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Persia White

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Persia White
White in 2024
Born
Persia Venessa White

(1972-10-25) October 25, 1972 (age 52)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • musician
Years active1994–present
Known forLynn Searcy in Girlfriends
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 2008; div. 2009)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 2014)​
Children1
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Labels
  • Hybrid Music
Websitepersia-white.com
Left to right: Mara Brock Akil with White, Golden Brooks, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Jill Marie Jones in 2013

Persia White (born October 25, 1972) is a Bahamian-born American actress, singer and musician. White is known for her role as Denise Williams on the short-lived television series Breaker High and as Lynn Searcy on the UPN/CW sitcom Girlfriends.[1] White is also a member of the band XEO3, and a solo singer who released her debut album Mecca in 2009. She is also known for her role as Abby Bennett Wilson in The Vampire Diaries (2012-2017).[2]

Early life

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White was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was one of four children to an Irish-American mother and a Bahamian father.[3] Her early years were spent in the Bahamas. White's father was paralyzed in a car accident when she was three, and he later moved to Miami to seek better medical care. White's mother moved with her children to South Florida two years later but did not reunite with White's father.[4] White later joined the Miami Coconut Grove Children's Theater. As a teen, she studied dance, acting, singing, and painting. After high school, White signed with the Ford Agency and obtained her Screen Actors Guild card. She then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.[5]

Career

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White has appeared in various independent films, including Red Letters (opposite Peter Coyote) and the cult horror Blood Dolls. She starred in the made-for-TV movies Operation Sandman, opposite Ron Perlman, and Suddenly, opposite Kirstie Alley. Her television work includes appearances on Angel, NYPD Blue, The Steve Harvey Show, Brooklyn South, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as regular roles on Breaker High with co-star Ryan Gosling, Sister Sister as Anya and Girlfriends as Lynn. In 2008, White appeared in The Fall of Night in the role of Dawn. She can also be seen in Chrisette Michele's video for "Be OK".

In addition to acting, White also co-produced the award-winning documentary Earthlings, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix.[6] In July 2011, White won the award for Best Performance by an Actor in the American Black Film Festival for her work in Dysfunctional Friends.[7] She also appeared as Bonnie's mother on The Vampire Diaries in a semi-recurring role.

In 2019, she reunited with her Girlfriends co-stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Jill Marie Jones, and Golden Brooks in an episode of the ABC comedy series Black-ish.[8]

Personal life

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White is a vegan, a human and animal rights advocate, and environmentalist. She was honored by PETA as a 2005 Humanitarian of the Year.[9] She is a board member for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.[10]

White has a daughter, Mecca Morgan White, born c. 1995.[11]

On February 29, 2008, White became engaged to singer Saul Williams, her boyfriend of five years, and married in 2008. They met in 2003 when he made a guest appearance on the TV show Girlfriends.[12][13] On January 17, 2009, White announced via her Myspace blog that she and Williams were no longer together.[14]

After three years of dating, White married fellow Vampire Diaries actor Joseph Morgan in Ocho Rios, Jamaica on July 5, 2014, after which, he adopted her daughter and they had her legal name changed to Mecca Morgan White.[15][16]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 Last Action Hero Herself
1994 Blue Chips -
1996 Suddenly Trina TV movie
1999 Blood Dolls Black Baby
2000 Operation Sandman Private Winslow TV movie
Red Letters Vanessa Cody
Stalled Leanne
2007 The Fall of Night Dawn
Everyday Joe Gina Short
2009 Spoken Word Shea
2010 Kiss the Bride Trina Video
2012 Dysfunctional Friends Trenyce
The Marriage Chronicles Marcia Anson
Guardian of Eden Clarke
Black November Tracey
No Mo Games Morgan
Mafia Mel
2013 Revelation - Short
2014 Desiree Jack
2016 Wichita Raven
2017 Cargo Berneice
Candid - Short
Miss Me This Christmas Millicent Williams
You Can't Fight Christmas Millicent Williams
Carousel Nicole Short
2018 Juice Truck Pat Short

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1995 The Client Black Female Student Episode: "The Burning of Atlanta"
1996 NYPD Blue Margie Episode: "These Old Bones"
Malibu Shores Listener Episode: "Hotline"
Saved by the Bell: The New Class Heather Episode: "Little Hero"
Goode Behavior Trish Episode: "Goode Grades"
1997 Weird Science Kim Episode: "Gary Had a Little Cram"
The Burning Zone Jenny Episode: "Critical Mass"
Sister, Sister Anya Episode: "Three the Heart Way"
The Parent 'Hood Alexia Episode: "Tango & Cash"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Aura Episode: "Welcome to the Hellmouth"
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction Molly Episode: "On the Road"
1997–98 Breaker High Denise Williams Main Cast
1998 Brooklyn South Cinnamon Episode: "Cinnamon Buns"
Malcolm & Eddie Sharon Episode: "Bowl-a-Drama"
1999 The Steve Harvey Show Monique Episode: "All That Jazz"
Clueless Veronica Episode: "My Best Friend's Boyfriend"
Another World Kineisha 'K.C.' Burrell Regular Cast
2000–08 Girlfriends Lynn Searcy Main Cast
2001 The Test Herself/Panelist Episode: "The Liar Test"
Angel Agnes "Aggie" Belfleur Episode: "Over the Rainbow"
2004 NAACP Image Awards Herself/Co-Host Main Co-Host
2005 Infanity Herself Episode: "Girlfriends"
Unscripted Flirty Girl Episode: "Episode #1.8"
2008 Battleground Earth Herself Episode: "Something's Fishy"
2012–17 The Vampire Diaries Abby Bennett Wilson Recurring Cast: Season 3, Guest: Season 4 & 8
2019 Black-ish Lila Episode: "Feminisn't"
2020 Will & Grace Katie Palmer-Payne Episode: "Of Mouse and Men"

Documentary

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Year Title Role
2005 Earthlings Co-Narrator
2015 Unity Narrator

Awards

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Year Award Category Title of work Win/Nomination
2008 ALMA Award Outstanding Female Performance in a Comedy Television Series Girlfriends Nomination
2023 Vienna Independent Film Festival Best Music Video Vampire[17] Winner

Music

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Mecca
Studio album by
Persia White
ReleasedOctober 31, 2009
Recorded2005–2009
Genre
Length36:30
LabelHybrid Music
Singles from Mecca
  1. "Wanting"
    Released: October 7, 2009

Mecca is Persia White's debut album. It was released digitally on October 31, 2009, and on CD on December 8, 2009. The title comes from the name of White's daughter. The final three songs on the album were all featured in several episodes of Girlfriends.

  1. "Wanting" – 3:58
  2. "Perfect" – 3:15
  3. "Receive" (featuring Saul Williams) – 4:15
  4. "Pressed Against Gods Thoughts" – 2:02
  5. "Haunt" – 3:02
  6. "2 Sea" – 1:23
  7. "Danger" (featuring Saul Williams) – 3:25
  8. "Salvation" – 4:57
  9. "Tease" (featuring Tricky) – 3:22
  10. "Choices" (Girlfriends season 6 finale song) – 2:47
  11. "Past Mistakes" (featuring Tricky) – 4:10

References

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  1. ^ Crissy Calhoun (2014). Love You to Death – Season 3: The Unofficial Companion to the Vampire Diaries. ECW Press. ISBN 9781770903234. Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  2. ^ "Persia White | Actress, Writer, Director". IMDb. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "Persia White". Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  4. ^ Turner, Miki (February 23, 2004). "Persia's Edge". Sun-Sentinel. p. 1. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  5. ^ Turner, Miki (February 23, 2004). "Persia's Edge". Sun-Sentinel. p. 2. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  6. ^ "Earthlings: Cast and Crew". earthlings.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2010. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  7. ^ "ABFF Announced 2011 Winners". abff.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  8. ^ "The 'Girlfriends' cast reunites on 'black-ish' — and EW has a first look at them back together". EW.com. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  9. ^ "Persia White: Biography". cwtv.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  10. ^ "SSCS Board of Directors: Persia White". seashepherd.org. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  11. ^ Girl, L.A. (July 24, 2014). "Top 10 things about Persia White Vampires Diaries actor Joseph Morgan's Wife". Daily Entertainment News. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2016. White, who will turn 42 this year, is the mother of an 19-year-old daughter...
  12. ^ "Feeding sheep : photo image" (JPG). I2.tinypic.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  13. ^ "Persia White attending the 19th Annual Genesis Awards – Arrivals and VIP Reception held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA on 3/19/2005 | SGG-059590". Prphotos.com. March 19, 2005. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  14. ^ "Love Life and Friendship". blogs.myspace.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
  15. ^ "Joseph Morgan Marries Persia White in Jamaica". Archived from the original on May 20, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  16. ^ "Who Is Joseph Morgan's Wife? All About Persia White". Peoplemag. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  17. ^ "VIFF". September 6, 2023. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
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