Occupation Actress Height 1.65 m Nationality American, Caymanian Role Actress TV shows Empire | Name Grace Gealey Parents Cheryl McCoy-Gealey Years active 2013–present Partner Trai Byers | |
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Born July 26, 1984 (age 40) ( 1984-07-26 ) Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S. Similar People Trai Byers, Kaitlin Doubleday, Jussie Smollett, Taraji P Henson, Terrence Howard Profiles |
Actress grace gealey says empire is not limited to the black experience
Grace Byers (née Gealey; born July 26, 1984) is an American actress, known for her role as Anika Calhoun in the Fox music-industry primetime soap opera, Empire.
Contents
- Actress grace gealey says empire is not limited to the black experience
- empire actress grace gealey warns that anika is coming back hard on season finale
- Early life
- Career
- Personal life
- References

empire actress grace gealey warns that anika is coming back hard on season finale
Early life

Gealey was born in Butler, Pennsylvania, and raised in the Cayman Islands from infancy. After moving to the United States, she received her bachelor's degree in Theater Arts at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Gealey later attended the University of California, Irvine, where she received her Master’s of Fine Arts in acting.
Career

Gealey then moved to New York City where she performed Off-Broadway, including in Venus Flytrap: A Femme Noir Mystery, and Rent. In 2013, she performed in the Chicago productions of The Misanthrope and Tartuffe. In 2014, Gealey was cast as Anika Calhoun in the Fox musical prime time drama, Empire opposite Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson. The series debuted on January 7, 2015.
Personal life

Gealey became engaged to her Empire costar Trai Byers in 2015. She and Byers married on Grand Cayman Island on April 14, 2016.
