having that ‘take it easy’ vibe. My first meaningful memories of traveling to Haiti are from when I was a little older—like five or six. That was the first time I saw what impoverishment looked like, and how different someone’s life could be from my own—someone who’s right outside my front door.”
5. She loves to box. Alisha looks absolutely incredible in her bikini photos on Instagram thanks to her fitness routine! “Boxing and twerk lessons brought to you by @hitmonjohn,” she captioned a video in July that showed her practicing with trainer John Aiden in Los Angeles.