With the rise of Black Hollywood, a few female actresses have stood out in the past year and hold tremendous promise for 2014. We bring you a list of 30 of our favourites. A combination of new faces and long-time stars, we are pleased to also have women of Nigerian descent (Ashley Madueke and Adepero Oduye) and women who are Nigerian by marriage (Kerry Washington and Nia Long) in the list.
Presented in no particular order, see who we think you should be looking out for in 2014.
Did you miss someone out? Please do tell us in the comments box.
Ashley Madekwe
Salem (WGN)
Revenge (ABC)
Gabrielle Union
Cooking4Luv (2015)
Being Mary Jane (BET)
Think Like a Man Too (2014)
Kerry Washington
Scandal (ABC)
Peeples (2013)
Quevanzhane Wallis
12 Years a Slave (2013)
Annie (2014)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Belle (2014)
Blackbird (2013)
Odd Thomas (2013)
Mo’Nique
Blackbird (2014)
Jasika Nicole
Scandal (ABC)
Fringe (Fox)
Lupita Nyong’o
Non-Stop (2014)
12 Years a Slave (2013)
Adepero Oduye
12 Years A Slave (2013)
My Name Is David (2014)
Britni Oldford
Ravenswood (ABC Family)
36 Saints (2013)
Darkroom (2013)
American Horror Story Asylum (FX)
Keke Palmer
A Trip To Bountiful (Lifetime)
Animal (2014)
Brotherly Love (2014)
Imperial Dreams (2014)
The Trevor Project’s 2011 Trevor Live! at The Hollywood Palladium – Arrivals
(Photo Credit: WENN)
Amber Riley
Glee (Fox)
Maya Rudolph
Inherent Vice (2014)
The Nut Job (voice, 2014)
We Need Help (2013)
The Maya Rudolph Variety Show (upcoming host & executive producer, NBC)
Gabourey Sidibe
Life Partners (2014)
American Horror Story Coven (FX)
White Bird in a Blizzard (2014)
The Big C (Showtime)
Jurnee Smollett-Bell
Hands of Stone (2014)
Parenthood (NBC)
True Blood (HBO)
Amandla Stenberg
Sleepy Hollow (2014)
Mr. Anderson (2014)
Rio 2 (voice, 2014)
Tika Sumpter
The Haves and The Have Nots (OWN)
My Man is a Loser (2014)
Get On Up (2014)
Ride Along (2014)
Taraji P. Henson
Person of Interest (CBS)
Think Like a Man Too (2014)
No Good Deed (2014)
Strictly Sexual II (2014)
Zoe Kravitz
The Road Within (2014)
Pretend We’re Kissing (2014)
Divergent (2014)
Miss Bala (release date TBA)
Freema Agyeman
The Carrie Diaries (CW)
Old Jacks Boat (BBC)
Rubenesque (Sky, UK)
Danielle Brooks
I Dream Too Much (2014)
Orange is the New Black (Netflix)
Girls (HBO)
Sanaa Lathan
Macbett (2014)
Repentance (2014)
Best Man Holiday (2013)
Nia Long
The Single Moms Club (2014)
Best Man Holiday (2014)
House of Lies (2013)
Joy Bryant
Parenthood (NBC)
About Last Night (2014)
Yaya DaCosta (a.k.a. Yaya Alafia)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Big Words (2013)
Mother of George (2013)
‘Gabrielle Dennis
Black Coffee (2014)
Justified (FX)
Call Me King (2014)
Kimberly Elise
A Day Late and a Dollar Short (2014, Lifetime)
Hit The Floor (VH1)
Event 15 (2013)
Meagan Good
Doctor Me (2014)
Think Like a Man Too (2014)
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
Danai Gurira
The Walking Dead (AMC)
Mother of George (2013)
Regina Hall
Think Like a Man Too (2014)
About Last Night (2014)
Naomie Harris
Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
Bond 24 (2015, rumored)
(Hattip to Clutch)
