Teyonah Parris, 33, is one of the stars of Disney+’s highly-anticipated Marvel series WandaVision, which premieres Jan. 15. Teyonah is playing Monica Rambeau, a character that has already been introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But she wasn’t played by Teyonah.
Monica is all grown up in the Marvel series, and Teyonah is more than ready to tackle this character. “I am a huge Marvel fan,” Teyonah said in a statement. “I first connected with Marvel after seeing Iron Man for the first time. My current favorite title is Captain Marvel — my character’s origin! That film was great fun and amplified girl power.” You might be asking: who is Teyonah Parris? HollywoodLife has 5 key things you need to know.
1. Teyonah is taking over the role of Monica Rambeau from Akira Akbar. The character of Monica Rambeau debuted in the 2019 movie Captain Marvel. Monica is the daughter of Carol Danver’s best friend Maria. Akira played the young version of the character. For WandaVision, the character is being aged up with Teyonah taking the reins. There are a lot of moving parts to this production,” she said in a statement. “It feels like we are making something epic—and there are moments that are a nod to the amazing, iconic television shows from our past. The energy on set has been incredible—from the cast to the crew. It’s clear that we are making something special.” Teyonah will appear in the upcoming Captain Marvel 2 as well.
2. She also plays another role in WandaVision. Teyonah will also play “Geraldine,” a version of Monica in the WandaVision sitcom universe. “I can say that you do meet Geraldine in the first couple of episodes,” Teyonah told ComicBook.com. “And so trying to figure out how this connects to Wanda and Vision, and yes, is part of the fun of the show. And is that Monica or is, she said her name’s Geraldine? Who is this? I think that’s part of the excitement that you’ll get to try to figure out as you watch the show.”
3. Her first major role was in Mad Men. Teyonah began playing Dawn Chambers, Don Draper’s new secretary, in season 5. She was the first Black employee at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. During her time on Mad Men, Teyonah also notably starred in the 2014 film Dear White People, which eventually became a Netflix series.
4. She will star in the upcoming Candyman sequel. The actress will play Brianna Cartwright, Anthony’s girlfriend who is an art gallery director. Anthony is played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The movie was supposed to be released in June 2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Candyman will now be released on Aug. 27, 2021.
5. She booked her first role while graduating from Julliard. Teyonah was walking across the stage when her manager called to tell her she had nabbed a role in the 2010 film How Do You Know. “My mom was holding my phone while I walked across the stage during the ceremony,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “And then my phone starts ringing.”
