Early life

Elise was born as Kimberly Elise Trammel in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Erma Jean (née Johnson), an elementary school teacher, and Marvin Trammel, who owns an executive search firm. She has three siblings. She studied film and acting at the University of Minnesota and earned a BA in Mass Communications.

Career

Elise's first film was Set It Off (1996), in which she played one of four women who resort to robbing a bank for money. Her big break came in 1997 when she was cast in the Family Channel original television movie The Ditchdigger's Daughters, based on the Pulitzer-prize nominated and critically acclaimed 1995 memoir The Ditchdigger's Daughters: A Black Family's Astonishing Success Story, written by Yvonne S. Thornton and Jo Coudert. She received critical acclaim for her role in this film, and in 1997, she was recognized as Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries at the 19th annual CableACE Awards. A relative unknown at the time, she conveyed her anonymity upon receiving the award by saying: "Who is Kimberly Elise?" Her performance helped her land a role the next year in Beloved alongside Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. She is often compared to a young Cicely Tyson, whom she resembles.

In 2004, she appeared in Woman Thou Art Loosed portraying Michelle, an abused young woman who finally got the help she needed behind bars. This role won her a Black Reel award for Best Actress. She also appeared in John Q, The Manchurian Candidate and Diary of a Mad Black Woman (she won a NAACP Image Award for the latter). From 2005 to 2007, she was part of the main cast of the CBS crime drama Close to Home, playing the Marion County, Indiana (Indianapolis) prosecutor Maureen Scofield. Her character was killed off in the last episode of the series. The series was cancelled on May 2007.

She has since made a guest appearance on the situation comedy Girlfriends, in which she played an HIV-positive woman.

Her most recent film role was in Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls (2010), as the battered wife Crystal. While the film itself received mixed to negative reviews, her performance was praised by many critics. One journalist described her as "the great lost Best Supporting Actress contender of the 2010 season". Since 2013 Kimberly is part of the cast of VH1's new series Hit The Floor.

Personal life

Elise was married to Maurice Oldham from 1989 to 2005. The couple had two daughters, Ajableu Arial Oldham (born March 16, 1990) and Butterfly Rose Oldham (born October 19, 1998). Maurice Oldham died from a "massive blood clot" in 2007.

Elise's maternal descent is of the Songhai people. Elise is vegan and has worked with PETA to promote the lifestyle.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Set It Off	Tisean 'T.T.' Williams
1997	The Ditchdigger's Daughters	Jeanette	Television film CableACE Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
1998	Beloved	Denver	Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated - American Black Film Festival Award for Best Actress Nominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
2000	The Loretta Claiborne Story	Loretta Claiborne	Television film
2000	Bait	Lisa Hill
2001	Bojangles	Fannie	Television film Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress: Television Movie/Cable Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
2002	John Q	Denise Archibald	Nominated - Black Reel Award for Best Actress Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
2004	Woman Thou Art Loosed	Michelle Jordan	Black Reel Award for Best Independent Film Actress Nominated - BET Award for Best Actress Nominated - Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
2004	The Manchurian Candidate	Eugenie Rose	Nominated - BET Award for Best Actress Nominated - Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress
2005	Diary of a Mad Black Woman	Helen Simmons-McCarter	BET Comedy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Theatrical Film Black Movie Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Black Reel Award for Best Actress NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
2007	Pride	Sue Carter
2007	The Great Debaters	Pearl Farmer
2009	Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story	Sonya Carson	Television film NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special MovieGuide Award for Best Actress Nominated - Prism Award for Best Performance By an Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries
2010	For Colored Girls	Crystal Wallace / Lady in Brown	African-American Film Critics Association for Best Supporting Actress Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated - Black Reel Award for Best Actress
2011	Ties That Bind	Theresa Harper
2012	Highland Park	Toni
2012	Hannah's Law	Stagecoach Mary
2013	Event 15	Blau
2014	The Night Session	Doreen	Short film
2014	A Day Late and a Dollar Short	Janelle	Television film Nominated - Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - TV Movie or Mini-Series
2014	Apple Mortgage Cake	Angela	Television film
2015	Dope	Lisa Hayes
2015	Back to School Mom	Mary Thomas
2016	Hellbent	Karina McCallum
2016	Confirmation	Sonia Jarvis
2016	A Meyers Christmas		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Newton's Apple	Bile duct supervisor	Episode "Jungle Survival/Liver/Emus"
1995	In the House	Roulette	Episode "Nanna Don't Play"
1996	The Sentinel	Candace Blake	Episode "Black or White"
2002	The Twilight Zone	Jasmine Gardens / Police Detective	Episode "Another Life"
2003	Girlfriends	Reesie Jackson	Episodes " The Fast Track & the Furious", "The Pact"
2002-2003	Soul Food	Estella	Episodes "Falling from Grace", "Emotional Collateral" Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
2005-2007	Close to Home	Maureen Scofield	Series regular, 43 episodes NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
2007	Private Practice	Angie Paget	Episode "In Which Charlotte Goes Down the Rabbit Hole"
2007	Masters of Science Fiction	Tilly Vee	TV mini-series
2009	Grey's Anatomy	Dr. Swender	Episodes "Here's to Future Days", "Sweet Surrender", " Elevator Love Letter"
2011	Hawthorne		Episode "A Shot in the Dark"
2013-present	Hit The Floor	Sloane Hayes	Series regular

Awards and nominations

Acapulco Black Film Festival

• 1999: Nominated - Best Actress for Beloved (1998)

African-American Film Critics Association

• • 2010: Won - Best Supporting Actress for For Colored Girls

Black Reel Awards

• 2002: Won - Best Supporting Actress for Bojangles (2001)
• 2003: Nominated - Best Actress for John Q (2002)
• 2005: Nominated - Best Supporting Actress for The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
• 2005: Won - Best Actress, Independent Film for Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004)
• 2006: Won - Best Actress for Diary of a Mad Black Woman
• 2011: Nominated - Best Actress for For Colored Girls
• 2011: Won - Outstanding Ensemble for For Colored Girls

CableACE Award

• 1997: Won - Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries for The Ditchdigger's Daughters (1997)

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

• 1999: Won - Most Promising Actress for Beloved (1998)
• 1999: Nominated - Best Supporting Actress for Beloved (1998)

Golden Satellite Awards

• 1999: Won - Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Drama for Beloved (1998)

NAACP Image Awards

• 1999: Nominated - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for Beloved (1998)
• 2002: Nominated - Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for Bojangles (2001)
• 2003: Nominated - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for John Q (2002)
• 2003: Nominated - Image Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for "Soul Food" (2000)
• 2005: Nominated - Image Award Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004)
• 2006: Winner - Image Award Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Diary of a Mad Black Woman
• 2006: Nominated - Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for "Close to Home"
• 2007: Winner - Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for "Close to Home"
• 2010: Winner - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story"
• 2011: Winner - Image Award Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for "For Colored Girls"

Independent Spirit Awards

• 2005: Nominated - Best Female Lead for Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]