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Samira Denise Wiley (born April 15, 1987)[1] is an American actress best known for playing Poussey Washington in the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black.

Early life From Washington, D.C., Wiley is a graduate of Duke Ellington School of the Arts.[4] Her father Dennis W. Wiley and her mother Christine Wiley are the co-pastors of Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ. Wiley's parents have been referred to as "pillars of the LGBT religious community," as the Covenant Baptist Church was the only Baptist church in Washington D.C. performing same-sex unions in 2007. She has two siblings: Aiyana Maat and Joshua Wiley.[5][not in citation given]

Career

Theater

Wiley studied drama at the Juilliard School in New York, graduating in 2010.[6] She trained in theater performance and worked mainly in theater in her early career.[7] In 2011 she played Maria in a production of Love's Labour's Lost by The Public Theater.[8]

Television

When the Netflix television series Orange Is the New Black—based on Piper Kerman's memoir of the same name about her experiences in a women's prison—came into development, she was told about the auditions by a friend from Juilliard, Marco Ramirez, who was a writer for the show.[9] After she discovered that another Juilliard friend, Danielle Brooks,[6] had won a role in the show, Wiley asked Brooks to rehearse lines with her to prepare for her audition for the role of Poussey Washington, the on-screen best friend of Brooks' character.[9] Wiley's audition was ultimately successful; she appeared in all twelve episodes of the series' first season and was featured prominently throughout the second season.[10] The darker and more violent plot of the second season allowed for the growth of Samira Wiley's character Poussey Washington. These evolved story lines lead to Wiley's prolonged screen exposure and ultimate development as a "fan-favorite." She will be promoted to series regular for the third season.[11]

Samira Wiley has appeared in an advertisement for the digital monetary service "PayPal" in 2014.

Film

Wiley's first major acting role outside of theater was in the 2011 comedy film The Sitter.[9] In between seasons of Orange Is the New Black, Wiley filmed Rob the Mob, an independent crime film directed by Raymond De Felitta and released in March 2014.[9]

Modeling

Samira Wiley has modeled for Maniac Magazine, appearing on the cover and in an editorial of the 2014 September/October issue. She was pictured modeling "a series of bold, chic, high fashion looks." Wiley was also featured on the cover of 2014 edition of OUT100 Magazine along with Sam Smith, Ellen Page, and Zachary Quinto.

Awards In 2014, Samira Wiley was named OUT100 Magazine's Ingenue of the Year. In February of 2015, Samira Wiley was awarded the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award. According to the Human Rights Campaign's website, Wiley was always accepted and embraced by her parents, regardless of her sexuality, and to this she attributes her success.

In part, Samira Wiley won the 2015 Screen Actor's Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, along with numerous members of the cast of Netflix's Original Series Orange Is The New Black.

Personal Life Wiley identifies as lesbian.[12] Since September 2014, she has been in a relationship with Orange Is the New Black writer Lauren Morelli.[2][3