Persia White

Persia White (born October 25, 1976) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Lynn Searcy on the UPN/CW sitcom Girlfriends and as Abby Bennett Wilson in The Vampire Diaries (2012–2017). White is also a singer, and released a solo album, Mecca, in 2009.

Early life White was born 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was one of four children to an Irish-American mother and a Bahamian father. Her early years were spent in The Bahamas. White's father was paralyzed in a car accident when she was three, and he later moved to Miami to seek better medical care. White's mother moved with her children to South Florida two years later but did not reunite with White's father. White later joined the Miami Coconut Grove Children's Theater. As a teen, she studied dance, acting, singing, and painting. After high school, White signed with the Ford Agency and obtained her Screen Actors Guild card. She then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.

Career White has appeared in various independent films, including Red Letters (opposite Peter Coyote) and the cult horror Blood Dolls. She starred in the made-for-TV movies Operation Sandman, opposite Ron Perlman, and Suddenly, opposite Kirstie Alley. Her television work includes appearances on Angel, NYPD Blue, The Steve Harvey Show, Brooklyn South, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as regular roles on Breaker High with co-star Ryan Gosling, Sister, Sister as Anya and Girlfriends as Lynn. In 2008, White appeared in The Fall of Night in the role of Dawn. She can also be seen in Chrisette Michele's video for "Be OK".

In addition to acting, White also co-produced the award-winning documentary Earthlings, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix. In July 2011, White won the award for Best Performance by an Actor in the American Black Film Festival for her work in Dysfunctional Friends. She also appeared as Bonnie's mother on The Vampire Diaries in a semi-recurring role.

In 2019, she reunited with her Girlfriends co-stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Jill Marie Jones, and Golden Brooks in an episode of the ABC comedy series Black-ish.

Personal life White is a vegan, a human and animal rights advocate, and environmentalist. She was honored by PETA as a 2005 Humanitarian of the Year. She is a board member for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

White has a daughter, born .

On February 29, 2008, White became engaged to singer Saul Williams, her boyfriend of five years, and married in 2008. They met in 2003 when he made a guest appearance on the TV show Girlfriends. On January 17, 2009, White announced via her Myspace blog that she and Williams were no longer together.

After three years of dating, White married fellow Vampire Diaries actor Joseph Morgan in Ocho Rios, Jamaica on July 5, 2014, after which, he adopted her daughter and they had her legal name changed to Mecca Morgan White.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1993 Last Action Hero Herself 1994 Blue Chips - 1996 Suddenly Trina TV movie 1999 Blood Dolls Black Baby 2000 Operation Sandman Private Winslow TV movie Red Letters Vanessa Cody Stalled Leanne 2007 The Fall of Night Dawn Everyday Joe Gina Short 2009 Spoken Word Shea 2010 Kiss the Bride Trina Video 2012 Dysfunctional Friends Trenyce The Marriage Chronicles Marcia Anson Guardian of Eden Clarke Black November Tracey No Mo Games Morgan Mafia Mel 2013 Revelation - Short 2014 Desiree Jack 2016 Wichita Raven 2017 Cargo Berneice Candid - Short Miss Me This Christmas Millicent Williams You Can't Fight Christmas Millicent Williams Carousel Nicole Short 2018 Juice Truck Pat Short

Television Year Title Role Notes 1995 The Client Black Female Student Episode: "The Burning of Atlanta" 1996 NYPD Blue Margie Episode: "These Old Bones" Malibu Shores Listener Episode: "Hotline" Saved by the Bell: The New Class Heather Episode: "Little Hero" Goode Behavior Trish Episode: "Goode Grades" 1997 Weird Science Kim Episode: "Gary Had a Little Cram" The Burning Zone Jenny Episode: "Critical Mass" Sister, Sister Anya Episode: "Three the Heart Way" The Parent 'Hood Alexia Episode: "Tango & Cash" Buffy the Vampire Slayer Aura Episode: "Welcome to the Hellmouth" Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction Molly Episode: "On the Road" 1997–98 Breaker High Denise Williams Main Cast 1998 Brooklyn South Cinnamon Episode: "Cinnamon Buns" Malcolm & Eddie Sharon Episode: "Bowl-a-Drama" 1999 The Steve Harvey Show Monique Episode: "All That Jazz" Clueless Veronica Episode: "My Best Friend's Boyfriend" Another World Kineisha 'K.C.' Burrell Regular Cast 2000–08 Girlfriends Lynn Searcy Main Cast 2001 The Test Herself/Panelist Episode: "The Liar Test" Angel Agnes "Aggie" Belfleur Episode: "Over the Rainbow" 2004 NAACP Image Awards Herself/Co-Host Main Co-Host 2005 Infanity Herself Episode: "Girlfriends" Unscripted Flirty Girl Episode: "Episode #1.8" 2008 Battleground Earth Herself Episode: "Something's Fishy" 2012–17 The Vampire Diaries Abby Bennett Wilson Recurring Cast: Season 3, Guest: Season 4 & 8 2019 Black-ish Lila Episode: "Feminisn't" 2020 Will & Grace Katie Palmer-Payne Episode: "Of Mouse and Men"

Documentary Year Title Role 2005 Earthlings Co-Narrator 2015 Unity Narrator

Awards

Music Mecca is Persia White's debut album. It was released digitally on October 31, 2009, and on CD on December 8, 2009. The title comes from the name of White's daughter. The final three songs on the album were all featured in several episodes of Girlfriends.

"Wanting" – 3:58 "Perfect" – 3:15 "Receive" (featuring Saul Williams) – 4:15 "Pressed Against Gods Thoughts" – 2:02 "Haunt" – 3:02 "2 Sea" – 1:23 "Danger" (featuring Saul Williams) – 3:25 "Salvation" – 4:57 "Tease" (featuring Tricky) – 3:22 "Choices" (Girlfriends season 6 finale song) – 2:47 "Past Mistakes" (featuring Tricky) – 4:10