Anika Noni Rose (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for voicing Tiana, Disney's first African-American princess, as seen in The Princess and the Frog (2009). She was named a Disney Legend in 2011. She is also known for her starring role as Lorrell Robinson in the Academy Award-winning film Dreamgirls (2006) and for playing LaVerne "Jukebox" Ganner in the Starz series Power. She is also known for her performances in theatre, particularly for her starring roles as Emmie Thibodeaux in the Broadway production of Caroline, or Change (2004), for which she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and Beneatha Younger in the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun (2014), for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Early life Rose was born in Bloomfield, Connecticut, to Claudia and John Rose, a corporate counsel. She began her acting career in Bloomfield high school, appearing in a school production during her freshman year. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in theatre from Florida A&M University, then studied drama at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Career Early career Rose moved to New York without a job. After three months, she played the role of Rusty in Broadway's Footloose. She followed Footloose with numerous workshops and two musicals using pre-existing song catalogs, Eli's Comin''' Off-Broadway and Me and Mrs. Jones with Lou Rawls in Philadelphia. Both of the full-scale tuners were rumored for transfers, but neither made it anywhere after their limited engagements ended. Rose's big Broadway break was getting cast as Emmie Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change. In 2004, she was awarded the Theatre World Award, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress, and the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Caroline, or Change. In 2010 she starred in Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls with Phylicia Rashad and Janet Jackson. In 2014, Rose returned to Broadway in a revival of A Raisin in the Sun, receiving a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. After her film debut, King of the Bingo Game, she played the role of Kaya in From Justin to Kelly in 2003 and performed in Temptation in 2004, followed by Surviving Christmas as a singer in the choir. In 2006, Rose starred in Dreamgirls as