Age: 57
female
Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor (born February 21, 1969) is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. She has appeared in numerous films, including Men of Honor (2000), Undercover Brother (2002), Ray (2004), Freedomland (2006), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), The Help (2011), The Birth of a Nation (2016), and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for portraying Oracene Price in the sports drama King Richard (2021). She has since starred in The Color Purple (2023), Origin (2023), and Nickel Boys (2024). On television, Ellis had regular and recurring roles in the series High Incident (1996–1997), The Practice (1999), True Blood (2008), and The Mentalist (2010–2013). She also appeared in several television films, such as Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009), Abducted: The Carlina White Story (2013), and The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (2020), as well as the miniseries The Book of Negroes (2015) and series Quantico (2015–2017). She was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for her roles in the miniseries When They See Us (2019) and Lovecraft Country (2021) series. Description above from the Wikipedia article Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
After a lifetime of failed relationships, non-binary history professor Sam Bell is committed to a new (non)romantic strategy: Thirst Only. It’s the actual drinking where things get too complicated, where Sam inevitably gets hurt. Sam is good at being thirsty, though, especially when it's karaoke night at The Moonlight Café, otherwise known as Moonie’s to its largely queer regulars. Moonie’s is fun. Comfortable. Safe. Except for tonight, when one by one, all of Sam’s friends abandon them. Disappointed, they prepare to leave—until their #1 karaoke crush catches their eye... For Lily Fischer, karaoke at Moonie's is the only time she can step outside of her quiet shell. When there’s a mic in her hand, she’s no longer merely a receptionist harboring big dreams. At Moonie's, Lily can pretend to be someone else: someone bold, who takes what she wants. And tonight, what Lily wants is the way Sam looks at her across the room as she sings her signature opening song, like they see her exactly as she wants to be seen. Like Moonie’s Lily is real. As the night progresses, both Sam’s and Lily’s personal fears are tested, and the real world outside of Moonie’s looms. But maybe sometimes, the real world should be a little more like karaoke. It's not always about knowing all the right words or having the perfect voice. Maybe all Sam and Lily need is a little courage to pick up the mic, and sing anyway.
