Nicole Beharie

Nicole Beharie was born in West Palm Beach, Florida. She attended Orangeburg Wilkinson High School in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and is 2003 graduate of the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts & Humanities, a public residential high school in Greenville. Beharie was then accepted into the Juilliard School performing arts conservatory. She was awarded a Shakespeare scholarship and trained in England.

She made her feature film debut in the 2008 film "American Violet," where she played the leading role. Also in the same year she played Sarah Ward in the American sports film, "The Express" opposite actor Rob Brown. In the Lifetime movie, "Sins of the Mother," Beharie portrayed Shay Hunter, a struggling university student who goes on a journey to mend her fractured relationship with her mother Nona played by Jill Scott.

In 2011, she played a singer-songwriter opposite German actor Ken Duken in the romantic comedy "My Last Day Without You." In the Russell Leigh Sharman film adaptation of his play "Small of Her Back," Beharie played Piper, a troubled young woman who never leaves her apartment. Beharie played Marianne in the Steve McQueen film "Shame," about a 30-something sex addict played by Michael Fassbender, his myriad sexual escapades, and what happens when his wayward younger sister (Carey Mulligan) moves in with him. Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe praised her performance, calling her "a marvel of natural transparency."

In 2013, Beharie starred as Rachel Robinson, wife of Jackie Robinson, in the biographical sports film "42." She also stars in the upcoming FOX series "Sleepy Hollow," a modern-day take on "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," which follows Ichabod Crane as he partners with Sleepy Hollow's local female sheriff to solve the mysteries of a town ravaged by the battle between good and evil.

In 2020, she starred in "Miss Juneteenth," a film about a former pageant winner preparing her teenage daughter to assume her former crown.