Who Is Teyonah Parris? Meet The Actress In ‘The Marvels’ – Hollywood Life

Teyonah Parris: 5 Things To Know About The Actress Playing Monica Rambeau In ‘The Marvels’

'WandaVision' star Teyonah Parris is reprising her superpowered role as Monica Rambeau in 'The Marvels'. Here's what you need to know about the actress.

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  • Teyonah Parris is an actress.
  • She played Monica Rambeau in ‘WandaVision.’
  • She’s reprising the role in ‘The Marvels.’

Teyonah Parris, 35, made her debut in the Marvel universe in the Disney+ series WandaVision, and she’s returning for the upcoming film The Marvels. Teyonah is reprising her role as Monica Rambeau in the movie that’s also starring Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/ Captain Marvel, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms Marvel. Teyonah flies in space as a full-blown superhero in the epic teaser trailer for The Marvels that dropped April 11.

Fans first saw Teyonah play Monica in WandaVision, where the character develops super powers after being trapped in an alternate reality created by Elizabeth Olsen‘s Wanda Maximoff. Teyonah was so excited to tackle the character in the Marvel series. “I am a huge Marvel fan,” Teyonah said prior to WandaVision‘s premiere. “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.” Here is everything you need to know about Teyonah Parris.

Teyonah Parris
Teyonah Parris at the ‘EW’ Comic-Con party in 2019. (AP)

Teyonah took over the 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. Actress Akira Akbar played the young version of the character. For WandaVision, the character was 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.”

She played another role in WandaVision.

Teyonah also played “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.”

Teyonah Parris
Teyonah Parris stars as Monica Rambeau. (Courtesy of Marvel Studios)

Her first major role was in Mad Men.

Teyonah began playing Dawn Chambers, Don Draper’s new secretary, in season 5 of Mad Men. 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.

She will star in the upcoming Candyman sequel

Teyonah starred in the 2021 Candyman movie as Brianna Cartwright, Anthony’s girlfriend who is an art gallery director. Anthony is played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The movie was directed by Nia DaCosta, who is directing Teyonah again in The Marvels. It will be Nia’s first project for Marvel.

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.”