Tawny Cypress
Tawny Cypress is an American actress. She has appeared in various television and stage plays. She starred as art dealer Simone Deveaux on the TV series Heroes. She previously held roles on several TV series, including Fox's drama K-Ville as Ginger "Love Tap" LeBeau, Carly Heath on House of Cards, and Cherie Rollins-Murray on the second and third seasons of the CBS series Unforgettable. In 2019, Cypress starred as Inez in the film Inez & Doug & Kira, for which she has received critical acclaim. Since 2021, Cypress has starred as Taissa Turner on Showtime's Yellowjackets.[1]
Tawny Cypress | |
|---|---|
| Born | Point Pleasant, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Education | Rutgers University, New Brunswick (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouses | Bill Charles
(m. 2000; div. 2004)Tom Dillon (m. 2011) |
| Children | 1 |
Early life
Tawny Cypress was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. She spent her childhood living in communities along the Jersey Shore, including the towns of Sea Girt, Belmar and Red Bank.[2] She attended Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Cypress also attended William Esper Studio, where she was invited to teach in 2020.[3]
Career
Since 2000, she has been actively working in film and television. She had a main role in The Blacklist: Redemption as Nez Rowan, a mercenary.[4] In 2021, Cypress was cast on Yellowjackets in the main role of Taissa Turner, a survivor of a horrific plane crash in the 1990s, now running for the New Jersey State Senate while trying to keep quiet the demons of eighteen months of survival in the Canadian wilderness.
Personal life
Cypress's mother is of Hungarian descent and her father was Black and Native American, a descendent of the Accawmacke Nation of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Cypress still resides in New Jersey.[5] Her brother is comic book artist Toby Cypress. Since 2011, she has been married to Tom Dillon. They have one child and reside in New Jersey with their many dogs and cats.[6]
Cypress revealed in the documentary Queer for Fear that she is attracted to women.[7]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Autumn in New York | Melissa | |
| 2006 | Bella | Frannie | |
| 2006 | World Trade Center | Bleeding Woman | |
| 2009 | Brooklyn's Finest | Allisa | |
| 2011 | Remains | Cindy | |
| 2013 | Home | Laura | |
| 2019 | Inez & Doug & Kira | Inez |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | NYPD Blue | Rosana Booth | Episode: "A Hole in Juan" |
| 2000–2005 | Third Watch | A.D.A. Sharon Burns | Recurring role (7 episodes) |
| 2001–2002 | 100 Centre Street | Cassandra Rodriguez | Recurring role (6 episodes) |
| 2002 | Hack | Anna Rowe | Episode: "Bad Choices" |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Louisa Iberra | Episode: "Legion" |
| 2003 | All My Children | Prof. Shambala Stevens | Recurring role (6 episodes) |
| 2005 | Jonny Zero | Nina Calvo | Recurring role (6 episodes) |
| 2005 | Stella | Gemma | Episode: "Meeting Girls" |
| 2006 | Love Monkey | Crystal Sloane | Episode: "Mything Persons" |
| 2006 | The Time Tunnel | J.D. | TV film |
| 2006–2007 | Heroes | Simone Deveaux | Recurring role (14 episodes) |
| 2007–2008 | K-Ville | Ginger 'Love Tap' LeBeau | Recurring role (11 episodes) |
| 2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Shawna | Episode: "Undercover" |
| 2008 | Army Wives | Brenda | Episodes: "Casting Out the Net", "Duplicity" |
| 2009 | House Rules | Robin Calhoun | TV film |
| 2009 | Rescue Me | Carla | Recurring role (5 episodes) |
| 2010 | Warehouse 13 | Romana | Episode: "Age Before Beauty" |
| 2011 | Gun Hill | Andrea Logan | TV film |
| 2012 | The Good Wife | Melinda | Episode: "I Fought the Law" |
| 2012 | Blue Bloods | Patrice | Episode: "Nightmares" |
| 2013 | Elementary | Black Suit | Episode: "The Red Team" |
| 2013 | House of Cards | Carly Heath | Recurring role (5 episodes) |
| 2013–2014 | Unforgettable | Cherie Rollins-Murray | Regular role (26 episodes) |
| 2016 | Supergirl | Senator Miranda Crane/White Martian | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | The Blacklist | Nez Rowan, a mercenary | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | The Blacklist: Redemption | Nez Rowan, a mercenary | Main role, 8 episodes |
| 2017 | NCIS: New Orleans | FBI Special Agent Sarah Barns | Episode: "The Asset" |
| 2018 | Bull | Brooke Ford | Episode: "Excessive Force" |
| 2018 | FBI | Jillian Starls | Episode: "The Armorer's Faith" |
| 2019 | The Code | Col. Edina Corpus | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector | Naia | 2 episodes |
| 2021–present | Yellowjackets | Taissa Turner | Main role |
| 2021 | Billions | Dean Walker | Episode: "Copenhagen" |
| 2022 | The Equalizer | Vanessa | 2 episodes |
References
- "Jasmin Savoy Brown On Her Favorite 'Yellowjackets' Theories and Joining the 'Scream' Universe". GQ. 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- "On Set With Tawny Cypress". BET. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- "Past Workshops & Classes". William Esper Studio. April 10, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- Andreeva, Nellie (March 30, 2016). "The Blacklist Spinoff: Tawny Cypress Cast". Deadline.com. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
- "K-Ville: Bios: Tawny Cypress". Fox Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on December 28, 2007. Retrieved January 16, 2008.
- "Tawny Cypress". Instagram. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- Kumari Upadhyaya, Kayla (October 26, 2022). "Tawny Cypress Shared Her Coming Out Story, and It Involves Melanie Lynskey". Autostraddle. Retrieved October 26, 2022.