Ajiona Alexus

Ajiona Alexus was born on March 16, 1996, in Tuskegee, Alabama. She began her career in entertainment at the age of 12, after studying Theater Arts at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Her early work included a regular role on the TV One sitcom ‘The Rickey Smiley Show’ from 2012 to 2014, where she played De’Anna. She also made her film debut in 2014, appearing in the drama ‘Unspoken Words’, followed by roles in ‘My First Love’ (2015) and ‘Bad Girl’ (2016).

Alexus gained recognition for her role as Teenage Cookie Lyon in the Fox musical drama series ‘Empire’, appearing from 2016 to 2019. During this period, she also took on the role of Sheri Holland in the Netflix teen drama series ’13 Reasons Why’, from 2017 to 2018. Her film career expanded with appearances in ‘Something Like Summer’ (2017), ‘Acrimony’ (2018), ‘Family Blood’ (2018), and ‘Breaking In’ (2018). In recent years, Alexus has starred in the Starz crime drama ‘BMF’ in 2021 as Kato, and in 2023, she played Kendra Evans in the Lifetime movies ‘Mary J. Blige’s Real Love’ and ‘Mary J. Blige’s Strength Of A Woman’. She is also set to appear in ‘Mary J. Blige’s Family Affair’ in 2025 as Kendra Evans, a project for which she also holds an executive producer credit.

Beyond acting, Ajiona Alexus has also pursued a music career, releasing mixtapes like ‘Radio Ready’ in 2012 and ‘Dream Big’ in 2017. She has released several singles, including “Body” (2020) and “Same Mistakes” (2021). Her career trajectory reflects a progression from early television roles to significant parts in both major network and streaming productions, alongside her ventures into music and production.