Persia White

Persia White was born on October 25, 1972, in Miami, Florida, to an Irish-American mother and a Bahamian father. Her early childhood was spent in the Bahamas, where she was exposed to a diverse cultural environment and reggae music. At the age of eight, her family relocated to Miami, Florida. White began her artistic journey as an accomplished ballet dancer and soon expanded into theater after being discovered by a talent scout for the Coconut Grove Children’s Theater. Her early career involved various forms of dance, acting, modeling, singing, playing instruments, and painting. After high school, she signed with the Ford Agency and acquired her Screen Actors Guild card, subsequently moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting professionally. While she initially intended to pursue a singing career, she declined several album deals due to lack of creative control, choosing to focus on her acting development first.

White is widely recognized for her role as Lynn Searcy on The CW’s series “Girlfriends,” which aired from 2000 to 2008 and was a top-rated show among African American households and women aged 14-42. Her film credits include independent films such as “Red Letters” and “Blood Dolls,” and made-for-TV movies like “Operation Sandman” and “Suddenly.” She also had recurring roles in television series such as “Breaker High” (with Ryan Gosling), “Sister, Sister,” “NYPD Blue,” “The Steve Harvey Show,” “Brooklyn South,” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” From 2012 to 2017, she took on the semi-recurring role of Abby Bennett Wilson in “The Vampire Diaries.” In addition to her acting work, White co-produced the documentary film “Earthlings,” narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, and has been involved with the “Whale Wars” series on Animal Planet. She is a board member of the Humane Society of the United States and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

As a musician, White released her debut solo album, “MECCA,” on October 25, 2009. The album featured collaborations with artists such as Saul Williams, Tricky, and Ric Alien, and blended genres including electronica, trip-hop, blues, and prog-rock. She also contributed soundtrack music for three independent films and three songs to the “Girlfriends” soundtrack. White’s artistic endeavors are significantly influenced by her commitment to animal rights, human rights, and environmental activism, a passion she has held since age twelve. She co-founded Echoed Images, a production company focused on creating socially conscious media. She received the Best Performance by an Actor in a Feature Film award at the American Black Film Festival in 2011 for her role in “Dysfunctional Friends.” In 2019, she reunited with her “Girlfriends” co-stars for an episode of “Black-ish,” and in 2020, she appeared in “Will & Grace.”