DeShawn White is a Maryland-born actor and powerhouse creative who planted roots in NYC in 2014—and hasn’t stopped rising since. She’s lit up screens across TV and film, with select credits including Law & Order: SVU, HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, The Deuce, and the upcoming Amazon Prime series The Greatest.

 

Onstage, DeShawn has performed in a range of regional and Off-Broadway productions. Highlights include appearances at Arena Stage, the Hippodrome Theater, and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. She also originated roles Off-Broadway with Woody King Jr.’s New Federal Theater and The Wild Project, earning two AUDELCO nominations for Best Ensemble—just a glimpse of her extensive theater work.

 

As a writer-director, DeShawn’s creative portfolio includes more than ten episodes of web series and short films. Selected works include Good People (Boston International Film Festival, Hip Hop Film Festival), Sad, Plant(her), Mistake Series SZN 2, and her most recent project, Death to Daddy’s Girlfriend. She also writes and produces her own one-woman shows—her debut, Reflections of a Dream Deferred, played to a sold-out crowd in Washington, D.C., and her next, I Might Not Be Funny But I’m Fine, premieres in D.C. this fall.

 

In commercial and print work, DeShawn has appeared in national campaigns for brands such as Orbit Gum, Swedish Fish, Tampax, and Lay’s Potato Chips—just a few of the recognizable names she’s collaborated with.

 

A fearless advocate for amplifying Black voices and telling stories with heart, humor, and bite, DeShawn brings depth and authenticity to every role she touches. Her work has sparked conversations at Curlfest, Black Girl Nerds, Playbill, Blavity, Shadow & Act, and more—earning recognition as “Hollywood’s next trailblazer.”

 

Creative. Bold. Relentlessly authentic. DeShawn White is more than a rising star—she’s a cultural force with stories that inspire, provoke, and empower.