Zora Howard

Zora Howard is an American actress and writer. Her debut play, STEW, premiered off-Broadway in February 2020 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. She also co-wrote and starred in the 2019 drama Premature.

Early life and education Howard was born to veterinarian Julie Butler and Claude Howard and raised in Harlem. She began writing poetry at a young age, and performed with the spoken word group The Strivers Row. At age 13 she was the youngest poet ever to win the Urban Word NYC Grand Slam finals. Howard attended the world renowned Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, the FAME school. She received her Bachelors of Arts from Yale University in 2014.

Career The 2019 film Premature is Howard's first starring role and debut feature film screenplay, co-written with director Rashaad Ernesto Green. Howard previously met Green in New York's theater scene when she was 11. When she was 14, he cast her in his student film while a student at NYU Tisch, also called Premature.

Howard's first play, STEW, ran in February 2020 at Walkerspace in New York. It centers a family of three generations of women who must grapple with their personal choices. 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Finalist (for STEW)