Aunjanue Ellis

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is an American producer stage and screen actress, best known for her film roles as a character in Ray Undercover Brother and on the television series The Mentalist. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in African-American Studies from Brown University and an MFA in acting from the Tisch School of the Arts New York University. Aunjanue Lisa Ellis, a writer and American actor active in the theatre as well as television and film. Her acting journey began with theater, and was later featured in numerous shows on television as well as independent and mainstream films. Her most well-known roles were as Miranda Shaw (ABC's Quantico) as well as on BET's epic The Book of Negroes. The series both received reviews, and she also won a lot of accolades. In 1995 she appeared in her first performance on stage in The Tempest as Ariel. Her stage credits comprise Come and Gone Drowning Crow and Seeking the Genesis, a Broadway production by Joe Turner. In the film industry her most well-known roles are performances such as Men of Honor The Caveman's Valentine The Express or The Help. On television, her part in the ABC's crime drama High Incident is well known.