Ciera Payton

Ciera Payton (born January 26, 1986) is an American actress, writer and singer. She has appeared in television series such as The Walking Dead, General Hospital, Graceland, and NCIS. She also had a supporting role as Sylvia in Tyler Perry's A Madea Family Funeral. She currently stars in the BET soap opera The Oval.

Early life Ciera Payton graduated from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and received her bachelor of fine arts degree in drama from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Career Payton got her start in the feature film Flight of Fury (2007), playing the female lead role of CIA agent Jessica opposite Steven Seagal. She was a junior in college while filming Flight of Fury. In 2009, she made her off-Broadway debut, starring as the lead role of Savannah in Savannah Black and Blue, produced by the Negro Ensemble Company.

In 2010, Payton transitioned from New York to Los Angeles where she booked the role of Janet Tanner in the BBC American reboot of Torchwood. She later appeared on The Closer, playing opposite Keira Sedwick as Keisha Murphy.

In 2014, she appeared as the cheerleading coach who takes down a prominent campaign in The Runner starring Nicolas Cage.

In 2016, she received the Los Angeles Pioneer Woman Award for her work providing arts programs to at-risk youth.

In 2019, she starred in the film A Madea Family Funeral.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2007 Flight of Fury Jessica Video 2008 Lords of the Street Maria 2009 Madea Goes to Jail Undercover Detective Midnight Bayou Effie TV movie Tasha Short 2010 Moth to a Flame Kara Short 2012 Melissa Short 2013 Melissa TV movie Paradise Stripper #2 Oldboy Capri 2014 Xxv (25) Chris Short 2015 American Bad Boy Raven Lucy Hall What's Bullying? Teacher TV Short Guiltless Ciera Short 2016 Forward - Short 59 Seconds Foster Mom 2017 Stain Bernice 2018 Dangerous Daze Benita Bangs Short 2019 Sylvia Afterthoughts Det. Paige Aldridge Short 2020 Sanctioned April's Mom Short 2021 Wendy Williams: The Movie Wendy Williams TV movie The Manor Liesel 2022 Respect the Jux Karen 2023 Love & Murder: Atlanta Playboy Sophia

Television Year Title Role Notes 2008 All My Children Reporter Episode: "1.9970" 2010 Fake It Til You Make It MILF Recurring cast 2011 Keisha Murphy Episode: "Unknown Trouble" Torchwood Janet Episode: "Miracle Day: The Middle Men" 2012 Californication Hooker Episode: "The Ride-Along" Body of Proof Eve Johnson Episode: "Going Viral, Part 2" Angel Episode: "Something Rotten in Redmund" Days of Our Lives Martine Kent Regular cast Common Law Kelly Episode: "Joint Custody" 2013 NCIS: Los Angeles Ellen Episode: "History" 2013–14 Graceland Cassandra Recurring cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2 2014 First Nikki Episode: "The First Awkward Moment" Bad Teacher Meg the Bartender Recurring cast It Could be Worse Actress Episode: "Too Much Candy" 2015 Reconcilable Differences Eve Recurring cast Real Husbands of Hollywood Tracy Episode: "Cabin Pressure" 2016 NCIS Laurie Perkins Episode: "Pay to Play" 2017 General Hospital Grace McMorris Episode: "1.13746" & "1.13820" Indoor Boys Alyssa Episode: "Mafia" Ballers Lydia Episode: "Alley-Oops" Zia Episode: "The King, the Widow, and Rick" 2019 Being Mary Jane Keia Episode: "Becoming Pauletta" She's Gotta Have It Jameelah Hawkins Recurring cast: Season 2 2019–Present Tyler Perry’s The Oval Lily Winthrop Main cast 2023 Princess Power Queen Katia Recurring cast