Highlighting female celebrities from the West Indies.
Trinidad and Tobago is coined the Rainbow Country because of the many different races and traditions. Since March is the International Women’s Month, now is the time to highlight women from all over the world. We tend to forget about Black women from the West Indies that have gone on to do great things, so here are five female celebrities of Trinidadian descent that deserve to be talked about.
1. Nia Long
Image by Nia Long from FacebookNia Long is an actress and a three-time NAACP winner. With Betty Bridges as her acting coach during the beginning of her career, Long has played in movies, such as: Best Man Holiday, House of Lies, Boyz n the Hood, Are We There Yet? Made in America, just to name a few. In 2020, she produced her first film, Fatal Affair – a psychological thriller. Long was born in Brooklyn, both of her parents are of Trinidadian, Grenadian, and Bajan descent.
2. Nicki Minaj
Image by Nicki Minaj from InstagramBorn in Saint James, Nicki Minaj is a rapper, singer, actress and businesswoman in the entertainment industry for over ten years. She is best known for her song Super Bass from her debut album, Pink Friday. Back in 2012, she filmed her music video Pound the Alarm during carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. Both of her parents are from the island and are of African and Indian descent.
3. Dominique Jackson
Instagram dominiquet.a.r.jacksonDominique Jackson is a transgender actress and model known for her roles in the FX show Pose and American Gods. She has appeared in Vogue España and covered other major magazines as well. Early in her career, she lived in several talent agency houses and finally settled in The House of Sinclair which is stationed in New York City. Jackson, was born in Scarborough, the southern coast city in Trinidad, and Tobago.
4. Heather Headley
Instagram heatherheadleyHeather Headley was born in Barataria, Trinidad. She is a singer and actress known for her song, In my head from her album of the same name. In 1997 she had the opportunity to play the role of Nala in the Broadway musical The Lion King. More recently, she was cast as one of the leads in the Netflix series, Sweet Magnolias.
5. Lorraine Toussaint
INSTAGRAM lorrainetoussaintLorraine Toussaint, born in Trinidad, is known for her role in Orange is the New Black as Yvonne Parker, which has garnered her Critic’s Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. In 2016, she was ranked top 40 villains by Rolling Stone. Long before that, she starred in movies, including: Breaking In, Hudson Hawk, and Dangerous Minds. She has also played the mom of Azealia Banks in the Netflix movie, Love Beat Rhymes.
