Anika Noni Rose

From Broadway to the silver screen, Anika Noni Rose has shown her range as both an entertainer and a performer. Anika was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her potrayal of Yasmin in Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls." A Tony Award winner, Anika trained at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater.

Shortly after moving to New York, she transitioned to the Broadway stage with a featured role in "Footloose." For her portrayal of Emmie Thibodeaux in Tony Kushner's "Caroline, or Change," Anika earned a Lucille Lortel Award, a Tony Award, the Theater World Award, the Clarence Derwent Award and a Drama Desk nomination. Anika continued with the play when it moved to the West Coast where she won The Los Angeles Critics' Circle Award and an Ovation Award.

Her next major film role was in Bill Condon's production of "Dreamgirls," which received an AFI Ensemble Award, as well as a SAG Award nomination. Anika herself received a nomination for an NAACP Award and both the soundtrack and the song "Patience" were nominated for Oscars.

Anika made her first trip to Africa to portray secretary Mma. Makutsi in Anthony Minghella's adaptation of the popular series of books, "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," which received the prestigious Peabody Award in 2010. Anika has also been seen as a surprise candidate running for office opposite Chris Noth's character on "The Good Wife."

But perhaps Anika's most dynamic role has been her portrayal as the voice of Princess Tiana in Disney's "The Princess and the Frog," which earned three Oscar nominations. In August of 2011, Anika was named a Disney Legend for her extraordinary and integral contributions to the Walt Disney Company.

Anika has since revisited her stage roots on Broadway, starring in Deborah Allen's acclaimed production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Anika has sung all over the world, including at the Vatican, Carnegie Hall and the 79th Academy Awards. In early 2011, she made her solo cabaret debut in New York as part of Lincoln Center's American Songbook Series, which was closely followed by a solo concert at the Fairmont Hotel's legendary Venetian Room in San Francisco, CA.

Anika is the proud recipient of an honorary PhD from Florida A&M University.