Ariana DeBose

Ariana DeBose (; born January 25, 1991) is an American actress and singer who has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for a Tony Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2022, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

DeBose was a contestant on the sixth season of So You Think You Can Dance in 2009, where she was the first female contestant and in gender overall the first contestant to be eliminated. She made her Broadway debut in Bring It On: The Musical in 2011 and continued her work on Broadway with roles in Motown: The Musical (2013) and Pippin (2014). From 2015 to 2016, she was one of the original ensemble members in Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical Hamilton, and appeared as Jane in A Bronx Tale (2016–2017). In 2018, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Donna Summer in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. She has also hosted the Tony Awards in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

DeBose has also appeared in the Netflix musical comedy film The Prom (2020) and the Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon! (2021–2023). She gained wider recognition for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg's musical film West Side Story (2021), winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She provided the voice of Asha in the animated film Wish (2023).

Early life Ariana DeBose was born on January 25, 1991, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her mother, Gina DeBose, was a middle school teacher. DeBose trained in dance at CC & Co. Dance Complex in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she also grew up. DeBose has stated that her father is Puerto Rican and her mother was white. She also has African-American and Italian ancestry.

Career Early work and Broadway roles (2009–2016) DeBose made her television debut in 2009, when she competed on the TV series So You Think You Can Dance, making it into the Top 20. She later appeared on the soap opera One Life to Live and played Little Inez Stubbs in the North Carolina Theatre's production of Hairspray before appearing in the role of Nautica in the 2011 Alliance Theatre production of Bring It On. She also appeared in the ensemble of the New York Philharmonic production of Company, which was filmed for television. At the end of 2011, Bring It On embarked on a national tour across the United States. DeBose continued her role into the 2012 Broadway production and understudied the character Danielle.

In 2013, DeBose played Mary Wilson in Motown on Broadway, understudying the role of Diana Ross. The show moved to Broadway later that year. She left Hamilton in July 2016 and made a guest appearance on the TV series Blue Bloods as Sophia Ortiz. She also starred as Daphne in the thriller film Seaside. From November 2016 to August 2017, DeBose portrayed Jane on Broadway in A Bronx Tale.

Breakthrough (2017–2022) In late 2017, DeBose was cast in her breakthrough role, playing Disco Donna in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical at San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse. She reprised this role in the Broadway production, which opened in April 2018. Despite mixed reviews she was nominated for the 2018 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical at the 72nd Tony Awards. In 2018, she starred in the film Seaside directed by Sam Zalutsky.

DeBose played Alyssa Greene in the film adaptation of The Prom, directed by Ryan Murphy, where she was opposite of Jo Ellen Pellman as Emma Nolan. In March 2021, DeBose released a dance-pop recording and video of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Shall We Dance" for the album R&H Goes Pop, produced by Justin Goldner and arranged by Benjamin Rauhala. In 2021, DeBose played schoolmarm Emma Tate in season 1 the parody musical comedy series Schmigadoon! on Apple TV+. In season 2 of Schmigadoon! in 2023, she played the role of Emcee.

Despite not seeing herself playing the role and initially refusing four times to audition for it, DeBose played Anita in the 2021 film adaptation of the musical West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was released in December 2021 to critical acclaim. DeBose received critical attention for her performance of Anita, with Caryn James of BBC praising her performance, declaring, "Anita, in a layered, dynamic performance by Ariana DeBose, is the centre of attention, swirling her skirt and dancing to the Latin rhythms that infuse the film." David Fear of Rolling Stone wrote, "DeBose...strong contender for Most Valuable Player here, whose energy—in her singing, her dancing, her line-reading, her side-eyeing—could power a metropolitan block." She also received multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, making her the first Afro-Latina and queer woman of color to win the latter award, and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 94th Academy Awards.

Following her West Side Story success, it was announced that DeBose would host the 75th Tony Awards. DeBose called the opportunity to host "a bucket list moment" that "I didn't know I had." She received generally positive reviews for the show and received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards. She also made a recurring appearance in the fourth season of the HBO science fiction series Westworld.

2023–present DeBose went viral on Twitter after performing at the 76th British Academy Film Awards, where she celebrated the female nominees by name in an original freestyle rap performance. Despite being described by Variety as “a little out of breath at some points” and that the lyrics "felt clumsy", show producer Nick Bullen defended the performance, claiming it was well received by the live audience and that the criticism was "incredibly unfair" and he "absolutely loved it". The rap went viral with lines like "Angela Bassett did the thing" becoming pop culture memes. DeBose has subsequently performed the rap in concert. DeBose voiced the lead character of Asha in the 2023 Disney animated film Wish.

In 2024, DeBose had a starring role in the science-fiction thriller I.S.S. and a supporting role in the spy film Argylle. She appeared as Calypso Ezili in the superhero film Kraven the Hunter, directed by J.C. Chandor. The following year, DeBose starred in the action comedy Love Hurts alongside Ke Huy Quan; DeBose was the one who presented Quan with his Oscar at the 95th Academy Awards in 2022. All these films were poorly received by critics.

She will next play Cordelia alongside Al Pacino in Lear Rex, a film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear.

Personal life

DeBose is queer and came out to her grandparents in 2015. In December 2020, DeBose and Jo Ellen Pellman launched the Unruly Hearts Initiative. The initiative was created to help young people connect with organizations and charities that advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.

DeBose was in a relationship with costume designer and professor Sue Makkoo. The pair met while working on Summer: The Donna Summer Musical in 2017. Previously, DeBose was in a romantic relationship with theater props master Jill Johnson. The pair met while both were working on Motown: The Musical.

In April 2025, DeBose faced criticism after sharing a quote on Instagram that was originally used to denounce her former West Side Story co-star, Rachel Zegler. The quote, stating "Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged," was initially posted by Jonah Platt, son of Snow White (2025) producer Marc Platt, in response to Zegler's political comments during the promotion of the film, criticizing Zegler for bringing personal politics into the film's promotion and suggesting that her actions negatively impacted its box office performance. DeBose deleted her post and clarified that she was unaware of the quote's origin or its connection to Zegler. She explained that she frequently shares quotes she finds meaningful without researching their origins.

Acting credits

Film

+ Year Title Role Notes 2011 Company Ensemble 2018 Seaside Daphne 2019 Fragile Her Short film 2020 Hamilton Ensemble / The Bullet / Martha Bibhu Mohapatra: Spring/Summer 2021 NYFW The Muse Short film The Prom Alyssa Greene 2021 West Side Story Anita 2023 Once Upon a Studio Asha Voice; short film I.S.S. Kira Foster Wish Asha Voice 2024 Argylle KeiraHouse of Spoils ChefKraven the Hunter Calypso Ezili 2025Love Hurts Rose Tow Denise Also executive producer Cordelia Post-production Television

+ Year Title Role Notes 2009 So You Think You Can Dance Contestant Season 6 2016 Blue Bloods Sophia Ortiz Episode: "The Road to Hell" Hamilton's America Herself Television documentary 2021–2023 Schmigadoon! Emma Tate / Emcee Main role; 9 episodes 2022 Saturday Night Live Host Episode: "Ariana DeBose/Bleachers" Human Resources Danielle Voice; episode: "Rutgers is for Lovers" 75th Tony Awards Host Television special Westworld Maya Recurring role; 5 episodes Bubble Guppies Lulu Voice; episode: "A Big Splash!" 2023 76th Tony Awards Host Television special 2024 Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock Mezzo Voice; episode: "The Great Wind" 77th Tony Awards Host Television special 2026 Scarpetta Lucy Farinelli-Watson Main role

Theater

+ Year Title Role Theatre 2011 Hairspray Little Inez Stubbs North Carolina Theatre Bring It On Nautica, u/s Danielle Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Company Ensemble Avery Fisher Hall, New York City Bring It On Nautica, u/s Danielle National Tour 2012 St. James Theatre, Broadway 2013 Motown: The Musical Ensemble, Mary Wilson, u/s Diana Ross Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway 2014 Pippin Noble, u/s Leading Player Music Box Theatre, Broadway The Leading Player 2015 Hamilton Ensemble / Martha / The Bullet The Public Theater, Off-Broadway Les Misérables Éponine Thénardier Connecticut Repertory Theatre Hamilton Ensemble / Martha / The Bullet Richard Rodgers Theatre, Broadway 2016 A Bronx Tale Jane Longacre Theatre, Broadway 2017 Summer: The Donna Summer Musical Disco Donna La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego 2018 Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway 2023 Ariana DeBose In Concert Herself London Palladium, UK Lincoln Center, New York City The Guest Producer James Earl Jones Theatre, Broadway 2025 The Baker's Wife Genevieve Castagnet Classic Stage Company, Off-Broadway

Awards and nominations

In 2018, her performance in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical earned her a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. For playing Anita in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story (2021), she won the Academy Award, BAFTA, Critics' Choice, Golden Globe and SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her Oscar win made her the first Afro-Latina and first openly queer woman of color to win an Academy Award for acting. Additionally, with her win following Rita Moreno's 1962 win in the same category for West Side Story (1961), DeBose and Moreno became the third pair of actors to win an Academy Award for playing the same character in different films.