Meet the voice of Disney's Ninth Princess Tiana
Anika Noni Rose (September 6th, 1972)
Anika Noni Rose (born September 6, 1972) is an American singer and actress known for her Tony Award winning performance in the Broadway production of Caroline, or Change and her starring roles in the films Dreamgirls and The Princess and the Frog.
Anika Noni Rose fulfilled a lifelong ambition with her Disney debut. "Since I was a little kid I wanted to work for Disney -- and I didn't need to be the Princess! I would have been a tick or a flea!"
Born and raised in Bloomfield, Connecticut, Anika received classical training at the San Francisco American Conservatory Theater. She soon set her sights on the Broadway stage and was hired for the production of the musical Footloose. Her theatre repertoire also includes Eli's Comin', for which she received an Obie Award in 2001; the role of Lutiebelle in the Encores! production of Purlie; and roles in The Threepenny Opera and Tartuffe, which played at A.C.T's Geary Theater.
For her breathtaking performance on Broadway in Caroline, or Change, Anika won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. When she reprised the role in the West Coast productions in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Anika won both the Los Angeles Critics Circle Award and an Ovation Award. Returning to the New York stage in 2007, Anika tackled Tennessee Williams as Maggie the Cat (the role made famous by Elizabeth Taylor) in a revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, opposite Terrence Howard, James Earl Jones, and Phylicia Rashad.
On television, Anika was cast in an adaptation of The New York Times best seller The Starter Wife (2007), which debuted to record ratings and earned multiple Emmy nominations. She moved next to the television series adaptation of another huge literary phenomenon, HBO's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (2008?2009) in the role of Grace Makutsi. More recently Anika has had a featured role in the CBS series The Good Wife.
Anika's breakout role in films came in 2006 when she played Lorrell Robinson, the third member of the legendary trio at the center of Dreamgirls. She was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and shared a Grammy nomination with Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Hudson for the Dreamgirls soundtrack album. Anika also played a role in the independent comedy feature Just Add Water (2008), directed by Hart Bochner and co-starring Danny DeVito and Justin Long. Most recently, she was in the ensemble cast of Tyler Perry's film For Colored Girls (2010).
When Disney came calling, Anika dazzled as Tiana in 2009's The Princess and the Frog, making the song "Almost There" an instant Disney classic. "I always dreamed of being a voice in a Disney movie, but even in those dreams, I never once dreamed of being a princess," she once said. "I just wanted to be a voice. I feel like what an honor that this is how the dream comes true, bigger and stronger than I had even imagined it.
"I feel like I am in such a beautiful spot right now," Anika acknowledges. "I feel like I'm living my fairy tale in this portion of my career."
Born and raised in Bloomfield, Connecticut, Anika received classical training at the San Francisco American Conservatory Theater. She soon set her sights on the Broadway stage and was hired for the production of the musical Footloose. Her theatre repertoire also includes Eli's Comin', for which she received an Obie Award in 2001; the role of Lutiebelle in the Encores! production of Purlie; and roles in The Threepenny Opera and Tartuffe, which played at A.C.T's Geary Theater.
For her breathtaking performance on Broadway in Caroline, or Change, Anika won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. When she reprised the role in the West Coast productions in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Anika won both the Los Angeles Critics Circle Award and an Ovation Award. Returning to the New York stage in 2007, Anika tackled Tennessee Williams as Maggie the Cat (the role made famous by Elizabeth Taylor) in a revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, opposite Terrence Howard, James Earl Jones, and Phylicia Rashad.
On television, Anika was cast in an adaptation of The New York Times best seller The Starter Wife (2007), which debuted to record ratings and earned multiple Emmy nominations. She moved next to the television series adaptation of another huge literary phenomenon, HBO's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (2008?2009) in the role of Grace Makutsi. More recently Anika has had a featured role in the CBS series The Good Wife.
Anika's breakout role in films came in 2006 when she played Lorrell Robinson, the third member of the legendary trio at the center of Dreamgirls. She was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and shared a Grammy nomination with Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Hudson for the Dreamgirls soundtrack album. Anika also played a role in the independent comedy feature Just Add Water (2008), directed by Hart Bochner and co-starring Danny DeVito and Justin Long. Most recently, she was in the ensemble cast of Tyler Perry's film For Colored Girls (2010).
When Disney came calling, Anika dazzled as Tiana in 2009's The Princess and the Frog, making the song "Almost There" an instant Disney classic. "I always dreamed of being a voice in a Disney movie, but even in those dreams, I never once dreamed of being a princess," she once said. "I just wanted to be a voice. I feel like what an honor that this is how the dream comes true, bigger and stronger than I had even imagined it.
"I feel like I am in such a beautiful spot right now," Anika acknowledges. "I feel like I'm living my fairy tale in this portion of my career."
Early life
Rose was born in Bloomfield, Connecticut. In her freshman year in high school, she appeared in a school production and caught the acting bug. She then attended Florida A&M University where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in theatre, and started studying drama at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, California.
Career
Rose moved to New York without a job. After three months, she secured the role of Rusty in Broadway's Footloose. She followed Footloose with numerous workshops and two musicals using pre-existing song catalogs, Eli's Comin' Off-Broadway and Me and Mrs. Jones with Lou Rawls in Philadelphia. Both of the full-scale tuners were rumored for transfers, but neither made it anywhere after their limited engagements ended. Rose's big Broadway break was getting cast as Emmie Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change. In 2004, she was awarded the Theatre World Award, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress, and the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Caroline, or Change.
Rose's debut in movies came with the 1999 film King of the Bingo Game as "film noir female". In 2003, she played the role of Kaya in From Justin to Kelly, in 2004 she performed in Temptation, followed by Surviving Christmas as a singer in the choir. In 2006, Rose starred in Dreamgirls as Lorrell Robinson with Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. Rose appeared in the films Just Add Water, Razor, and Disney's 2009 animated feature, The Princess and the Frog, as the voice of the lead character Tiana; the character is Disney's first African American princess. Rose hosted a hometown screening of The Princess and the Frog for children from the Charter Oak Cultural Center, a non-profit multi-cultural arts center that provides free after-school programs in Hartford, Connecticut. Rose also stars alongside Jill Scott in The No. 1 Ladies Dective Agency directed by anthony Minghella.
In 2010, she played the role of Yasmine in the movie For Colored Girls. One critic described Rose's performance as "especially fierce".
Rose has been cast to play Sara Tidwell in the upcoming A&E miniseries based on Stephen King's novel Bag of Bones.
Rose was named a Disney Legend on August 19, 2011.
Awards and nominations
Awards
· 1998: Dean Goodman Choice Award – Valley Song
· 1998: Garland/Drama Logue Award – Valley Song
· 1999: S.F. Bay Guardian Upstage/Downstage Award – Valley Song and Threepenny Opera
· 2001: OBIE Award – Eli's Comin'
· 2004: Clarence Derwent Award – Caroline, or Change
· 2004: Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress – Caroline, or Change
· 2004: Theatre World Award – Caroline, or Change
· 2004: Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical – Caroline, or Change
· 2010: Black Reel Award – Best Voice Performance – The Princess and the Frog
· 2010: Black Reel Award – Best Song (Original or Adapted) "Almost There" – The Princess and the Frog
· 2011: Black Reel Award – Outstanding Ensemble – For Colored Girls
· 2011: Disney Legend Award – Animation (voice) – The Princess and the Frog
Nominations
· 2004: Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical – Caroline, or Change
· 2007: Image Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture – Dreamgirls
· 2007: Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture – Dreamgirls
· 2008: Image Award Outstanding Actress in a Mini-Series/ Television Movie – The Starter Wife
· 2008: Grammy Award Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media- Dreamgirls
· 2009: Satellite Award Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, Comedy or Television-Movie or Mini-Series- Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency
· 2010: Image Award Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture - The Princess and the Frog
· 2010: Black Reel Award- Best Ensemble- The Princess and the Frog
· 2010: Image Award- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series- The Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency
· 2011: Black Reel Award- Best Ensemble- For Colored Girls
· 2011: Black Reel Award- Best Supporting Actress- For Colored Girls
· 2011: Image Award- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture- For Colored Girls
Work
Stage
Year | Show | Role |
1998 | Valley Song | Veronica Jonkers |
Hydriotaphia, or the Death of Dr. Browne | His Soul | |
1999 | Tartuffe | Marianne |
Threepenny Opera | Polly Peachum | |
2000 | Footloose | Rusty |
Aida | Amneris | |
2001 | Carmen Jones | Cindy Lou |
Eli's Comin' | The Woman | |
Me and Mrs. Jones | Cookie | |
2003–2004 | Caroline, or Change | Emmie Thibodeaux |
2008 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Maggie "The Cat" |
2011 | Company | Marta |
Filmography
Year | Movie | Character |
1999 | King of the Bingo Game | Film Noir Female |
2000 | Leonard Bernstein's Mass at Vatican City | Ensemble |
2003 | From Justin to Kelly | Kaya |
2004 | Temptation | Fog |
Surviving Christmas | Choir | |
2006 | Dreamgirls | Lorrell Maya Robinson |
2008 | Just Add Water | R'ch'lle |
2009 | The Princess and the Frog | Princess Tiana (voice) |
2010 | For Colored Girls | Yasmine |
2012 | As Cool As I Am | Frances |
Television
Year | Show | Role |
2001 | 100 Centre Street (1 episode) | |
2002 | Third Watch (1 episode) | Monay |
2007 | The Starter Wife (miniseries) | Lavender |
2008–2009 | The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency | Grace Makutsi |
2010–2011 | The Good Wife | Wendy Scott-Carr |
2011 | Law & Order:; Special Victims Unit (1 episode) | Miriam Deng |
http://disney.go.com/disneyinsider/history/legends
http://en.wikipedia.org
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