BIO
As recently featured in Women’s Health and Emmy Magazine, exceptionally driven, stunningly beautiful and charismatic, Javicia Leslie, is best known for her breakout series regular role on CBS’ #1 drama, “God Friended Me” (returning Sunday, September 29th @ 8:30pm) as the quick witted and level headed lesbian daughter of ‘Reverend Finer’ (Scandal’s Emmy-nominated Joe Morton). Javicia can be seen captivating an audience of over 10 million people each week in the US as the “…most watched freshman series last year” and she can be seen in 265 countries around the globe in over 65 different languages. Recently Javicia has been scene stealing on Carl Weber’s “The Family Business” (BET). Returning to the screen this Fall, Javicia tackles the lead role in hilarious new comedy, ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID, penned by Yvette Nicole Brown, currently hitting the festival circuit ahead of a BET and theatrical release this September.
Born in Germany to military parents, Javicia was primarily raised in Prince Georges County, Maryland. With a passion for performing early on, Javicia started small with talent shows, going on to perform leading roles in plays, and live poems, all while keeping up with an early love for fitness in track. From senior year high school president, she went on to historically black college, Hampton University, where she appeared in several productions including “Seven Guitars,” “For Colored Girls” and “Chicago.” Following graduation, she took on a job while working in D.C. helping soldiers and their families all while producing her own play and starting to test the waters with hosting. When she landed her first agent, she knew she wanted to pursue acting and the performing arts as a career full-time, so she left her job, packed up, and set out with her sights on Los Angeles.
Without any friends or family in the city and just a month living in L.A., Javicia was discovered working the booth of a pop-up shop event and catapulted her acting journey. She quickly gained major visibility with the Lifetime Movie KILLER COACH in 2016 which only continued to propel her forward with the TV series "Chef Julian" and her recurring appearances on the CBS "MacGyver" reboot. As if that wasn’t enough to keep Javicia busy, she starred as a lead in Carl Weber’s “The Family Business” alongside acting vet, Ernie Hudson on BET, consistently ranked as one of the top 10 cable shows on TV during its run. Up next Javicia will be seen lighting up the screen in the lead role for the Yvette Nicole Brown penned ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID this September on BET with a theatrical release to follow.
As driven philanthropically as she is in her career, she has started an annual charity drive to give back to youth in her community, this year collecting donations of sports items via her charity, The Chandler Foundation. Splitting her time between Los Angeles and New York City, when Javicia isn’t filming, she spends her free time planning her next charity event, spending time with her dog, Judah, and staying fit through her passion for fitness and vegan diet.
