Bianca Lawson
{{short description|American actress}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bianca Lawson
| image = Bianca Lawson publicity shot.jpg
| caption = Lawson in 2008
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|3|20}}
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| education = {{plain list|
}}
| alma_mater = University of Southern California
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1988–present
| parents = {{ubl|Richard Lawson|Denise Gordy}}
| family = Gordy family
}}
Bianca Lawson (born March 20, 1979) is an American actress. Lawson is known for her regular roles in the television series Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Goode Behavior, Pretty Little Liars, and Rogue. She has also had recurring roles in the series Sister, Sister, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Steve Harvey Show, Dawson's Creek, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, The Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf, and Witches of East End. In 2016, Lawson began starring in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar.
Early life
Lawson was born on March 20, 1979 in Los Angeles.{{cite book|first=Bob|last=McCann|title=Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television|year=2012|publisher= McFarland|isbn=9781476691404|page=199}} She is the daughter of Denise ({{née}} Gordy) and actor Richard Lawson, making her the stepdaughter to Lawson's second ex-wife Tina Knowles, and former step-sister to singers Beyoncé and Solange Knowles.{{cite web|last=Webber |first=Stephanie |url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/beyonces-new-stepsister-bianca-lawson-is-famous-too-details-2015144 |title=Beyonce's New Stepsister Bianca Lawson Is Famous, Too: Details! - Us Weekly |publisher=Usmagazine.com |date=April 14, 2015 |access-date=June 20, 2017}} Lawson is also a grand-niece of Motown founder Berry Gordy.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-beyoncs-mom-splitting-from-hus/149315933/ |title=Beyoncé's mom splitting from husband |first=Frank |last=Lovece |newspaper=Newsday |publication-place=New York |page=A17 |date=2023-07-28 |access-date=2024-06-14 |via=Newspapers.com}} She attended the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and graduated from Marymount High School, a Catholic school in Los Angeles. She then went on to study film and psychology at University of Southern California.[http://abcfamily.go.com/shows/pretty-little-liars/cast/bianca-lawson/444900 Bianca Lawson's bio] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606190912/http://abcfamily.go.com/shows/pretty-little-liars/cast/bianca-lawson/444900 |date=June 6, 2010 }} at ABC Family.com Lawson's parents are both African-American, and she also has Italian, Native American, Portuguese, and Creole ancestry.[https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=436140054699 Exclusive Bianca Lawson Interview] at Facebook
Career
Lawson began acting at the age of nine, having appeared in commercials for Barbie and Revlon. In 1993, she was cast in the television series Saved by the Bell: The New Class as series regular Megan Jones. She appeared in multiple episodes of The WB sitcoms Sister, Sister as Rhonda Coley and The Steve Harvey Show as Rosalind. In 1996, she co-starred in the UPN sitcom Goode Behavior—which lasted for just one season—as Bianca Goode, the teenage daughter of the titular family. In 1997, she appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as vampire slayer Kendra Young. In 1999, she appeared in The WB's Dawson's Creek as rival character Nikki Green.
In 2009, Lawson was cast as Shawna in The Secret Life of the American Teenager. That same year, she was cast in the CW television series The Vampire Diaries, as witch Emily Bennett. In December 2009, she was cast as Maya St. Germain in the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars, based on the book series by Sara Shepard.{{cite web|url=http://www.abcfamilymedianet.com/docs/2009/12/ABCFam_120709.pdf|title=ABC Family Announces Additional Casting for its Upcoming Pilots "Melissa & Joey," "Untitled Michael Jacobs Project" and "Pretty Little Liars."|date=December 7, 2009|work=ABC Family Press Release|access-date=December 30, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230064521/http://www.abcfamilymedianet.com/docs/2009/12/ABCFam_120709.pdf|archive-date=December 30, 2010}} She appeared in that show from June 2010 through August 2012. Since 2012, she has had a recurring role as Ms. Morell in the MTV television series Teen Wolf, based on the original film from 1985. In 2014, Lawson had a recurring role as Eva in Witches of East End. In 2015, she was cast as series regular Talia Freeman in season three of Rogue.
Lawson has made appearances in two different television miniseries. In 1998, she appeared in The Temptations as Diana Ross (whom Lawson is related to through Ross's daughter Rhonda Ross Kendrick); and in 2001, she was cast as Anna Bella Monroe in Anne Rice's The Feast of All Saints. Some of Lawson's film credits to date include Primary Colors (1998), Save the Last Dance (2001), Bones (2001) and Breakin' All the Rules (2004). Aside from film and television, Lawson provided her voice to the 2011 video game Star Wars: The Old Republic. In 2016, Lawson was cast in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar, created by Ava DuVernay.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/02/queen-sugar-own-drama-series-oprah-winfrey-cast-bianca-lawson-greg-vaughan-1201707791/|title='Queen Sugar' Adds Bianca Lawson, Greg Vaughan & Henry G. Sanders - Deadline|author=Denise Petski|work=Deadline|date=February 23, 2016 |access-date=February 23, 2016}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| rowspan=2| 1998
| Twice the Fear | Girlfriend | Video |
| Primary Colors
| Loretta | |
| rowspan=2| 2000
| Big Monster on Campus | Darien Stompanato | |
| The Pavilion
| Mary | |
| rowspan=3| 2001
| Nikki | |
| Bones
| Cynthia | |
| The Feast of All Saints
| Anna Bella Monroe | TV movie |
| rowspan=3| 2004
| Kate | |
| Breakin' All the Rules
| Helen Sharp | |
| The Pavilion
| Mary | TV movie |
| 2005
| Flip the Script | Angel | |
| rowspan=2| 2006
| Broken | Mia | |
| National Lampoon's Pledge This!
| Monique | |
| 2007
| Carla Masters | Video |
| 2009
| The Killing of Wendy | Brooke | |
| 2010
| Don't Fade Away | Alison Johnson | |
| 2011
| Heavenly | Sasha Grant | TV movie |
| 2012
| All About Christmas Eve | Lila | TV movie |
| 2014
| House of Secrets | Julie | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !class="unsortable"|Notes |
|---|
| 1993–94
| Saved by the Bell: The New Class | Megan Jones | Main cast: Seasons 1–2 |
| rowspan=2| 1994
| Herself/co-host | TV series |
| My So-Called Life
| Third Bathroom Girl | Episode: "Pilot" |
| rowspan=2| 1995
| Girl | Episode: "The Age of Reason" |
| In the House
| Rachel | Episode: "The Final Cut" |
| 1995–96
| Rhonda Coley | Recurring cast: season 3 |
| 1996–97
| Bianca Goode | Main cast |
| rowspan=2| 1997
| Shirley | Episode: "Baby, It's You and You and You" |
| The Parent 'Hood
| Jasmine | Episode: "Zaria Peterson's Day Off" & "Bad Rap" |
| 1997–98
| Recurring cast: Season 2 |
| rowspan=3| 1998
| Renee | Episode: "Rage" |
| The Steve Harvey Show
| Rosalind | Recurring cast: season 2 |
| The Temptations
| Episode: "Episode #1.1 & #1.2" |
| 1999
| Tracy | Episode: "It Takes Two" |
| 1999–2000
| Nikki Green | Recurring cast: season 3 |
| 2001
| Esperenza Maldonaldo | Episode: "Control Group" |
| rowspan=2| 2002
| Asia Portman | Episode: "Textbook Perfect" |
| Haunted
| Brandi Combs | Episode: "Blind Witness" |
| 2003
| Herself | TV series documentary |
| rowspan=3| 2004
| Marilynn Resiser | Episode: "Play Ball" |
| The Big House
| Angela | Episode: "Almost Touched by an Angel" |
| Fearless
| Harmony Kaye | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2006
| Herself | Episode: "Sherman Hemsley" |
| 2008
| Jeannie | Episode: "Meet the Joneses" & "The Eleventh Hour" |
| rowspan=2| 2009
| Bones | Albie | Episode: "Fire in the Ice" |
| The Secret Life of the American Teenager
| Shawna | Recurring cast: Season 1 |
| 2009–14
| Recurring cast: season 1–2, 5 |
| 2010
| Nikita | Emily Robinson | Episode: "The Guardian" |
| 2010–12
| Main cast: season 1-2, recurring cast: Season 3 |
| 2011
| Abby | Episode: "Pilot" |
| rowspan=2| 2012
| Lafferty | Episode: "Trapped" |
| 2 Broke Girls
| Stacy | Episode: "And the Silent Partner" |
| 2012–14
| Marin Morrell |
| 2013
| Herself | TV series |
| rowspan=2| 2014
| Herself | Episode: "Episode #1.8" |
| Witches of East End
| Eva/Selina | Recurring cast: Season 2 |
| rowspan=2| 2015
| Kylie Rosales | Episode: "We Don't Work Together Anymore" |
| Rogue
| Talia Freeman | Main cast: season 3 |
| 2016–22
| Darla | Recurring cast: season 1, main cast: season 2–7 |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !class="unsortable"|Notes |
|---|
| 2011
|(voice) |Provided additional voices |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Title ! Result ! Refs |
|---|
| 2001
| Choice Movie: Fight Scene (shared with Julia Stiles) | {{win}} | |
| 2018
| Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Supporting Actress, Drama Series | rowspan="3"|Queen Sugar | {{nom}} | |
| 2022
|rowspan="2"| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | {{nom}} | {{Cite web|last=Spivey|first=Kemberlie|date=2022-01-19|title=2022 NAACP Image Awards Nominations: The Full List|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kemberliespivey/2022/01/18/2022-naacp-image-awards-nominations-the-full-list/|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Forbes|language=en}} |
| 2023
| {{nom}} | |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0493161}}
{{Gordy family}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Bianca}}
Category:20th-century African-American actresses
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Los Angeles
Category:American child actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:American people of Creole descent
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:American people of Portuguese descent
Category:American television actresses
Category:American video game actresses
Category:American voice actresses