Alexandra Grey

Alexandra Noele Grey (born January 4, 1991) is an American actress and musician, best known for her role as Melody Barnes on the Fox television series Empire (2015–present).[1] She had recurring roles on Amazon's Transparent and portrayed Denise Lockwood on the NBC TV medical drama Chicago Med. Grey has also landed guest roles on Code Black, How to Get Away with Murder, Drunk History and the period drama television series The Alienist.[2]

Alexandra Grey
Grey in 2020
Born
Alexandra Noele Grey

January 4, 1991 (1991-01-04) (age 29)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationCrete-Monee High School
Alma materCalifornia State University, Northridge
OccupationActress, singer
Years active2011–present
Known for

Early life and education

Grey was born in Chicago.[3] She grew up in foster care.[4][3] Grey, a trans woman, stated in an interview, "I knew as early as 4 that I wanted to be a girl," but didn't know how to discuss this with her foster parents, stating "In the African‑American community, this stuff is not even up for discussion."[4]

After graduating from community college, Grey initially came out to her foster parents as gay. They were reluctant to accept her sexuality.[5][4] Once she told them she was transgender, they threw her out of the house.[5][4] She moved from Chicago to Los Angeles, and lived in an LGBT homeless shelter until she saved enough money to get her own place.[5] She attended California State University Northridge and studied theater.[3]

Career

Grey moved to Los Angeles with the hopes of beginning a career in singing or acting.[6] In 2016, she was cast as Elizah Parks in the third season of Transparent. Grey played a troubled foster youth living in South Central Los Angeles, California who calls Maura, played by Jeffrey Tambor, on the LGBT suicide hotline for help. The season went on to win the GLAAD Media Award for Best Comedy Series and later earned seven Primetime Emmy Nominations in 2017.[4]

Grey also guest-starred on Season 2 of the CBS TV medical drama Code Black as Beth Jensen a young queer woman battling abdominal pains.[7] She then guest-starred on Season 4 of the Comedy Central series Drunk History where she portrayed gay rights activist Marsha P. Johnson. Upon its release, the episode trended on Facebook for two days and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Individual TV Episode. The same year the episode was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards. Grey was considered for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. On June 3, 2016, it was announced that she was cast alongside Michael K. Williams, Phylicia Rashad, and Whoopi Goldberg to play trans activist and civil rights pioneer Seville Anderson in the ABC mini-series When We Rise. The series was directed by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black. In the fall of 2016, she was cast in a recurring role on Chicago Med, in which she plays Denise, the older sister of head charge nurse Maggie Lockwood.[8] She appeared as a guest star on the legal drama Doubt in 2017 with co-star Dule Hill. Grey played Delilah Johnson, a woman on trial for the murder of a famous athlete. The story line was based off the real life story of CeCe McDonald.[9]

As a singer, Grey opened for singer-songwriter Zara Larsson in October 2016, and completed a twelve city summer music tour the same year.[6][10]

In 2017, transgender actors and actresses including Grey (with the help of GLAAD and ScreenCrush) were part of a filmed letter to Hollywood written by Jen Richards, asking for more and improved roles for transgender people.[11][12]

In the fall of 2018, it was announced that she would star as Gossamer Bryant in the new coming of age drama Gossamer Folds alongside Shane West, Yeardley Smith, and Sprague Grayden. The drama tells the story of a friendship between a black midwestern trans woman and a 10 year old kid played by Jackson Robert Scott in 1980s Kansas City. Grey landed her first national print campaign in 2019 with Absolut to commemorate Pride and 38 years of acceptance with the brand.

In January 2019, she reprised her role as Elizah Parks on Transparent for its fifth and final season which premiered later that year on Amazon Prime. The series went on to win the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series in 2020.[13][14] In September 2019, it was announced via Deadline Hollywood that Grey had joined the sixth and final season cast of Empire to play Melody Barnes, a pop singer and songwriter who was signed to Empire Records by Lucious Lyon ten years earlier and has now reemerged under a new label headed by Cookie Lyon.[1] Grey has since recorded five singles on the soundtrack which have all been released by Hollywood Records. In October, she guest-starred on How to Get Away with Murder where she played Brandi Green, a young woman on trial for the murder of her husband, opposite Viola Davis.

In 2020, she portrayed the fictional character of Alice Tolton in the second season of the TNT drama series The Alienist, based on the 1994 novel of the same name by Caleb Carr.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2012 K-11 Xandra Kayden
2012 I Do College Student
2013 Baggage Claim Kiele
2015 The Fix Alexis
2015 Between The Miles Dana Fields
2015 Straight Outta Compton News Reporter Uncredited
2016 This Holiday Erica
2019 Miller & Son Lucy Student Academy Awards Best Narrative (Domestic) Won

BAFTA Student Film Awards Best Live Action Short Film Won

2020 Gossamer Folds [13][14] Gossamer Bryant Lead
2020 Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen Herself Documentary film

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Jess Like Me Lisa Knight 22 episodes (main role)
2012 DTLA Eva Episode: "Pilot"
2015 Glee Erica Episode: "Transitioning"
Chasing Life Kenya Martin Episode: "As Long as We Both Shall Live"
2016–Present Transparent Elizah Parks Recurring Role

Won - GLAAD Media Award for Best Comedy Series (2017)

Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical (2017)

Nominated - OFTA for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2017)

Won - Dorian Award for LGBTQ TV Show of the Year (2017)

Won - GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series (2020)

2016 Code Black Beth Episode: "Life and Limb"
Drunk History Marsha P. Johnson Episode: "Bar Fights"
Nominated - GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Individual TV Episode (2017)

Nominated - Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series. (2017)

2016–Present Chicago Med Denise Lockwood Recurring Role
2017 When We Rise Seville Main Cast

Nominated- GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series (2017), Nominated- 2018 Satellite Awards for Best Miniseries

Doubt Delilah Johnson Episode: "Faith"
2019 How to Get Away with Murder Brandi Green Episode: Do You Think I'm A Bad Man?
Empire Melody Barnes Recurring Role (7 Episodes)
2020 Equal Lucy Hicks Anderson pre-production
The Alienist Alice Sequel series based upon the follow-up novel The Angel of Darkness

References
  1. Ramos, Dino-Ray. "'Transparent' Actress Alexandra Grey To Recur On 'Empire'". Retrieved October 1, 2019. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. O'Shaughnessy, David (2016-04-02). "The Glaad Media Awards 2016". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  3. "Alexandra Grey: Celebrity Impressions and Seeing More Diverse Women on TV". AfterBuzz TV. January 16, 2017. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  4. Stacey Wilson Hunt (September 28, 2016). "The Trans Talent Behind Transparent". Vulture. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  5. Dawn Ennis (November 15, 2016). "Trans Actress Alexandra Grey's Journey From Homelessness To Prime Time: "We're Not Just Doing This To Be Famous"". Logo TV. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  6. Alex Schmider (October 5, 2016). "Alexandra Grey is the trans actress taking over fall TV". GLAAD. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  7. Petski, Denise (July 20, 2016). "Code Black: Camryn Manheim, Eric Roberts & Alexandra Grey To Guest Star In Season 2". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  8. Hearon, Sarah (2016-07-20). "TVLine Items: Code Black Guest Stars, The Rock Hits Muscle Beach and More". TVLine.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  9. Maria Elena Fernandez (September 8, 2016). "Alexandra Grey Cast in Guest Role on CBS's Doubt". Yahoo News. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  10. John Walker (September 27, 2016). "Meet Alexandra Grey, the breakout star of 'Transparent' season three". Fusion. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  11. "New Video Breaks Down Why Hollywood Needs Transgender Actors | HuffPost". Huffingtonpost.com. 2017. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  12. Reynolds, Daniel. "Trans Actors Ask Hollywood for Roles With Dignity and Depth in Open Letter". Advocate.com. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  13. Ramos, Dino-Ray (November 15, 2018). "Yeardley Smith's Paperclip Ltd. Sets Transgender Drama 'Gossamer Folds' Starring 'Transparent's Alexandra Grey".
  14. "Yeardley Smith's Paperclip Ltd and Mill House Motion Pictures Announce "Gossamer Folds" Drama, Begin Principal Photography". BroadwayWorld.com.
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