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Shalita Grant

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Shalita Grant
Shalita Grant performing in 2012 with the Huntington Theatre Company
Born (1988-08-28) August 28, 1988 (age 36)
Petersburg, Virginia, U.S.
EducationJuilliard School (BFA)
OccupationActress
Years active2009–present
Spouse
Sabrina Skau
​
​
(m. 2018; div. 2020)​
PartnerJessica Aguilar

Shalita Grant (born August 28, 1988) is an American actress best known for portraying NCIS Special Agent Sonja Percy on NCIS: New Orleans. She is also known from her roles on Mercy Street, You, Santa Clarita Diet, and Search Party.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life and education

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Grant was born in Petersburg, Virginia. She attended Appomattox Regional Governor's School For the Arts and Technology for a year before transferring to the Baltimore School for the Arts in Maryland, where she was a YoungArts Winner in Theater and Presidential Scholar in the Arts. At 17, she received a scholarship to attend the Juilliard School. In 2010, she graduated from Juilliard with a B.F.A. in Drama.[6]

Career

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Stage

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Grant's earlier theater work includes The Public Theater's 2010 productions of Measure for Measure,[7] The Winter's Tale,[8] and The Merchant of Venice.[9]

Grant originated the role of Cassandra in Christopher Durang's comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike since the beginning of the show's development as a one-act play.[10] She performed alongside Sigourney Weaver, David Hyde Pierce, Kristine Nielsen, Genevieve Angelson, and Billy Magnussen in the world-premiere at the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ from September to October 2012[11] before moving to the Lincoln Center Theatre in an off-Broadway run October 2012 to January 2013.[12] The show's success continued with a Broadway run and Grant's Broadway debut March through August 2013.[13]

In 2012, she appeared in The Philanderer for the off-Broadway Pearl Theatre Company[14] and the world-premiere of Kirsten Greenidge's play Luck of the Irish at the Huntington Theatre Company.[15]

Grant was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2013 for her performance as Cassandra in the comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. The play won the Tony for Best Play as well as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. She also won the 2013 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut.[16][17]

She returned to The Public Theater in 2017 for the Shakespeare in the Park production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.[18]

Film

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Her film credits include shorts Empire Corner (2010), Invisible (2010), and the Oscar-nominated short documentary, Rehearsing a Dream (2006).[19]

Television

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Following her Tony Award nomination, Grant moved to Los Angeles to pursue television where she fondly recalls her struggles in auditioning 54 times within one year for various roles and, at one point, while running out of savings, briefly turned to bartending before landing a series regular role on NCIS: New Orleans in 2015.[20] After she departed NCIS: New Orleans in 2018, she was cast in the recurring role of FBI Agent Tess Rogers on the third season of the Netflix horror-comedy series Santa Clarita Diet.[21] In 2020, Grant recurred on the third season of HBO Max's Search Party in the role of first-time, in over-her-head attorney Cassidy.[4]

In October 2020, it was announced that Grant had been cast in the main role of Sherry Conrad on the third season of the Netflix thriller series You.[22]

Personal life

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On August 8, 2018, Grant married commercial director Sabrina Skau in San Francisco, CA.[23][24] They later divorced.[25] Since 2020, she has been in a relationship with MMA fighter Jessica Aguilar.[26]

Awards and nominations

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Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2011 The Good Wife Sergeant Nora Swan Episode: "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot"
2014–2015 Bones Andie Roberts Episode: "The Putter in the Rough" & "The Mutilation of the Master Manipulator"
2015–2018 NCIS: New Orleans Sonja Percy (Recurring, Season 1; Main, Seasons 2–4)
2015 Melissa & Joey Evita Freeman Episode: "Gone Girl" & "Parental Guidance"
Battle Creek Olivia Episode: "Man's Best Friend"
2016 NCIS Sonja Percy Episode: "Sister City, Part I"
Mercy Street Aurelia Johnson Main cast (Season 1)
2019 Santa Clarita Diet Agent Tess Rogers Recurring role (Season 3)
2020 Search Party Cassidy Diamond Recurring role (Season 3)
2021 Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Cassandra [27]
2021 Special Rae 1 episode
2021 First Date Jennifer Short film[28]
2021 Haunt the Johnsons Ava Johnson Podcast Series[29]
2021 You Sherry Conrad Main cast (Season 3)
2023 Abbott Elementary Janet Elton 1 episode
2023 The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus Iris West Podcast Series[30]

References

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  1. ^ Lewis, Taylor (November 13, 2015). "7 Things to Know About 'NCIS: New Orleans' Star Shalita Grant". Essence. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  2. ^ "Cast and Characters | Mercy Street". pbs.org.
  3. ^ Petski, Denise (2018-08-17). "'Santa Clarita Diet': Shalita Grant To Recur In Season 3 Of Netflix Zombie Comedy". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  4. ^ a b Studarus, Laura (2020-06-24). "Meet 'Search Party' Scene-Stealer Shalita Grant". Shondaland. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  5. ^ "Shalita Grant on 'You' and her acting career: 'What people project onto me is about them'". Yahoo News. November 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  6. ^ Small, Leah (June 3, 2013). "Former ARGS student receives Tony nomination". The Progress-Index. Petersburg, VA.
  7. ^ Hetrick, Adam (2010-10-25). "Public Theater's Mobile Unit Will Bring Shakespeare to New Audiences". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  8. ^ Stasio, Marilyn (2010-07-02). "The Winter's Tale". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  9. ^ Hetrick, Adam (2010-06-30). "The Merchant of Venice, With Al Pacino, Lily Rabe, Byron Jennings, Opens in Central Park June 30". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  10. ^ Haun, Harry (2013-03-15). "PLAYBILL ON OPENING NIGHT: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; A Weekend in the Country". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  11. ^ Gans, Andrew (2012-09-14). "Christopher Durang's Vanya and Sonia..., With Sigourney Weaver, David Hyde Pierce and Kristine Nielsen, Opens in NJ". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  12. ^ Brantley, Ben (2013-01-20). "Insecure Namesakes With a Gloomy Worldview". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  13. ^ "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Broadway @ John Golden Theatre - Tickets and Discounts". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  14. ^ Gold, Daniel M. (2012-02-19). "Modern Love à la Shaw, From His Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  15. ^ Aucoin, Don (April 13, 2012). "'The Luck of the Irish' shines at Huntington - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  16. ^ a b "Tony Awards 2013 winners and nominees: Complete list". Los Angeles Times. 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  17. ^ a b "Theatre World Awards - Theatre World Awards". www.theatreworldawards.org. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  18. ^ Scheps, Leigh. "BWW Interview: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM's Shalita Grant Talks Return to Theater". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  19. ^ "Shalita Grant". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  20. ^ "NCIS: New Orleans' Actress Shalita Grant to Leave Show (EXCLUSIVE)". January 31, 2018.
  21. ^ Petski, Denise (August 17, 2018). "'Santa Clarita Diet': Shalita Grant To Recur In Season 3 Of Netflix Zombie Comedy". Deadline. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  22. ^ Petski, Denise (October 15, 2020). "'You': Travis Van Winkle & Shalita Grant Join Season 3 Of Netflix Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  23. ^ Nahas, Aili (August 8, 2018). "NCIS: New Orleans Star Shalita Grant Marries Her Partner Sabrina Skau". People.
  24. ^ Palladino, Kirsten (2018-08-22). "Shalita Grant and Sabrina Skau's San Francisco City Hall summer wedding". Equally Wed. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  25. ^ Schultz, Ken (2021-06-02). "Jessica Aguilar and Shalita Grant discuss building their relationship". Outsports. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  26. ^ Rude, Mey (26 April 2021). "How an Actress and an MMA Fighter Found a Lesbian Happy Ending".
  27. ^ "Original Cast of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Reunite for Gala Reading May 7". Playbill.com. 2024-06-29.
  28. ^ Haring, Bruce (2021-08-31). "Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Teams With Baileys Irish Cream And Bumble For "Meet Cute" Short Films". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
  29. ^ "Haunt the Johnsons". Amazon.com. 2024-06-29.
  30. ^ "Watch The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus Podcast". Max. 2023. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
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