Aunjanue Ellis

Aunjanue Taylor is an American actress and producer well-known for her performances in the shows she played on Ray Undercover Brother, The Mentalist and The television series The Mentalist. She holds a BA in African-American Studies from Brown University as well as an MFA in acting from the Tisch School of the Arts New York University. Aunjanue is an actor in the theater and film as well as a producer. She started her career with theater, and was later featured in several television series and independent and mainstream film. Her most well-known role was Miranda Shaw on ABC's Quantico as well as on BET's epic series The Book of Negroes for which she received not just high praise but also many nods and awards. One of them was the Television Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Actress in a Film. In 1995 she made her acting debut on stage in The Tempest as Ariel. The stage credits she has received include the Broadway production of Joe Turner's Come and Gone A Winter's Tale Drowning Crow as well as Seeking the Genesis. In her film career, she's best known for the roles she played in Men of Honor The Caveman's Valentine The Express or The Help. The role she played as a regular on ABC's drama detective series High Incident earned her praises.