In many ways, it can often feel like there’s nothing more glamorous than to be a Hollywood actress. The glitz, the glam, the gazillion-dollar gowns — it all comes together in a beautifully packaged deal completely spearheaded by a woman.
It’s only an added bonus when that woman in question is a melanated sister.
We’ve come a long way since the pioneering days of late actress Hattie McDaniel, who set the standard back in 1940 for both women and Black people in general as the first-ever African American to receive an Oscar in the category of “Best Supporting Actress” for her iconic performance in Gone with the Wind.
Black actresses, much like their male counterparts, have experienced an uphill battle in achieving success in Hollywood due to a variety of factors, mainly being the color of their skin. However, whereas the fellas have enjoyed a playing field where opportunities are shared, aplenty and oftentimes made specifically for a male audience, women suffer through various factors that could literally see them here today and gone tomorrow. Is she young enough? Pretty? Does she have an acceptable dating history? Does she bat for the “right” team sexually, and can that sexuality then be sold to the male gaze? Can she even hold a note musically?
Those are just a few items on the shortlist of qualifications to be a marketable movie star. Of course, not everyone tries to excel in each category, but a majority of the lot are doing their damnedest. It becomes even more complicated when you add the multitalented female singers of the world who possess the acting chops to crossover. Singing starlets like Diana Ross, Vanessa Williams, Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, the late Aaliyah, Brandy, Jennifer Hudson, Coco Jones, Halle Bailey and Andra Day have each at one point given their stage-only sisters a serious run for their money.
Then, of course, is the budding and bright world of Young Black Hollywood. Many titans in the game since they were tots, these Black girls have blossomed into women in their own right by dominating across film, television and even producing their own projects. Some standouts include 21-year-old Marsai Martin, 22-year-old Storm Reid, 25-year-old Chase Infiniti, 26-year-old Yara Shahidi and 27-year-old Amandla Stenberg.
What that leaves us with are the women running things right now. Some well accomplished, others just coming to rise after decades in the unsung category, these phenomenal Black actresses are our picks for who we think will be continuing to pave a path laid down so long ago when Hattie tearfully broke the barrier.
John Kobal Foundation
Keep scrolling to see the ladies of now, and the foreseeable future as well, based on what they have going on in 2026 and beyond. The future of Black Hollywood is looking quite beautiful if you ask us:
Keke Palmer
WHY HER: A Renaissance woman in every sense of the word, Keke has truly come into her own over the past decade with a powerful balance between film, television and social media surprisingly enough. Through past work as a rising star in lead roles on films like Akeelah and the Bee (2006), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), Pimp (2018), Hustlers (2019), Nope (2022) and the 2025 hit One of Them Days with SZA, she’s become quite the in-demand actress. That’s not even including how she spearheaded her own show as a teen on Nickelodeon’s True Jackson, VP (2008 – 2011), or portraying Chilli in the well-received 2013 Lifetime biopic, CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story. She’s just got it going on all levels.
WHAT’S NEXT: After kicking off the year with a new Peacock series, The ‘Burbs, you’ll see Keke leading a pack of fashion killas in the crime comedy film I Love Boosters this May, The Angry Birds Movie 3 in time for Christmas and a highly-anticipated Spaceballs 2 sequel to the 1987 original film set for release in 2027.
Zendaya Coleman (-Holland?)
WHY HER: In the next class behind Keke came Zendaya. With a similar story of small-screen-to-superstar status before she could even legally drive, the A-list powerhouse has since reached an apex in every aspect of her fire-hot career. While Disney laid the foundation by putting her in lead roles on shows like Shake It Up (2010 – 2013), K.C. Undercover (2015 – 2018), the 2014 TV movie Zapped and then on the big screen with Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), it would be her turn as a young adult in 2019 on the HBO series Euphoria that gave her an even bigger boost in Hollywood. Two Emmys for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series” isn’t too bad either.
WHAT’S NEXT: She continues her co-starring role in the rebooted Dune series with Dune: Part Three this December, returns as MJ this summer in Spider-Man: Brand New Day for July, has everyone in anticipation for any details surrounding the plot of The Odyssey, also in July, and The Drama arriving in just a few weeks. All of this while planning a third and expectedly final season of Euphoria premiering in April, and a fifth Shrek film in 2027 as one of the now-teenage triplets of Shrek and Fiona.
Letitia Wright
WHY HER: Talent from across the pond will always be welcomed, and that was precisely the case with Letitia’s rise in the ranks. After making a name on hit British TV dramas like season 1 of Top Boy (2011), a 2015 episode of Dr. Who, season 2 of Humans (2016) and the standout season 4 finale of Black Mirror in 2017, she officially made her crossover into the MCU as heroic Shuri in Black Panther (2018). The juggernaut success of that film both financially and culturally has ushered Wright into the limelight in an huge way, from reprising her role as Shuri in Avengers: Endgame (2018) and officially adapting the titular moniker in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) to producing her own projects like 2022’s The Silent Twins, Surrounded in 2023 and a directorial debut in 2025 with Highway to the Moon.
WHAT’S NEXT: Shuri will return this December in the most highly-anticipated film of the year, Avengers: Doomsday. We. Are. Seated!
Issa Rae
WHY HER: It was truly inspiring to see Issa Rae make her own path in this industry by simply being her own boss from the beginning. The grassroots virality of her hit webseries The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl (2012 -2013) leveled a playing field that paved the way for a major shift to HBO for a five-season generational run with Insecure (2016 – 2021). In the time since, she’s made a full move into movies: The Hate U Give (2018), Little (2019), The Photograph (2020), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Barbie in 2023 have each showed Issa Rae as a profitable leading lady. She knows her way around the production side of things as well, particularly as creator, executive producer and writer of Rap Sh!t (2022) and producer of Keke Palmer and SZA’s 2025 buddy film, One Of Them Days.
WHAT’S NEXT:
After voicing Honey Queen in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arriving soon at the top of April, She’ll reprise her voice role as Spider-Woman in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse for 2027 and a currently-filming comedy drama titled Babies. Also, we’re on the edge of our seats waiting for any word on One Of Them Days 2.
Zoë Kravitz
WHY HER: Being a double nepo baby — no offense! — made the rise of Zoë Kravitz seem a bit inevitable. However, it almost seems like she just inherited the best talent from her superstar parents, actress Lisa Bonet and rock icon Lenny Kravitz. In short, this woman is a force all on her own and has really put in the work to be seen as a respected actress herself. Standout roles include her 2007 feature film debut in her late teens with No Reservations, going full mutant mode in 2009 with X-Men: First Class, joining a franchise wave throughout The Divergent Series (2015 – 2016) and voicing Catwoman in The Lego Batman Movie (2017) before officially playing the live-action version of Selina Kyle in 2022’s The Batman. Her breakout into directing with Blink Twice in 2024 was a revelation.
WHAT’S NEXT: She’ll co-star this September in How to Rob a Bank, a film described as an action comedy heist alongside Nicholas Hoult (Superman), Anna Sawai (Shōgun) and Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live). It’ll also be interesting to see if she reprises her role as, well, herself in the currently-filming next season of The Studio, and if we’ll see her feline side again in The Batman Part II set to arrive in 2027.
Wunmi Mosaku
WHY HER: There’s a certain respect we have for thespians who truly studied the art. Wunmi is one of those special few, working her way up at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before testing her skills for a wider audience in a variety of British theatre productions from 2007 to 2011. She was also simultaneously balancing a career in television and film, from her breakout in the 2009 miniseries, Moses Jones, and 2011 cop drama, The Body Farm, to gripping performances in the 2010 indie film, Honeymooner, and 2011 Irish psychological horror, Citadel. Wunmi soon became a BAFTA darling after winning big for her roles in the British TV film, Damilola, Our Loved Boy, and the 2020 Sudanese horror thriller, His House. Many of us know her stateside thanks to appearing in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), season 5 of crossover hit Luther (2019), Lovecraft Country (2020), as Hunter B-15 in the MCU and becoming a household name with 2025’s Sinners.
WHAT’S NEXT: This October, she’s set to co-star in The Social Reckoning, an upcoming companion film to the 2010 Facebook biopic, The Social Network, followed by prison drama The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd and a psychological thriller directed by and starring Idris Elba titled This Is How It Goes. Slow down, sister!
Cynthia Erivo
WHY HER: Being on the cusp of achieving EGOT status is something every actor is looking to achieve in some way. This puts Cynthia amongst a very elite few, and her completion of the set will come in due time with just one lucky night at the Oscars. Erivo is definitely on the path of pursuing that, already having a hold on theatre for over a decade and equally as long throughout the TV circuit from 2015 to 2021. Her film fame came with projects like Harriet in 2019, Pinocchio in 2022 and her meteoric rise as Elphaba in both Wicked (2024) and last year’s Wicked: For Good.
WHAT’S NEXT: Following her one-woman West End production of Dracula, running until the end of May at the Noël Coward Theatre, you’ll see Cynthia shine in the highly-anticipated film Children of Blood and Bone set for 2027, an action thriller titled Karoshi and a new British drama, Prima Facie.
Teyana Taylor
WHY HER: Teyana has lived a million different lives during her time of being an industry darling. Be it balancing a music career as a raspy R&B sensation, offering her skills as a choreographer for live productions and other artists alike, or simply establishing herself from being labeled as another bratty teen from the MTV reality series, My Super Sweet 16, Teyana has definitely paid her dues in decades. As she honed her craft in coming-of-age projects like Madea’s Big Happy Family (2010), the lead in Honey 4: Rise Up and Dance (2018) and Coming 2 America (2021), it would be her breakout roles in A Thousand and One (2023) and a Oscar-nominated performance in 2025’s One Battle After Another that really showed off the best she has to offer.
WHAT’S NEXT: After kicking off the year alongside Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in Netflix’s The Rip, you see Tey join Kevin Hart in another Netflix film titled 72 Hours, follow by voicing a character in Kid Cudi’s upcoming star-studded animated feature, Slime.
Zazie Beetz
WHY HER: Making her mark in true Millennial fashion, Zazie took a few years to herself after college before diving into the indie film market in 2015. Within a year, she landed a co-starring role on Atlanta and has been leveraging her star power ever since. Joining the MCU as Domino in Deadpool 2 (2018), the love lead in Joker (2019), honoring the legacy of Stagecoach Mary in The Harder They Fall (2021) and a voice role in the Amazon Prime adult animation series, Invincible, each did a great job at showing off her diversity.
WHAT’S NEXT: Catch her slicing and dicing in theaters with the John Wick-inspired release of They Will Kill You, in addition to starring in an as-yet-untitled series adapted from the popular Joona Linna book series arriving soon.
Naomi Ackie
WHY HER: Similar to many British actresses before her time, school always made for a great starting point before making an impact on the industry. Naomi graduated in 2012 from the Acting program at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama before making a break in a big way with the 2016 British drama, Lady Macbeth. From there, she’s excelled within the past decade for roles in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), portraying Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022) and the gripping 2024 eye-opener, Blink Twice.
WHAT’S NEXT: After starting off 2026 in the Jason Statham action thriller Shelter, Naomi will join KeKe Palmer in I Love Boosters this May and is also set to officially join the DCU in Clayface arriving for Halloween.
Quinta Brunson
WHY HER: If any actress were to be described as a product of her generation, Quinta would hands-down be a forefront representative. Rising to fame off the strength of viral videos alone back in 2014, the comedienne made a pivot to the production team of BuzzFeed before jumping fully into her place as the next Issa Rae. In a similar fashion, hustling through a string of webseries and TV appearances from 2017 to 2020 led to her magnum opus with Abbott Elementary in 2021. Five seasons later and counting, she seems to have found her stride.
WHAT’S NEXT: After voice acting in Zootopia 2 last year, she’ll return to form in a CGI adaptation of The Cat in the Hat set for November 2026. Also, a new season of Abbott Elementary is definitely in production.
Jodie Turner-Smith
WHY HER: From banker to model to full-blown Hollywood star seems like a thing of dreams. However, the multi-hyphenate formerly known as Miss Jodie made it a reality that she’s been living out for the better part of a decade. With a career opener playing a siren on True Blood in 2013, it was a good sign that she’d have a penchant for daring roles in the future. Examples of her proven diversity include Queen & Slim with Daniel Kaluuya in 2019, Without Remorse alongside Michael B. Jordan in 2021 and last year in the 2025 sci-fi epic Tron: Ares. On television, she wowed audiences as the titular role in Anne Boleyn (2021) and in the beloved Star Wars: The Acolyte (2024).
WHAT’S NEXT:
Fingers crossed for a return to Star Wars: Visions after impressive voice acting as Eno in season 3. Also, a gothic horror film titled Brides is in the works.
Janelle Monáe
WHY HER: Very rarely is one equally as talented on the Billboard charts and at the box office. Similar to our stance on the male side when it comes to Donald Glover, we think Janelle being a powerhouse both in music and movies is what sets her apart from virtually everyone. To be as respected and well-awarded as she’s been over the past decade-and-a-half, including four albums and millions of records sold, it’s almost unbelievable to think she still had time to act in movies and on television. There was Rio 2 in 2014, both Moonlight and Hidden Figures in 2016, Harriet in 2019 and the 2020 horror thriller, Antebellum — that same year, she even spearheaded season 2 of Homecoming. It makes you wonder if she really is a cyborg!
WHAT’S NEXT: The fire-burning thriller, Is God Is, coming this May, in addition to a Josephine Baker biographical TV series produced by A24 that’s been in development since 2022.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph
WHY HER: Classically trained in opera and theatre since grade school, Da’Vine Joy’s ascension from small town status in Philly and Hershey, Pennsylvania to the big stages of New York City and London, before finally landing in Hollywood, has been a defining example of Black girl magic. A fateful West End production of Ghost: the Musical from 2011 to 2012 would be the turning point in her story, which at the time already included a master’s degree from Yale University and a summer studying Shakespeare at the University of Oxford. When the show finally made its way to Broadway, a Tony Award nomination for “Best Featured Actress in a Musical” soon followed in 2013. She’s appeared in a variety of standout roles in the decade since, including her 2013 feature debut, Mother of George, 2014’s The Angriest Man in Brooklyn starring the late Robin Williams merely months before his tragic end, the 2015 ensemble comedy Office Christmas Party, the beloved 2019 blaxploitation revival, Dolemite Is My Name, and The United States vs. Billie Holiday biopic released in 2021 on Hulu. Ironically enough, it would be a non-musical 2023 Christmas comedy titled The Holdovers that finally brought her an Academy Award win amongst a handful of other accolades.
WHAT’S NEXT: Her recurring role in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building is expected to return with the confirmation of season 6. Next up though will be the theatrical release of a star-studded art tycoon thriller, The Gallerist, which made a splash earlier this year at Sundance.
Michaela Coel
WHY HER: To make lemonade when life gives you lemons is quite the universal message. For Michaela Coel, it became a mantra to live by following her claim to fame on the hit British sitcom, Chewing Gum (2015 – 2017). While the show itself received critical acclaim, it would be a life-altering sexual assault behind the scenes which occured between seasons that made for lemons in the worst way for Michaela. The show still went on, but in its aftermath three years later came her true breakout moment with the powerful 2020 HBO series, I May Destroy You, which dramatizes her gripping experience and resulted in an accolade-heavy awards season. Performances in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), the first season of Amazon Prime’s series adaptation for Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024) and The Christophers last year alongside Ian McKellen (X-Men) all proved that she can hold her own on the big screen as well.
WHAT’S NEXT: Development is still underway on her upcoming HBO and BBC series, First Day on Earth. This April, she’ll pop up in the music-themed thriller, Mother Mary, starring Anne Hathaway as a Lady Gaga-esque pop diva; Michaela plays her stylist and love interest.
Ayo Edebiri
WHY HER: If Quinta is the next Issa, we can all agree that Ayo is certainly in line to be the next Quinta. Following in the legacy of those two Black queens who put their pen game first, Ayo’s trajectory from the writing room of Comedy Central to taking over the role of Missy at the end of season 4 on the hit adult animated series, Big Mouth, made for a breakout year in 2020. That eventually led to her household name status with The Bear in 2023, which has garnered big wins at the Golden Globes, Emmys, NAACP Image Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards. It’s also been translating on film quite well, from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, both released in 2023, to playing “Envy” in Inside Out 2 (2024) and the A24 thriller Opus released last year.
WHAT’S NEXT: Next month she makes her Broadway debut alongside Don Cheadle in a revival of Proof at the Booth Theatre. On the film side, she attached to Clarissa, a modern retelling of Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel, Mrs Dalloway. In terms of television, she’s preparing for the final season of The Bear and an Apple TV series titled Prodigies.
Taylor Russell
WHY HER: If you need a real-life lesson in what can happen as a result of hard work and persistence, the rise of Taylor Russell is definitely one worth studying. From living a nomadic lifestyle in Canada and embarking on a LA-bound journey as a teenager with big screen dreams, to actually landing parts on The CW series, Emily Owens, M.D. (2012), and the 2014 television film, The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story, Taylor was only getting her feet wet. She later impressed audiences with prominent parts in the Lost In Space reboot (2018 – 2021), 2019 tear-jerker Waves, the 2021 survival thriller, Escape Room, and the cannibal-driven Bones and All in 2022 co-starring Timothée Chalamet.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Canadian beauty will play an extraterrestrial in the upcoming sci-fi thriller, Hope, also co-starring Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider) and Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class). E.T., move over!
Jurnee Smollett
WHY HER: Jurnee has been in the big leagues since her age was in the single digits, as most can remember seeing her for the first time throughout Black sitcoms of the ’90s and in the 1997 cult classic, Eve’s Bayou. Throughout her late teens and young adulthood, we saw her balance between TV and film in co-starring roles like season 1 of Wanda at Large (2003), Roll Bounce (2005), The Great Debaters (2007), the final two seasons of Friday Night Lights (2009 -2011) and the last two seasons of True Blood (2013–2014). With her 30s came more adult-themed projects, like Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013), Birds Of Prey (2020), the still-missed Lovecraft Country (2020) and her recent stint in 2025 with the Apple TV+ series Smoke.
WHAT’S NEXT: With reports that Friday Night Lights is getting a reboot over at Peacock, let’s just say we hope Jurnee gets a call to return. Also, a second season of Smoke looks promising.
Lashana Lynch
WHY HER: Another Brit beauty who worked her way up from art school — shoutout to ArtsEd in West London! — Lashana has really found a penchant for picking proper roles. Her 2012 film debut with Fast Girls was met with rave reviews at Cannes, which led to multiple appearances in various film and TV productions based out of the UK. Later, she made waves on a bigger scale by entering the MCU in 2019 with Captain Marvel, becoming the new Black 007 in 2021’s No Time to Die, honoring the Agojie in The Woman King (2022) and portraying Rita Marley in the 2024 biopic, Bob Marley: One Love. Most recently, she held things down as a co-star in season 1 of the 2024 spy thriller series, The Day of the Jackal.
WHAT’S NEXT: While it’s highly doubtful she’ll pop up in season 2 of The Day of the Jackal for obvious reasons, we’ll definitely hold out hope. For now though, we can expect to see her as one of the many stars of The Children of Blood and Bone in 2027, and starring in the hyperrealistic survival horror video game, Directive 8020, arriving in May.
Tessa Thompson
WHY HER: With 20 years as a respected actress, it’s actually a bit shocking that Tessa isn’t more awarded at the major ceremonies. At the same time, accolades aren’t the core basis for greatness; two decades of dominating in film and television is the real testament of her appeal. Whether you remember her from that season 2 episode of Cold Case in 2005, her 2006 feature film debut in When a Stranger Calls, joining season 2 of Veronica Mars (2005 – 2006) or the still-chilling For Colored Girls (2010), chances are you’ve seen her shine throughout her twenties. Her thirties were reserved for more mature roles, including Dear White People (2014), the Creed film series (2018 – 2023), entering the MCU with Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and voicing Lady in the live-action adaptation of Lady and the Tramp (2019). The world of television got her absolute best though with a starring role on HBO’s Westworld (2016 – 2022).
WHAT’S NEXT: After kicking off 2026 with the Sharp Objects-inspired Netflix series, His & Hers, Tessa is currently in the midst of her Broadway debut with The Fear of 13 at the James Earl Jones Theater running until July 2026. Let’s hope for a Tony this time!
