Kiki Layne Wiki Bio
American actress and producer Kiandra ‘Kiki’ Layne was born in Cincinnati, Ohio USA, on 10 December 1991, meaning that her zodiac sign’s Sagittarius. She has 13 acting credits to her name, and is perhaps best known for her playing of the main character Tish Rivers in the 2018 romantic movie “If Beale Street Could Talk”, written and directed by Barry Jenkins, and which also starred Stephan James and Regina King. It follows a pregnant young woman whose lover’s been wrongly accused of a crime, and the movie won 108 of its 299 award nominations, including an Oscar win for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Regina King).
Education and early life
Kiki and her two older brothers were raised in Cincinnati solely by their mother, who worked multiple jobs to financially support the family; Kiki rarely speaks of her father, and it’s believed that he abandoned the family before she was born. Both of her brothers are today married and have children.
Kiki grew up being interested in acting, and her favorite movie was the 1994 animated musical “The Lion King”; she used to watch it on a daily basis, and re-created the scenes from the film with her stuffed animals and Barbie toys. Kiki was a member of her high school’s drama club, and during her teenage years also practiced dancing and took singing lessons.
Upon matriculating in 2010, she enrolled at The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2014.
Roles in movies
Kiki’s debut film role was her playing of Olivia in the 2015 short drama “Veracity”, and the following year saw her as Kiesha in the drama “Untitled Lena Waithe Project”.
In 2019, Kiki portrayed Bessie in the drama “Native Son”, directed by Rashid Johnson, and which starred Ashton Sanders, Margaret Qualley and Nick Robinson. It follows a young African-American man from Chicago who’s begun working as a chauffeur for a wealthy businessman, and has been dragged into his world of power and money; the movie won four of its 10 award nominations.
Also in 2019, Kiki played Carrie in the action science fiction horror “Captive State”, and Adut in the short drama “The Staggering Girl”. In 2020, Kiki portrayed one of the main characters Nile in the action thriller “The Old Guard”, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, and which also starred Charlize Theron and Matthias Schoenaerts. It follows a covert team of immortal people who are trying to keep their identities a secret, and the movie won five of its 29 award nominations.
Kiki’s since appeared in three more movies – she played Meeka in the 2021 comedy “Coming 2 America”, and Margaret in the 2022 psychological thriller “Don’t Worry Darling”; most recently, she portrayed Margaret in the adventure comedy “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers”. It was directed by Akiva Schaffer, starred Kiki, Andy Samberg and John Mulaney, and follows the lives of chipmunks Chip and Dale; the movie won three of its six award nominations.
Kiki’s currently shooting for the upcoming movies “Dandelion” and “The Old Guard 2”.
Roles in TV series
Kiki’s had only a single TV series role: she played Emmie Miles in the 2016 episode “Soul Care” of the popular drama “Chicago Med”, created by Matt Olmstead, Derek Haas and Michael Brandt, and which starred S. Epatha Merkerson, Marlyne Barrett and Nick Gehlfuss. It’s been airing since 2015, follows the members of the most skilled medical team in Chicago, and the series has won five of its nine award nominations.
Other credits
Kiki’s the producer of the upcoming romantic movie “Dandelion”.
She’s made a guest appearance in a number of talk-shows, most recently in “Today”, “Tamron Hall” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”.
KiKi Layne’s up next! #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/HwR6VjEmW1
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) March 19, 2022
Awards and nominations
Kiki’s won five of her 16 award nominations. She won a 2018 Philadelphia Film Critics Circle Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, a 2018 Savannah Film Festival Discovery Award, and a Women Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screen Couple (shared with Stephan James), all for her performance in “If Beale Street Could Talk”.
Kiki also won a Black Reel Award for Outstanding Actress and an Essence Black Women in Hollywood Award, both in 2019, also for “If Beale Street Could Talk”.
Love life and boyfriend
Since 2020, Kiki’s been in a relationship with famous American actor Ari’el Stachel, whom she met while they were shooting together for the psychological thriller movie “Don’t Worry Darling”.
Ari’el has appeared in 12 movies and TV series, and besides “Don’t Worry Darling” is also known for his roles in the 2015 action crime series “Jessica Jones”, and the 2020 family series “The Two Princes”.
It’s also believed that Kiki dated famous American actor, film producer and director Michael B. Jordan in 2019, but this hasn’t been confirmed; Michael’s probably best known for his playing of Erik Killmonger in the 2018 action science fiction adventure movie “Black Panther”.
Kiki hasn’t spoken of other men whom she’s maybe dated, she’s in a relationship with Ari’el Stachel as of December 2022, hasn’t married, and doesn’t have children.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Kiki’s also done some modelling work, notably for Kate Spade; she prefers to think about modelling as a hobby, rather than a job.
She’s steadily building herself a fanbase on Instagram, as there are today nearly 200,000 people following her, while she’s posted nearly 300 pictures and videos onto the social media network.
Kiki’s a fan of various kinds of art, especially sculpting, painting and architecture.
She works out at the gym, and spars at boxing nearly every day, while she’s also following a strict diet.
Kiki’s favorite actresses are Octavia Spencer and Paula Patton, while some of her favorite movies include “Right to Try”, “The Captain” and “The Unforgiving Minute”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Kiki’s age is 30. She has brown eyes and long black hair, weighs around 145lbs (66kgs) and is 5ft 9ins (1.76m) tall.
Kiki’s net worth’s been estimated at over $2 million, as of December 2022.
