Shahadi Wright Joseph| Broadway Star and Breakout Film Actress| Naazarabox.com

🎬 Quick Facts

• Born: April 29, 2005, in Brooklyn, New York kids.kiddle.co+14en.wikipedia.org+14en.wikipedia.org+14

• Parentage & Heritage: Daughter of Kevin and Dina Wright Joseph; raised in a family deeply rooted in dance—her dad founded a dance studio and her mom toured as a professional dancer mubi.com+14wikibio.in+14en.wikipedia.org+14.

👯‍♀️ Early Life & Performing Roots

• Began dancing at age 2, training in ballet, West African, hip-hop, modern, and Caribbean styles allamericanspeakers.com+1mrdustbin.com+1.

• Worked as a Fisher-Price infant model, showing early aptitude for performance imdb.com+7showtimes.com+7tributemovies.com+7.

🎭 Stage & Broadway Beginnings

• At 9, cast as Young Nala in the Broadway production of The Lion King (2014) bombshellbybleu.com+15en.wikipedia.org+15mrdustbin.com+15.

• Later played Madison (and understudied Tomika) in Broadway's adaptation of School of Rock (2015–2016) wikibio.in+6showtimes.com+6tributemovies.com+6.

• Appeared as Little Inez Stubbs in the NBC special Hairspray Live! (2016) bombshellbybleu.com+13en.wikipedia.org+13en.wikipedia.org+13.

🎥 Film, Voice & TV Breakthrough

• Film debut (2019): Starred in Jordan Peele’s Us, portraying Zora Wilson and her sinister doppelgänger Umbrae. Her performance earned nominations for a Saturn Award and Critics’ Choice Award, and she received the Hollywood Critics Association’s Next Generation of Hollywood award it.wikipedia.org+9en.wikipedia.org+9mrdustbin.com+9.

• Voiced Young Nala in Jon Favreau’s The Lion King live-action remake (2019) famousbirthdays.com+13en.wikipedia.org+13tributemovies.com+13.

• Starred as Ruby Lee Emory in the Amazon Prime horror-drama series Them (2021, 2024), which received positive reviews tvinsider.com+5en.wikipedia.org+5en.wikipedia.org+5.

• Featured in other voice and audio projects: starred in the podcast Six Minutes as Holiday Anders and sang in music tied to her roles kids.kiddle.co+2en.wikipedia.org+2en.wikipedia.org+2.

🎤 Music & Advocacy

• Released singles like “Skin I’m In” (2019) and "Wallpaper" (2020), exploring self-love and empowerment hairspray.fandom.com+3wikibio.in+3bombshellbybleu.com+3.

• Featured singing her Broadway and film tracks (“I Can’t Wait to Be King”) in Lion King and Hairspray Live! photobookmagazine.com+13bombshellbybleu.com+13wikibio.in+13.

🏆 Accolades & Recognition

• Award Nominations: Saturn, Critics’ Choice, NAACP Image, Black Reel for her role in Us tributemovies.com+9en.wikipedia.org+9wikibio.in+9.

• Awards: Named "Next Generation of Hollywood" by the Hollywood Critics Association wikibio.in+2en.wikipedia.org+2mrdustbin.com+2.

• Honors: Received a silver certification in the UK for her rendition of "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" de.wikipedia.org+1mrdustbin.com+1.

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🌱 Personal Growth & Perspective

• Emphasizes fierce balance between career, personal life, self-care, family, and education as keys to staying grounded bombshellbybleu.com.

• Passionate about representation, colorism, and empowering young Black girls to see themselves as heroes on-screen photobookmagazine.com.

• Dresses boldly, expresses individuality through quirky Gen Z fashion, and advocates for authenticity .

🎥 Filmography Highlights

In Summary:

Shahadi Wright Joseph is a strikingly talented performer whose skills span acting, singing, and dancing. From Broadway sensation to powerful roles in film and streaming television, she continues to rise as a youthful voice of strength, diversity, and creativity in entertainment.