Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

1969-02-21 San Francisco, California, USA 56 Credits

Biography

Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor (/ˈɑːnʒənuː/; née Ellis; born February 21, 1969) is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. She has appeared in numerous films, including Men of Honor (2000), Undercover Brother (2002), Ray (2004), Freedomland (2006), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), The Help (2011), The Birth of a Nation (2016), and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). She was nominated for t...

Known For

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Complete Filmography

Nickel Boys

Nickel Boys

2024

as Hattie

6.6
Acting

Chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.

Exhibiting Forgiveness

Exhibiting Forgiveness

2024

as Joyce

6.7
Acting

A Black artist on the path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a recovering addict desperate to reconcile. Togeth...

The Deliverance

The Deliverance

2024

as Rev Bernice James

6.0
Acting

Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrenc...

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat

2024

as Odette Henry

6.5
Acting

Three lifelong best friends known as “The Supremes” share the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood from decades of weathering life’s storms. Through the jo...

Grace

Grace

2024

Executive Producer

Producing

A 1950s Southern teen questions her faith and sexuality on the eve of her baptism when urged to repent her feelings for her best friend.

The Color Purple

The Color Purple

2023

as Mama

7.1
Acting

A decades-spanning tale of love and resilience and of one woman's journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately find...

Origin

Origin

2023

as Isabel Wilkerson

6.7
Acting

While investigating the global phenomenon of caste and its dark influence on society, a journalist faces unfathomable personal loss and uncovers the b...

Origin

Origin

2023

Executive Producer

6.7
Producing

While investigating the global phenomenon of caste and its dark influence on society, a journalist faces unfathomable personal loss and uncovers the b...

King Richard

King Richard

2021

as Oracene 'Brandy' Price

7.6
Acting

The story of how Richard Williams served as a coach to his daughters Venus and Serena, who will soon become two of the most legendary tennis players i...

The Subject

The Subject

2021

as Leslie

3.9
Acting

A successful white documentarian deals with the fallout from his last film, which caught the murder of a Black teen on tape. While he films a new doc ...

The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel

The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel

2020

as Mattie Moss Clark

7.7
Acting

With guidance from their mother, five siblings overcome humble beginnings to form the renowned gospel group the Clark Sisters.

Miss Virginia

Miss Virginia

2019

as Lorraine Townsend

8.2
Acting

A struggling inner-city mother sacrifices everything to give her son a good education. Unwilling to allow her son to stay in a dangerous school, she l...

If Beale Street Could Talk

If Beale Street Could Talk

2018

as Mrs. Hunt

6.9
Acting

After her fiance is falsely imprisoned, a pregnant African-American woman sets out to clear his name and prove his innocence.

Pimp

Pimp

2018

as Gloria May

6.4
Acting

An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he'...

Romeo and Juliet in Harlem

Romeo and Juliet in Harlem

2017

as Lady Capulet

Acting

The first Shakespeare feature film adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet" with a complete cast of color that stays true to the language and storyline.

The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation

2016

as Nancy Turner

6.6
Acting

Nat Turner, a former slave in America, leads a liberation movement in 1831 to free African-Americans in Virginia that results in a violent retaliation...

Of Mind and Music

Of Mind and Music

2014

as Una Vida

5.6
Acting

Dr. Alvaro Cruz, a neuroscientist, disillusioned by the death of his mother and his inability to help her, finds redemption and reward by helping Una ...

Get on Up

Get on Up

2014

as Vicki Anderson

6.8
Acting

A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.

The Volunteer

The Volunteer

2013

as Leigh

Acting

After quitting her stable but soul-crushing job, Leigh passes her days in an apathetic fog until she decides to volunteer at a soup kitchen. There she...

Abducted: The Carlina White Story

Abducted: The Carlina White Story

2012

as Ann

7.7
Acting

A baby abducted at birth and raised by the woman who took her, eventually discovers she is a missing child, reconnects with her birth parents, and str...

Money Matters

Money Matters

2011

as Pamela Matters

4.7
Acting

A moving and intimate film that follows Monique "Money" Matters (Terri Abney) caught at the brink of adolescence. Her relationship with her mother Pam...

The Help

The Help

2011

as Yule Mae Davis

8.2
Acting

Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson ...

Game of Death

Game of Death

2011

as Rachel

4.9
Acting

CIA agent Marcus is sent undercover to Detroit to take out an arms dealer and the head of the hedge fund that is financing him. His CIA backup has oth...

The Resident

The Resident

2011

as Sydney

5.8
Acting

Juliet, a beautiful doctor, has found the perfect New York apartment to start a new life after separating from her husband. It's got spacious rooms, a...

The Tested

The Tested

2011

as Darraylynn Warren

3.0
Acting

A life shattering tragedy sends three people on vastly different paths to a similar goal of redemption and understanding.

I Love You Phillip Morris

I Love You Phillip Morris

2010

as Reba

6.4
Acting

Steven Russell leads a seemingly average life – an organ player in the local church, happily married to Debbie, and a member of the local police force...

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

2009

as Therese Garber

6.4
Acting

Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatche...

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story

2009

as Candy

7.8
Acting

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story is a movie based on the life story of world-renowned neurosurgeon Ben Carson from 1961 to 1987.

The Hungry Ghosts

The Hungry Ghosts

2009

as Nadia

1.0
Acting

A New York City-set drama of interlocking stories which occur over a 36-hour period.

Motherhood

Motherhood

2009

as Sample Sale Friend

5.0
Acting

In Manhattan, a mother of two preparing for her daughter's sixth birthday party has no idea of the challenges she's about to face in order to pull off...

Notorious

Notorious

2009

as Sandy

6.9
Acting

"Notorious" is the story of Christopher Wallace. Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (...

The Express

The Express

2008

as Marie Davis

7.1
Acting

Follow the inspirational life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.

The Prince of Motor City

2008

as Cora Neel

Acting

A modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet set in Detroit.

Racing for Time

Racing for Time

2008

as Officer Baker

5.8
Acting

Cleveland 'Stack' Stackhouse is a guard with the Texas Correctional Youth Authority who witnesses the cycle of destructive choices and racial tensions...

Cover

Cover

2007

as Valerie Mass

5.2
Acting

When someone is murdered on New Year's Eve, the prime suspect is Valerie Maas, a church-going home-maker whose life unravels when she discovers that h...

Freedomland

Freedomland

2006

as Felicia

5.2
Acting

A black police detective must solve a strange case of a kidnapped boy and deal with a big racial protest.

Perception

Perception

2005

as Vera

Acting

When Jen Marshall, an LA girl with a reckless personality and a laundry list of burned bridges, returns to New York and unexpected tragedy strikes, it...

Ray

Ray

2004

as Mary Ann Fisher

7.5
Acting

Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make h...

Brother to Brother

Brother to Brother

2004

as Zora

5.0
Acting

A drama that looks back on the Harlem Renaissance from the perspective of an elderly, black writer who meets a gay teenager in a New York homeless she...

Lovely & Amazing

Lovely & Amazing

2002

as Lorraine

6.1
Acting

An intimate family portrait of four hapless but resilient women and the bittersweet lessons they learn in keeping up with the hectic demands of their ...

Undercover Brother

Undercover Brother

2002

as Sistah Girl

5.9
Acting

An Afro-American organization, the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., is in permanent fight against a white organization "The Man" defending the values of the bl...

John John in the Sky

John John in the Sky

2001

as Earlene

5.8
Acting

A young boy sets out to build a working airplane in order to allow him to escape with his mother from his abusive father.

The Caveman's Valentine

The Caveman's Valentine

2001

as Lulu

5.8
Acting

Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tr...

Disappearing Acts

Disappearing Acts

2000

as Pam

6.2
Acting

A struggling construction worker and an aspiring musician find themselves falling in love.

The Opponent

The Opponent

2000

5.1
Acting

Patty Sullivan is a battered woman who decides to take charge of her life by taking boxing lessons to better protect herself when her boyfriend become...

Men of Honor

Men of Honor

2000

as Jo

7.5
Acting

Against formidable odds -- and an old-school diving instructor embittered by the U.S. Navy's new, less prejudicial policies -- Carl Brashear sets his ...

A Map of the World

A Map of the World

1999

as Dyshett

6.1
Acting

School nurse Alice Goodwin lives with her husband and two daughters on a dairy farm in a small Wisconsin community. After an accident on her property ...

In Too Deep

In Too Deep

1999

as Denise

6.3
Acting

Drug lord Dwayne Gittens rules Cincinnati with an iron fist. No wonder he's known as "God" on the streets. Determined to break Gittens' stranglehold o...

Desert Blue

Desert Blue

1999

as Agent Summers

5.8
Acting

An academic obsessed with roadside attractions and his tv-star daughter stop at a small desert town to see the world's largest ice cream cone, where, ...

Side Streets

Side Streets

1998

as Brenda Boyce

6.4
Acting

The lives of diverse characters in each of New York City's five boroughs overlap.

Ed's Next Move

Ed's Next Move

1996

as Erica

4.2
Acting

Ed lives in Wisconsin. He's just been dumped by his girlfriend, so he moves to New York City for a big change...but will he ever find love again? He l...

Girls Town

Girls Town

1996

as Nikki

6.1
Acting

The death of a friend galvanizes three high school young women to reassess their friendship and their lives.

HBCU Honors

HBCU Honors

N/A

as Self

Acting

The Inaugural HBCU Honors is an evening in Miami, Fl. hosted by Wendy Raquel Robinson to celebrate HBCU alum: Sheila Chamberlain, Pinky Cole, Aunjanue...

Liz Here Now

N/A

as Liz Baxter

Acting

Liz Baxter, who works as a nanny for a prominent, has a white family in Oakland, California, during the rise of the Black Panther Party in 1967. When ...

Liz Here Now

N/A

Executive Producer

Producing

Liz Baxter, who works as a nanny for a prominent, has a white family in Oakland, California, during the rise of the Black Panther Party in 1967. When ...

Untitled Sister Rosetta Tharpe Biopic

N/A

Writer

Writing

A biopic of the Godmother of Rock and Roll.