Yaani King
{{short description|American actress}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Yaani King Mondschein
| image =
| caption =
| imagesize =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|8|10}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_date =
| spouse = {{marriage|Adam Mondschein
|July 25, 2012}}
| birth_name =
| occupation = Actress
| website =
}}
Yaani King Mondschein (born August 10, 1981) is an American actress, best known for portraying Neely Lloyd in the crime drama series Saving Grace (2007–2010), Bridgette King in the OWN series The Kings of Napa (2022) and providing the voice and motion capture for Riley Abel in the action-adventure video game The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014).
Early life
King was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on August 10, 1981. Her mother, a retired NYPD officer, also performed in theater.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1477301/bio|title=Yaani King Mondschein|website=IMDb}} She is of Guyanese and West Indian descent{{CN|date=January 2025}} and grew up in New York's Queens borough.{{cite web|url=http://www.mylifetime.com/movies/deliverance-creek/cast/yaani-king|title=Yaani King|work=myLifetime.com|access-date=August 22, 2015}} She attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and later studied acting at The Actors Centre in London.
Career
Yaani began her acting career appearing in a number of off-Broadway productions, and had guest roles on television series including Law & Order and Sex and The City. She made her film debut in a small part in the 2003 erotic thriller In the Cut, before a supporting turn in the 2004 romantic comedy The Prince & Me. In 2007, she moved to Los Angeles and had guest starring roles on Criminal Minds, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Ghost Whisperer.
From 2009 to 2010, King was a regular cast member on the TNT crime drama series Saving Grace as Neely Lloyd, a young drug addict. During this time, she also guest starred on Mad Men, Major Crimes, and NCIS.
Yaani provided the voice and motion capture for Riley Abel in the 2014 action-adventure video game The Last of Us: Left Behind.{{cite web|url=https://wegotthiscovered.com/gaming/first-details-the-last-of-us-left-behind-dlc-announced/|title=First Details For The Last Of Us: Left Behind DLC Announced|author=Justin Alderman|work=We Got This Covered|date=November 15, 2013|access-date=August 22, 2015}} Later that year, she played a plantation slave in the Civil War western film Deliverance Creek.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/yaani-king-books-regular-role-on-lifetimes-post-civil-war-set-drama-deliverance-creek|title=Yaani King Books Regular Role On Lifetime's Post-Civil Wa - Shadow and Act|author=Tambay A. Obenson|date=October 31, 2013|work=Shadow and Act|access-date=August 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140916125839/http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/yaani-king-books-regular-role-on-lifetimes-post-civil-war-set-drama-deliverance-creek|archive-date=September 16, 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2013/10/pilots-eye-candy-deliverance-creek-cast-regulars-623982/|title=Pilots 'Eye Candy' & 'Deliverance Creek' Cast Regulars - Deadline|author=Nellie Andreeva|work=Deadline|date=October 31, 2013|access-date=August 22, 2015}} In 2015, she was cast in a recurring role as Ada Eze on the ABC prime time television soap opera Blood & Oil,{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/08/wilson-bethel-cast-blood-oil-jackson-rathbone-finding-carter-1201503363/|title=Wilson Bethel Cast In ABC's 'Blood & Oil' - Deadline|author=Denise Petski|work=Deadline|date=August 21, 2015|access-date=August 22, 2015}} and had a role on The Magicians in 2016. She appeared in the 2020 horror comedy film Bad Hair.
In 2022, Yaani was cast as one of leads in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera, The Kings of Napa.[https://deadline.com/2021/04/the-kings-of-napa-ebonee-noel-rance-nix-karen-leblanc-yaani-king-mondschein-own-drama-1234730093/ ‘The Kings Of Napa’: Ebonee Noel, Rance Nix, Karen LeBlanc, Yaani King Mondschein To Star In OWN Drama]
Personal life
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2003
| Frannie's Student | |
| 2004
| Amanda | |
| 2005
| God's Forgotten House | Crystal | |
| 2008
| Ashley | |
| 2008
| Sarah | Uncredited{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} |
| 2012
| The Last Fall | Chris | |
| 2013
| Cavemen | Jasmine | |
| 2015
| Kraft of Revenge: Mousetrap 2 | Mousetrapketeer | Short film |
| 2020
| Bad Hair | Sista Soul | |
| 2023
|Steadfast - The Thornton Chase Story | | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2002
| The Education of Max Bickford | Student | Episode: "I Never Schlunged My Father" |
| 2002
| Monique Thomas | Episode: "Access Nation" |
| 2003
| Marcy | Episode: "Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little" |
| 2007
| Deborah | Episode: "Barri & Joan Rush a Black Sorority" |
| 2007
| Deborah Lewis | Episode: "Fear & Loathing" |
| 2007
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Sheila Latham | Episode: "Fallen Idols" |
| 2008
| Numb3rs | Laurie Porter | Episodes: "End Game", "Atomic No. 33" |
| 2009
| Anne-Marie Ramsey | Episode: "Excessive Forces" |
| 2009–2010
| Neely Lloyd | Main role (season 3), 19 episodes |
| 2011
| Tamika | Episode: "Second Chances" |
| 2012
| Vegas | Estelle Drew | Episode: "Legitimate" |
| 2012
| County | Angela | Unsold television pilot |
| 2013
| Mad Men | Phyllis | Episodes: "Collaborators", "The Flood" |
| 2013
| Mrs. Walker | Episode: "Risk Assessment" |
| 2014
| Extant | Mom | Episode: "Extinct" |
| 2014
| Cassie | Television film |
| 2015
| NCIS | Leandra Perkins | Episode: "Status Update" |
| 2015
| Alliyah Delong | Recurring role |
| 2015
| Ada Eze | Recurring role |
| 2016
| Kira | Episode: "The Writing Room" |
| 2022
|Bridgette Peele |Series regular, 8 episodes |
| 2022
| Frankie |Episode: "Salvation or Bust" |
| 2023
| Maggie |Episode: "Jack Botty's Delayed Post-Pandemic Surprise Party" |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2014
| Riley Abel | Voice and motion capture |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=1477301|name=Yaani King Mondschein}}
- {{twitter|yaaniking}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:King Mondschein, Yaani}}
Category:American film actresses
Category:American people of Guyanese descent
Category:Actresses from Brooklyn
Category:American television actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses