Tamika Sonja Lawrence is a two time Grammy winning American actress, singer, and writer.

Tamika Lawrence
Born
Tamika Sonja Lawrence

January 11
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Arizona (BFA)
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actress
Websitetamikalawrence.com

Early life and education

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Lawrence was born on January 11 in Columbus, Ohio. She received her BFA in musical theatre from the University of Arizona.[1]

Career

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Lawrence made her off-Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of Rent as the "Seasons of Love" Soloist. Since then she has appeared in seven Broadway shows and made several television and film appearances. In 2017 Lawrence and her band, "The Slay", released their album UGLY. Lawrence won a Grammy for the Dear Evan Hansen album in 2018.[2] Lawrence announced that her debut record, Two Faced, would be released in 2019.

For her performance as Buni in the original off-Broadway production of Black No More, Lawrence was nominated for the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical[3] and Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical.[4]

Acting credits

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Theatre

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Year Title Role Notes
2011 Rent Mrs. Jefferson/Ensemble/Joanne (u/s) Off-Broadway
2012 The Book of Mormon Mrs. Brown Broadway
2013 Matilda Ensemble/Mrs. Wormwood (u/s)/Mrs. Phelps (u/s) Broadway
2014–2015 If/Then Elena/Kate (u/s) Broadway
2015 The Tempest Ceres Off-Broadway
2016 Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Shirelle/Janelle Woods Broadway
2016–present Dear Evan Hansen Virtual Community Voice Broadway
2017–2022 Come From Away Standby for Janice, Hannah, Bonnie, Beulah, & Diane Broadway
2018 Gettin' the Band Back Together Roxanne Velasco Broadway
2019 Hercules Calliope Off-Broadway
2021 Caroline, or Change Dotty Moffett Broadway
2022 Black No More Buni Off-Broadway
2024 The Heart of Rock and Roll Roz Broadway

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2016 White Girl Female Visitor #1
Breakable You Tara

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Mignon Episode: "True Believers"
2014 Christmas in Rockefeller Center Playback singer TV special
Idina Menzel: Holiday Wishes Singer iHeartRadio concert special
2015 Blue Bloods Nina Episode: "Home Sweet Home"
Show Me a Hero Young Mother 2 episodes
The Wiz Live! Deputy Munchkin TV special
2016 Vinyl Starr Episode: "The Racket"
2018 The Last O.G. Dawn Episode: "Tray-ning Day"
2021–2022 That Damn Michael Che Recurring

Discography

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Year Title Notes
2013 Matilda (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Background vocals
2014 If/Then (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
2015 Love the Coopers (Film Soundtrack) Sings "O Holy Night"
2017 The Greatest Showman (Film Soundtrack) Ensemble vocalist
UGLY With Tamika & The Slay
2018 Gettin' the Band Back Together (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
2020 Two Faced
2021 In the Heights (Film Soundtrack) Vocal ensemble
Needle in a Timestack (Film Soundtrack) Sings "Won't Be Undone"
Caroline, or Change (New Broadway Cast Recording)

References

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  1. ^ "Tamika Sonja Lawrence". University of Arizona | School of Theatre, Film & Television. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  2. ^ "AMC: Tamika Lawrence and Bel-Ami". Apollo Theater. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  3. ^ Moynihan, Caitlin (May 16, 2022). "Six and Kimberly Akimbo Lead 2022 Drama Desk Nominations". Broadway.com. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  4. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (April 7, 2022). "2022 Lucille Lortel Awards: See the Complete List of Nominees". Playbill. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
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