Actress Niecy Nash is one of the black women who rock being honored at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood awards next month.
About the actress as written by Regina Robertson for ESSENCE
Years before embarking on the role of the ever-enterprising boss Desna Simms on Claws, Nash was the one who brought the laughs. But even as she was cutting up on Reno 911!, sashaying on Dancing With the Stars and hosting Clean House (for which she won a Daytime Emmy), Nash knew she had more to offer. Convincing Hollywood gatekeepers she could bring the drama required some patience. "For a long time, the industry was polite, but they were like, 'Dear, you have a lane. You do broad comedy. Stay over there,' " she says. "I had to be a lady-in-waiting and bide my time until they started to recognize."
Last fall, she tugged on our heartstrings with her portrayal of the mother of Central Park 5's Korey Wise in the Netflix series When They See Us. She helped paint a vivid portrait of a community fractured by the legal system and shined a national spotlight on the men we now know and celebrate as the Exonerated Five. For Nash, who at age 5 set out to be "Black, fabulous and on TV" after seeing Lola Falana on-screen, art is about entertainment and upliftment. "My 'job' is what I do, but my 'who' is to be of service in the world," she says. "You have to find those places where you are called to serve."
Nash is being honored along with award winning music video director Melina Matsoukas ; actress Lashana Lynch; and the trailblazing cast and co-executive producer/director/writer of Pose.
The Essence Black Women in Hollywood awards are going down again at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, CA on February 6th.
