Anika Noni Rose

Anika Noni Rose (born September 6, 1972) is an American singer and actress known for her Tony Award-winning performance in the Broadway production of Caroline, or Change and her starring role as Lorrell Robinson in the 2006 film Dreamgirls. She also starred as Tiana, an African American princess in Walt Disney Pictures' 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog. In 2014, Rose played the role of Beneatha Younger in the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She was named a Disney Legend in 2011. 2Early lifeEdit Rose was born in Bloomfield, Connecticut. In her high school freshman year, she appeared in a school production and caught the acting bug. She then attended Florida A&M University where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in theatre, and started studying drama at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, California. 2CareerEdit Rose moved to New York without a job. After three months, she secured the role of Rusty in Broadway's Footloose. She followed Footloose with numerous workshops and two musicals using pre-existing song catalogs, Eli's Comin' Off-Broadway and Me and Mr