Kimberly Elise Bio
Kimberly Elise Trammel is an American actress who has built a sustained and varied career in film and television since the mid-1990s. She is a four-time NAACP Image Award winner whose performances span independent dramas, mainstream studio pictures, and award-winning television series. She has appeared in well over thirty screen projects, working with directors and actors including Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, and Tyler Perry.
Elise made her feature-film debut in Set It Off (1996) and earned widespread critical attention for her work in Beloved (1998). Her subsequent body of work includes major roles in John Q., The Manchurian Candidate, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, The Great Debaters, Dope, and Ad Astra. On television she led the CBS crime drama Close to Home from 2005 to 2007 and starred in the VH1 comedy-drama Hit the Floor from 2013 to 2016.
Early Life and Background
Kimberly Elise Trammel was born on April 17, 1967, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Erma Jean Johnson and Marvin Trammel. Her mother worked as an elementary school teacher and her father runs an executive search firm. She grew up with three siblings in the Minneapolis area, an upbringing that provided the foundation for a career she would later pursue across the country.
Elise attended The American Film Institute as a Directing Fellow, where she studied the craft of filmmaking before going on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications at the University of Minnesota. Her education in both directing and mass communications gave her a well-rounded understanding of the entertainment industry before she began working professionally in front of the camera.
Path to Celebrity
Following her time at the American Film Institute, Elise transitioned from studying film to acting in it. Her training and early industry exposure positioned her to compete for roles in both film and television. She began auditioning and booking work steadily through the mid-1990s, building a foundation of experience before her first major screen role arrived.
Her early career included work in made-for-television movies that allowed her to develop her craft and gain industry visibility. One of her first prominent television roles came in the 1997 Family Channel movie The Ditchdigger’s Daughters, based on the Pulitzer Prize–nominated memoir by Yvonne S. Thornton and Jo Coudert. Her performance in that film earned her recognition at the CableACE Awards and opened the door to more significant film opportunities.
Kimberly Elise Career
Early Career (1995–1999)
Elise made her big screen debut in the 1996 crime action film Set It Off, directed by F. Gary Gray. She played one of four women who resort to robbing a bank in the film, co-starring alongside Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, and Vivica A. Fox. The film was both a critical and a commercial success, grossing over $41 million, and it earned Elise the CableACE Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries in 1997.
In 1998, Elise delivered a performance that drew serious critical attention in Beloved, a horror-drama directed by Jonathan Demme and based on the 1987 novel by Toni Morrison. Co-starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover, the film was a box office disappointment, but Elise received praise from reviewers and won the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress as well as the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress Motion Picture. She also received her first NAACP Image Award nomination for the role.
Breakthrough (2000–2009)
In 2000, Elise starred as Loretta Claiborne in The Loretta Claiborne Story, a television film aired as part of The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC. Her portrayal of Claiborne earned positive reviews from critics. Later that year she played the female lead in Bait, a crime thriller starring Jamie Foxx, though the film was a financial disappointment. In 2001 she took on another leading dramatic role in Bojangles, a biographical film co-starring Gregory Hines.
The year 2002 marked a turning point in Elise’s career when she starred alongside Denzel Washington in the drama John Q. The film became a box office hit, grossing over $100 million worldwide, and significantly raised her profile in mainstream Hollywood. She followed this success with a leading role in the independent drama Woman Thou Art Loosed, playing Michelle, an abused young woman who finally receives help through the justice system. For that performance she won the Black Reel Award for Best Actress and received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She then reunited with Denzel Washington in the 2004 political thriller The Manchurian Candidate.
In 2005, Elise starred in Diary of a Mad Black Woman, a film written by Tyler Perry and directed by Darren Grant. Despite mixed reviews for the film overall, Elise’s performance was singled out for praise, and she won her first NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture. The film was a major commercial success on a five million dollar budget, grossing over fifty million dollars at the box office. From 2005 to 2007 she played Marion County prosecutor Maureen Scofield in the CBS crime drama Close to Home. She received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2006 for her work on the show, which concluded after its third season in May 2007.
In 2007 Elise appeared in two notable biographical dramas. She played opposite Terrence Howard in Pride, based on the true story of Philadelphia swim coach Jim Ellis. Later that year she starred again alongside Denzel Washington in The Great Debaters, a film based on an article by Tony Scherman about the Wiley College debate team. In 2009 she took on the leading role in the television film Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, co-starring with Cuba Gooding Jr. Her performance earned her the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.
Notable Works and Milestones
Elise’s collaboration with Tyler Perry continued in 2010 when she starred as Crystal in For Colored Girls, based on Ntozake Shange’s 1975 choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. Though the film received mixed reviews, Elise’s performance was praised by critics, with Entertainment Weekly’s Lisa Schwarzbaum noting the exceptional work of the female ensemble. Elise won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her work in the film.
Recent Work (2010–Present)
Throughout the 2010s, Elise balanced independent film work with major studio releases and television roles. In 2013 she began starring in the VH1 comedy-drama Hit the Floor, a role she held through 2016. In 2014 she co-starred with Whoopi Goldberg in the Lifetime television film A Day Late and a Dollar Short. In 2015 she appeared in the well-received comedy-drama Dope, and in 2016 she co-starred opposite Kerry Washington in the HBO film Confirmation. She later appeared in the Christmas comedy-drama Almost Christmas, the Bruce Willis action remake Death Wish, and the 2019 science fiction film Adastra.
In 2020, Elise was cast opposite Justin Theroux in the Apple TV+ drama series The Mosquito Coast, based on the 1981 novel by Paul Theroux. No upcoming projects have been publicly confirmed for 2025 at this time. Elise’s ongoing work in both film and television reflects her standing as one of the most reliable and respected character actresses in American entertainment.
Kimberly Elise Award Nominations
Across her decades-long career, Kimberly Elise has received recognition from a range of industry organizations for the quality and depth of her performances. Her nominations include the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her work in Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004), as well as nominations from the Satellite Awards, the Chicago Film Critics Association, and multiple NAACP Image Award nominations throughout the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.
Kimberly Elise Awards Won
Kimberly Elise has won seven major awards across film and television. Her wins include the CableACE Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries for Set It Off, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress and the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress Motion Picture for Beloved, the Black Reel Award for Best Actress for Woman Thou Art Loosed, and four NAACP Image Awards across film and television categories. She has also won multiple NAACP Image Awards for her television work on Close to Home, Hit the Floor, and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story.
Kimberly Elise Family
Kimberly Elise is the daughter of Erma Jean Johnson and Marvin Trammel. She has three siblings. She has two daughters, born in 1990 and 1998, from her first marriage. Her former husband Maurice Oldham passed away in 2007 following their 2005 divorce.
Personal Life
Kimberly Elise married Maurice Oldham in 1989. The couple had two daughters before their divorce in 2005. Oldham died in 2007 from complications related to a blood clot. Elise married George McCrary in August 2023. She follows a vegan lifestyle and has worked with PETA to promote plant-based living. Elise has been publicly active on social media regarding issues including abortion rights, sharing statements about the overturning of Roe v. Wade on Instagram.