Danielle Brooks

LOS ANGELES – DEC 06: Brooks arrives for the Fourth Annual Celebration of Black Cinema Television on December 06, 2021 in Century City, CA, DFree/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Danielle Brittany Brooks

Place of Birth: Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, U.S.

Date of Birth: September 17, 1989

Ethnicity: African-American

Danielle Brooks is an American actress. She plays Sofia in The Color Purple musical on both the stage and in the 2023 film. Her roles also include the shows Orange Is the New Black, Girls, Master of None, Close Enough, Karma’s World, the latter two in voice role; and Peacemaker; and the films I Dream Too Much, The Angry Birds Movie, Sadie, Clemency, The Day Shall Come, and Eat Wheaties!

She was raised in Greenville, South Carolina, the daughter of LaRita Faye (Phillips), a minister and teacher, and Dunnel Clark Brooks, a deacon and BMW worker. Danielle is married to real estate agent Dennis Gelin, with whom she has a daughter.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2024) stated that Danielle’s genetic ancestry consists of:

*86% African
——–*39% Nigeria
——–*17% Cameroon, Congo & Western Bantu Peoples
——–*14% Ivory Coast & Ghana
——–*7% Benin & Togo
——–*5% Senegal
——–*3% Mali
——–*1% Southern Bantu Peoples
*14% European
——–*7% England & NW Europe
——–*5% Ireland
——–*2% Wales

Genetically, she was found to have a common ancestor with actor Sterling K. Brown, through her mother’s side.

Danielle’s paternal grandfather was Jesse Dunnel/Darwin Brooks (the son of Willie Lee Brooks and Johnnie D. Springer). Willie was born in Shelby County, Tennessee, the son of Thomas Brooks and Ella Duke. Ella’s parents were Adolphus “Dolphin”/Dolson Duke, who was born into slavery, and later fought with the U.S. Colored Troops for the Union during the Civil War; and Kate White.

Danielle’s paternal grandmother was named Almetta Michelle Wilburn.

Danielle’s maternal grandfather was named William Crawford Phillips.

Danielle’s maternal grandmother was named Darlene Elizabeth Bolden.

Two of Danielle’s maternal great-great-great-great-great-grandparents were Frazier Sharp and Susan, who were born into slavery, in North Carolina and Virginia, respectively.