Actors from Harlem

Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert (née Taylor; born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model, dancer, choreographer, and music video director. In 2006, she choreographed the music video for Beyoncé's single "Ring the Alarm". In the following year, she signed a record deal with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope Records to embark on a career as an recording artist. Taylor would then appear on MTV's My Super Sweet 16, prior to the 2008 release of her debut single "Google Me". Despite lukewarm commercial response, she later gained wider attention for her uncredited guest performances on the songs "Dark Fantasy" and "Hell of a Life" by Kanye West, from his highly-acclaimed album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). She asked to be released from her contract with Star Trak and signed to West's GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings two years later.

Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (born September 4, 1960) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer, and member of the Wayans family of entertainers. Wayans performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a year long stint on the sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live.

Camara DaCosta Johnson (born November 15, 1982), better known as Yaya DaCosta, is an American actress and model. She was the runner-up in Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model. DaCosta eventually went to star in ABC's daytime drama series All My Children (2008), ABC's comedy-drama Ugly Betty (2009), and NBC's medical drama Chicago Med (2015–2022). DaCosta starred in the Lifetime television film Whitney (2015) as singer Whitney Houston and received praise for her performance.

Allen Payne (born Allen Roberts on July 7, 1968) is an American actor best known for his role as Jason Alexander in the 1994 drama film Jason's Lyric, as well as his portrayal of C.J. Payne on the family sitcom Tyler Perry's House of Payne (2006–present). Payne is also known for his portrayal of Lance Rodman on NBC's The Cosby Show during its final two seasons. On film, Payne also played Gerald "Gee Money" Wells in the 1991 film New Jack City, and Detective Justice in the 1995 film Vampire in Brooklyn.

Rochelle Aytes (born May 17, 1976) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as April Malloy on ABC drama series Mistresses (2013–16). Aytes also starred in the auto-biography story film of TLC titled CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story as Perri "Pebbles" Reid, short-lived series Drive and The Forgotten (2009–10), as well as Criminal Minds and Work It. In film, Aytes has appeared in White Chicks, Madea's Family Reunion and Trick 'r Treat. Aytes also had a recurring role as Agent Greer, an ex-CIA officer, on the CBS television series Hawaii Five-0. She is currently performing in Season 2 of USA's The Purge.

Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans Sr. (born June 8, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and a member of the Wayans family of entertainers. He first came to prominence as the host and the creator of the 1990–1994 Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color. He has produced, directed and/or written several films, starting with Hollywood Shuffle, which he cowrote, in 1987.

Diahann Carroll (born Carol Diann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She rose to prominence in some of the earliest major studio films to feature black casts, including Carmen Jones (1954) and Porgy and Bess (1959). In 1962, Carroll won a Tony Award for best actress, a first for an African American woman, for her role in the Broadway musical No Strings. In 1974 she starred in Claudine alongside James Earl Jones for which she received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination.

Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Caribbean-American pop star, he popularized Jamaican mento folk songs which was marketed as Trinbagonian Calypso musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.

Cicely Tyson (December 19, 1924 – January 28, 2021) was an American actress and fashion model. In a career spanning more than seven decades, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson was the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Black Reel Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, one Tony Award, an honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award.

Mekhi Phifer (born December 29, 1974) is an American actor. He portrayed Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and had a co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile. He was a recurring cast member on the Fox crime show Lie to Me in the role of Ben Reynolds before season three, and also starred as CIA agent Rex Matheson in Torchwood: Miracle Day.