Actors (Male and Female) with Caribbean Roots
by arpiakh | created - 25 Sep 2013 | updated - 11 Jun 2014 | Public
1. Kerry Washington
Actress | Scandal
Kerry Washington is an African-American actress, television show producer and film director who is known for her roles in Scandal, Ray, the Tim Story Fantastic Four film series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Confirmation, Django Unchained, Little Fires Everywhere, Cars 3 and The Last King of Scotland. She ...
Jamaican through her mother.
2. Roger Cross
Actor | Coroner
Roger Cross is known for Coroner (2019), Continuum (2012) and Dark Matter (2015).
Jamaican
3. Delroy Lindo
Actor | Get Shorty
On the stage and on the big screen, Delroy Lindo projects a powerful presence that is almost impossible to ignore. Alhough it was not his first film role, his portrayal of the bipolar numbers boss West Indian Archie in Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992) is what first attracted attention to Lindo's ...
Jamaican
4. Lenny Kravitz
Actor | The Hunger Games
Regarded as one of the preeminent rock musicians of our time, Lenny Kravitz has transcended genre, style, race, and class over the course of a three decade-plus musical career. Reveling in the soul, rock, and funk influences the sixties and seventies, the writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist ...
His mother, Roxie Roker's father was from the Bahamas.
5. Zoe Saldana
Actress | Guardians of the Galaxy
Zoe Saldana was born on June 19, 1978 in Passaic, New Jersey, to Asalia Nazario and Aridio Saldaña. Her father was Dominican and her mother is Puerto Rican. She was raised in Queens, New York. When she was 10 years old, she and her family moved to the Dominican Republic, where they would live for ...
Dominican Republic
6. Naomie Harris
Actress | Moonlight
British actress Naomie Harris was born in London, England, the only child of television scriptwriter Lisselle Kayla. Her father is from Trinidad and her mother is from Jamaica. They separated before she was born, and Harris was raised by her mother and has no relationship with her father. She ...
Jamaican and Trinidadian
7. Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Actress | Without a Trace
Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste is an English actress. She is known for her role in the 1996 comedy-drama film Secrets & Lies, for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award in the same category. ...
Antiguan and St. Lucian
8. Evan Parke
Actor | King Kong
Evan is an actor, writer, producer and media entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. He has been a principal performer in over a dozen feature films, Broadway and Off-Broadway theater productions; and hundreds of television episodes. Evan is the founder/CEO of ...
Jamaican
9. Rosario Dawson
Actress | Rent
This stunning and resourceful actress has been primarily a film player thus far. Only recently has she been opening herself up more to doing television (the series Gemini Division (2008), which she executive-produced), and animated voice-overs. Dawson's powerhouse talent stands out the most in edgy...
Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican
10. Tyson Beckford
Actor | Into the Blue
Tyson Beckford was born on December 19, 1970 in The Bronx, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Into the Blue (2005), Biker Boyz (2003) and Zoolander (2001).
Jamaican and Panamanian
11. Wentworth Miller
Actor | Prison Break
Wentworth Miller is a compelling and critically acclaimed actor whose credits span both television and feature film.
Wentworth Earl Miller III was born June 2, 1972 in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, to American parents, Joy Marie (Palm), a special education teacher, and Wentworth Earl Miller...
Jamaican ancestry on father's side.
12. Marsha Thomason
Actress | White Collar
Marsha Thomason is a British television and film actress who is known for playing Sara Evers in Disney's The Haunted Mansion, Naomi Dorrit on the ABC series Lost, FBI agent Diana Berrigan on the USA Network series White Collar, Francine Bridge on Sky's Cobra and DS Jenn Townsend in ITV crime series...
Jamaican
13. Dulé Hill
Actor | Psych
Dulé Hill can currently be seen starring as the patriarch Bill Williams in ABC's re-imagining of "The Wonder Years". Inspired by the beloved award-winning series of the same name, the Peabody Award winning, "The Wonder Years" is a coming-of-age story set in the late 1960s that takes a nostalgic ...
Jamaican
14. Monica Raymund
Actress | Bros
Monica Raymund is best know for starring as Gabriela Dawson in NBC's drama "Chicago Fire."
A graduate of The Juilliard School, she is the recipient of the John Houseman Award for her commitment and dedication. Immediately following her graduation, she went on to star opposite Tim Roth for three ...
Dominican
15. Nicole Lyn
Actress | The West Wing
Nicole Lyn was born in Brampton, Ontario, Canada to parents Cheryl Gabay and Peter Lyn. Her love for the arts began at 3-years-old, when she started taking dance classes in her hometown. At just eight, she won enrollment into Toronto's prestigious Claude Watson School for artistically gifted ...
Jamaican
16. Meagan Good
Actress | Think Like a Man
Meagan Monique Good was born on 8 August 1981 in Panorama City, California, USA, to Tyra Wardlow-Doyle, who worked as her manager, and Leondis "Leon" Good, an LAPD officer. She began appearing on commercials at the age of four. Then she started guest-starring on series like The Parent 'Hood (1995), ...
Her father's mother was Afro-Puerto Rico and his father came from Barbados.
17. Beyoncé
Soundtrack | Dreamgirls
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born on September 4, 1981 in Houston, Texas. Her mom, Tina Knowles designs their glittering costumes & her dad, Mathew Knowles manages Destiny's Child. Solange, her sister (they're 4 years apart) has released her debut album. She dances with her big sister during DC-3 ...
Her father, Matthew, was born in the Bahamas.
18. Laz Alonso
Actor | Avatar
Chosen as one of Variety's "Top Ten Actors to Watch" and part of the new breed of leading men in Hollywood, Laz Alonso is starring in Amazon Prime's series THE BOYS. He can also be seen playing opposite Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba in their new series LA'S FINEST. He previously starred opposite...
Afro-Cuban
19. Tia Mowry
Actress | Sister, Sister
Tia Mowry was born on July 6, 1978 in Gelnhausen, Hesse, Germany. She is an actress and producer, known for Sister, Sister (1994), The Hot Chick (2002) and The Game (2006). She was previously married to Cory Hardrict.
Bahamian on her mother's side.
20. Tamera Mowry-Housley
Actress | Sister, Sister
Tamera Darvette Mowry was born on July 6, 1978, two minutes before her twin sister, Tia Mowry, in Gelnhausen, Hesse, Germany, to Darlene Mowry and Tim Mowry, who was serving in the U.S. Army at the time of her birth and later became a custody officer/jailer with the City of Glendale Police ...
Bahamian on her mother's side.
21. Derek Luke
Actor | Antwone Fisher
Derek Luke was born on April 24, 1974 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor, known for Antwone Fisher (2002), Glory Road (2006) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). He has been married to Sophia Adella Luke since April 4, 1999. They have one child.
His father is from Guyana.
22. Cuba Gooding Jr.
Actor | Jerry Maguire
Cuba Gooding Jr. was born on January 2, 1968, in The Bronx, New York. His mother, Shirley (Sullivan), was a backup singer for The Sweethearts. His father, Cuba Gooding, was the lead vocalist for the R&B group The Main Ingredient, which had a hit with the song "Everybody Plays The Fool". His ...
One of his grandfather's was Barbadian.
23. Garcelle Beauvais
Actress | Spider-Man: Homecoming
Named one of People Magazine's highly coveted 50 Most Beautiful in 2014, Haitian-born actress Garcelle Beauvais immigrated to the United States at the age of seven with her mother and sisters, and has since charmed audiences with her dramatic and comedic abilities. A seasoned actress, Garcelle ...
Haitian
24. Sheryl Lee Ralph
Actress | Oliver & Company
Sheryl Lee Ralph was born December 30, 1956 in Waterbury, Connecticut, USA. She is known for her roles in Moesha (1996), Its A Living (1980), and Instant Mom (2013). Her Career Began in the late 1970s. She has been Married to Vincent Hughes since July 30, 2005 a Pennsylvania state senator. She was ...
Jamaican
25. Stacey Dash
Actress | Clueless
Stacey Dash was born in the Bronx, New York. Stacy knew that she wanted to act, and from an early age began to act professionally. She made regular appearances on The Cosby Show (1984), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), and also St. Elsewhere (1982). At 21 she made her feature film debut in Enemy...
Barbadian father.
26. Nia Long
Actress | The Best Man
Stunning pop culture icon, Hollywood leading lady and three-time NAACP award winner Nia Long returns to the big screen this fall in the highly anticipated Universal Pictures sequel The Best Man Holiday (in theaters November 15th) where she reunites with original castmates Taye Diggs ("Private ...
Her parents were born in Trinidad.
27. LL Cool J
Actor | Deep Blue Sea
L.L. Cool J was born James Todd Smith in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, the son of Ondrea Griffith and James Louis Smith, Jr.
Todd, as he was called, did not have a very happy childhood. At the age of four, he saw his mother and grandfather shot by his own father. After they recovered from their ...
One of his grandfathers was born in Barbados.
28. Jada Pinkett Smith
Actress | The Matrix Revolutions
Jada Koren Pinkett Smith was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Robsol Grant Pinkett, Jr., a contractor, and 'Gammy' Adrienne Banfield Norris, a nurse. They divorced after only a few months of marriage. Her father is of African-American descent and her mother is of Afro-Caribbean ancestry (from ...
Barbadian on her mother's side.
29. Gina Torres
Actress | Serenity
Gina was born in New York City and is youngest of three children in a close-knit Cuban American family. Attended New York City's High School of Music and Art She is a gifted mezzo soprano and was trained in opera and jazz and also sang in a gospel choir.
Afro-Cuban
30. Romany Malco
Actor | Weeds
The first US-born member of his West Indian family, Brooklyn-bred Romany Malco began his career at the age of seven, when he picked up a microphone and started rapping. As a teen he moved to Texas and formed the rap group R.M.G., and upon relocating to Los Angeles, the crew signed a deal to Virgin ...
Trinidad
31. Alfonso Ribeiro
Actor | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Alfonso Ribeiro was born in New York on September 21, 1971. Alfonso's family is from Trinidad & Tobago. Although rumor has been that he is of Dominican descent, he has stated in an interview that this is false. Neither he nor his family are from the Dominican Republic; they originate from Trinidad ...
His parents are from Trinidad
32. Karyn Parsons
Actress | Major Payne
Karyn Parsons decided to go into acting at the age of 13. She had her first TV role in the NBC drama The Bronx Zoo (1987), but she made her big break as Will Smith's cousin "Hilary Banks" on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990). During the show's six-year run, she starred in movies ...
Her mother was born in Trinidad.
33. Tatyana Ali
Actress | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Tatyana Marisol Ali was born on January 24, 1979, in North Bellmore, New York, to Sonia, a nurse from Panama, and Sheriff Ali, a retired police officer from Trinidad. At the age of four, she started singing and got a taste of fame when she begged her mother to take her to an audition for Sesame ...
Trinindad and Panama
34. Rick Fox
Actor | Shameless
Born in Toronto, Rick Fox moved to the Bahamas when he was very young. His father is Afro-Bahamian, and his mother, who is Canadian, is of Italian and Scottish descent. Rick went to Warsaw Indiana high school as an exchange student and played basketball there. A complaint was filed about his ...
Father is Bahamian.
35. D.B. Woodside
Actor | Lucifer
David Bryan Woodside (born July 25, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as the bass singer Melvin Franklin in The Temptations, Robin Wood in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Malcolm Franks in Single Ladies, Dr. Joseph Prestridge in Parenthood, the angel Amenadiel in ...
Jamaican
36. Aldis Hodge
Actor | Black Adam
Aldis Hodge is a SAG Award-winning actor, who has built a dynamic career as a versatile performer shining in roles in both film and television. Hodge is perhaps best known for his role as Noah in the WGN hit series Underground (2016), starring alongside Jurnee Smollett and Christopher Meloni. ...
His father is from the island of Dominica.
37. Lamar Odom
Actor | National Lampoon's Van Wilder
In 2022, Lamar Odom moved back to Los Angeles and signed on with Gitoni inc, headed by Gina Rodriguez. In 2023 Lamar created Odom Recovery Group, where he has 16 drug and alcohol treatment facilities in his network. That same year, Lamar also started Odom Senior Care where he offers affordable ...
Jamaican
38. Lourdes Benedicto
Actress | ER
Lourdes Benedicto was born on November 12, 1974 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for ER (1994), 24 (2001) and V (2009). She has been married to Matthew Curley since June 9, 2006.
Is Dominican and Filipino.
39. Obba Babatundé
Actor | Life
Obba Babatundé is an actor, singer, dancer, director, writer and producer. Obba's breadth of work is known worldwide by audiences of all ages, and his face is one of the most recognizable in the entertainment industry. His career spans over 4 decades and he is a unique breed in today's industry as ...
Jamaican
40. Lamman Rucker
Actor | Why Did I Get Married?
Born in Pittsburgh, his mother had a dance company (the Pittsburgh Black Theater Dance Ensemble) and his father was a drummer, so entertaining is in his blood. His first acting role was as Martin Luther King in the 4th grade. He was in the drama club in 7th grade and then attended high school at ...
Barbadian
41. Faye Yvette McQueen
Stunts | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Faye Yvette McQueen was born in Jamaica, New York. She attended Catholic School, studied dance at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in NYC and Martha Graham Contemporary Dance School. Faye started her own dance school at the age of 12 in her neighborhood. She performed with The New York Broadway ...
Jamaican
42. CCH Pounder
Actress | The Shield
The CCH stands for Carol Christine Hilaria, her birth name. Most of her characters are enriched with positive attributes -- strength, confidence, integrity, strong-mindedness -- and it is a testament to the abilities of this four-time Emmy nominated actress that she continues on such a high plane ...
Guyanese.
43. Lyriq Bent
Actor | Acrimony
After graduating college with high honors, Lyriq Bent originally began his career as a Computer Graphic Technician. Bent's plans, however, were short-lived as he decided to take up acting on a dare. Since then, his career has gained considerable momentum with numerous film and television ...
Jamaican.
44. Adrian Lester
Actor | The Day After Tomorrow
Adrian Lester CBE was born on August 14, 1968 in Birmingham, England. He is a multi award winning actor and director, known for seven seasons of the hit TV show Hustle (2004), The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Primary Colors (1998) and his extensive classical work in the theatre playing Othello, ...
Jamaican.
45. Andre Royo
Actor | Super
Andre Royo was born on July 18, 1962 in Bronx, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Collection (2012), The Spectacular Now (2013), Hunter Gatherer (2016), Empire (2015), Hand Of God (2014) and Super (2010). He has been married to Jane Choi since November 21, 1997. They have one...
Afro-Cuban
46. George Harris
Actor | Raiders of the Lost Ark
George Harris was born on October 20, 1949 in Grenada, British West Indies [now Grenada]. He is an actor and producer, known for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Layer Cake (2004) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).
Grenadian.
47. Tristan Mack Wilds
Actor | The Secret Life of Bees
Tristan Wilds was born in Staten Island, New York. In 2005, at the age of 15, Tristan made his television debut as AJ in the mini-series Miracle Boys. After that, he took his talents to a different venue and tried his hand in theater. He worked with Phylicia Rashad and the Roundabout Theater ...
His mother is Dominican and Irish.
48. Luna Lauren Velez
Actress | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, New York among eight siblings, including her twin sister Lorraine, Lauren Velez dreamed of becoming an actress ever since she played a groundhog in a school play in second grade. Immediately following high school, she received a scholarship from the Alvin Ailey...
Puerto Rican
49. Monica Raymund
Actress | Bros
Monica Raymund is best know for starring as Gabriela Dawson in NBC's drama "Chicago Fire."
A graduate of The Juilliard School, she is the recipient of the John Houseman Award for her commitment and dedication. Immediately following her graduation, she went on to star opposite Tim Roth for three ...
Her mother is Dominican.
50. Heather Hemmens
Actress | Roswell, New Mexico
Heather Hemmens is an American actress, film director and film producer. She is best known for her role as Alice Verdura in The CW series Hellcats (2010-2011) and currently stars in the Roswell reboot as Maria.
Hemmens was raised in the woods of Maine with her two older brothers and older sister. ...
Her mother is Afro-Costa Rican.
51. Dania Ramirez
Actress | X-Men: The Last Stand
Dania is a Latin American actress born in the Dominican Republic. She grew up, living with her grandmother, in a poor household. Her parents left for the United States, when she was 6-months old, and she finally joined them in New York when she was age 10.
She knew from a young age that she wanted ...
Dominican
52. Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Writer | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Ruben Santiago-Hudson recently directed the world premiere of his play Your Blues Ain't Sweet Like Mine at The Two River Theater and the world premiere of Dominique Morriseau's Paradise Blue at Williamstown Theater Festival. Other credits include The Piano Lesson (Lucille Lortel, Joseph A. Callaway...
Puerto Rican and African-American.
53. Anna Maria Horsford
Actress | Minority Report
Anna Maria Horsford was born and raised in Harlem, New York. Her parents immigrated to the United States from the island nation Antigua & Barbuda, in the West Indies (then a British colony), during the 1940s. Anna grew up not really feeling American but not West Indian either, just somewhere in ...
Her parents are from Antigua and the Dominican Republic.
54. Judy Reyes
Actress | Scrubs
Judy Reyes was born on November 5, 1967 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Scrubs (2001), Smile (2022) and Devious Maids (2013). She was previously married to Edwin M. Figueroa.
Her parents are Dominican.
55. Reagan Gomez-Preston
Actress | Jerry Maguire
Reagan Gomez-Preston was born on April 24, 1980 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Jerry Maguire (1996), Surviving... (2015) and Almost Home (2013). She has been married to DeWayne Turrentine Jr. since November 10, 1999. They have two children.
Her mother is Puerto Rican
56. Sidney Poitier
Actor | In the Heat of the Night
Sidney Poitier was a native of Cat Island, Bahamas, although born, two months prematurely, in Miami during a visit by his parents, Evelyn (Outten) and Reginald James Poitier. He grew up in poverty as the son of farmers, with his father also driving a cab in Nassau. Sidney had little formal ...
His parents were Bahamian.
57. Sydney Tamiia Poitier
Actress | Death Proof
Sydney Tamiia Poitier (born November 15, 1973) is a Bahamian-American television and film actress.
Born in Los Angeles, Poitier is the daughter of Bahamian actor Sir Sidney Poitier and Canadian actress Joanna Shimkus. Her mother is of Lithuanian Jewish and Irish descent. She has an older sister, ...
Bahamian roots through her father Sidney's parents.
58. Lorraine Toussaint
Actress | Hudson Hawk
SAG Award and Critics Choice Award winner for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Lorraine Toussaint shocked audiences on the smash hit Netflix original series "Orange is the New Black" as the viciously seductive inmate Vee. Toussaint's thrilling performance has won her glowing reviews from ...
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