Ariana DeBose is a star on the rise.
Afterappearing in some of our favorite musicalsover the years, includingHamiltonandSummer: The Donna Summer Musical, the 30-year-old takes onthe iconic role of Anitain Steven Spielberg’sWest Side Storyremake.
Moreno (who also has a role in the remake)praised DeBose’s take on the character, saying the actress is “marvelous. She’s a ferocious dancer, way better than I was.” And her dancing is what initially caught director Spielberg’s eye as well, though her “tremendous personal charisma” is what sold him on her for the part,he says.
Ariana DeBose as Anita inWest Side Story(2022).20th Century Studios / Courtesy Everett
Needless to say, DeBose is just getting started in Hollywood. Learn more about the Oscar-nominated actress ahead.
She’s from North Carolina
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DeBose was born in Wilmington, N.C., but spent most of her teen years in Raleigh and Wake Forest as she focused on her dance career. She briefly attended Western Carolina University, but eventually dropped out a few months later.
“I lasted for two and a half months I think, and it wasn’t for me,“DeBose told Medium. “I stayed long enough to do a show for them, because the director asked me to stay. So I stayed to doA Chorus Line, playing Cassie. Opening night, we had a glorious opening and we got to the closing number, and this kid hit my shoe and I broke my ankle. So I was like, ‘Okay, my foot’s broken. I’m leaving. Bye!’ "
A week later, her agent called her about an audition for the soap operaOne Life to Live, so she packed up and moved to N.Y.C.
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She got her start onSo You Think You Can Dance
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When DeBose was 18, she competed on the sixth season of Fox’s dancing competition series,So You Think You Can Dance,where she placed in the top 20. Though DeBose admitted thatgetting eliminated in the first roundwas “a huge blow to my then pretty small, but healthy, ego,” it also led her to the next step in her career. “What I viewed as a failure withSo You Think You Can Danceled me to New York to try theater. I had done musicals in high school, and I loved them because they were so challenging.”
She’s been in some of your favorite musicals
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DeBose made her Broadway debut inBring It On: The Musicalin 2011 and went on to appear inMotown: The Musicalin 2013,Pippinin 2014,Hamiltonfrom 2015 to 2016, andA Bronx Talein 2016 to 2017. She also starred as Donna Summer inSummer: The Donna Summer Musical, for which she was nominated for a Tony.
She hopes to use her platform to inspire others
Netflix / Courtesy Everett
As an actresswho identities as Afro-Latina and queer, DeBose hopes to use her platform to inspire Afro-Latino and LGBTQ communities.
“I take this very seriously. I am a ‘positive vibes only’ person, especially in my social media presence,” she told People en Español. “There are young people out there watching what I say or do. I don’t want to give anyone a reason to put these communities down. That being said, I say what I mean and mean what I say. Afro-Latinos have been underrepresented in our industry. I am excited to continue to be a part of moving the needle forward so we can reach a day where there is balance in how we represent the beautiful spectrum of Latinos, and not just one ‘traditionally Latino’ prototype.”
“I was so lucky to have a loving and accepting experience coming out. It was almost simpler than my Afro-Latina experience. It’s a dream come true to be able to connect people with resources, tools, and a set of blueprints to navigate their coming out and at the same time let them know they’re loved and accepted,” she toldPeople en Español. “I love reading the stories that people are sharing. Some of them break my heart, but to know we are partnered with people and organizations that can truly help is a powerful and exciting thing. Everyone should get to live in the truth of who they are!”
She has a few big roles already lined up
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You can expect to see even more of DeBose afterWest Side Story. She is set toappear in the space thrillerI.S.S.alongside Chris Messina andthe star-studded spy filmArgyllewith Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson. At the moment, neither project has announced an official release date.
source: people.com
