Saycon Sengbloh

Saycon Sengbloh (born October 23, 1977) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play and an Obie Award for Outstanding Performance for her role in Danai Gurira's play Eclipsed in 2016. She first began acting at Tri-Cities School for the Visual and Performing Arts. Sengbloh then attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, where she studied music and Spanish before leaving to pursue a career in acting and music.

Stage Sengbloh has starred in a number of Broadway musicals, including Aida, Wicked (as a standby for Elphaba), The Color Purple, Hair, Fela!, Motown: The Musical, and Holler If Ya Hear Me. Her breakthrough came in 2015, when Danai Gurira cast Sengbloh in Eclipsed, a play about five Liberian women and their tale of survival near the end of the Second Liberian Civil War. It became the first play with an all-black and female creative cast and team to premiere on Broadway. Eclipsed opened Off-Broadway at The Public Theater in October 2015 with positive reviews and ran until November 2015. The following year, it transferred to Broadway, premiering at the John Golden Theatre with an opening on March 6, 2016. Her performance received positive reviews from critics. She won Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for original Off-Broadway production, and Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play nomination for Broadway production. She played the role of Roberta in the 2018 historical drama film Ask for Jane. In 2021, she starred opposite Jennifer Hudson in the biographical drama film Respect playing Erma Franklin, the elder sister of Aretha Franklin. In 2021, it was announced that she would play lead role Lillian Williams in the reboot of the TV series, The Wonder Years.

Miscellaneous In 2019, Sengbloh launched a personal lifestyle podcast called SayconTalks.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1997 The Ditchdigger's Daughters Kimberly TV movie 1998 Kismet Sasha Short 1999 Funny Valentines Young Dearie B. 2007 Across the Universe Sadie's Singer American Gangster Tango's Woman 2008 44 Sophie Short 2012 Love & Squalor Carly Short 2017 Double Play Nora 2018 Ask for Jane Roberta 2020 A Shot Through The Wall Community Organizer 2021 Respect Erma Franklin 2025 Love, Brooklyn Beth Vera's Holiday Flop Rhonda

Television Year Title Role Notes 1999 Dawson's Creek Conspiracy Theorist Episode: "Escape from Witch Island" 2008 Law & Order Nurse Jamie Peltzer Episode: "Falling" 2014 The Good Wife Stacie Wagner Episode: "Dear God" 2016 The Night Of Tombs Officer Episode: "Subtle Beast" 2017 Scandal Angela Webster Recurring Cast: Season 6 Ten Days in the Valley Diane Episode: "Day 7" & "Day 8" 2019 The Passage Jeanette Bellafonte Episode: "You Are Like the Sun" 2019-20 In the Dark Jules Becker Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2 2021 Delilah Leah Dorsey Recurring Cast 2021-23 The Wonder Years Lillian Williams Main Cast

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Tony Awards Best Featured Actress in a Play Eclipsed Outer Critics Circle Awards Best Featured Actress in a Play Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Outstanding Actress in a Musical The Secret Life of Bees