Rise to Fame
Modeling came first, signed with Click Management at 16 before she'd landed a single acting credit. Small TV parts followed, but Jem and the Holograms (2015) was supposed to be the breakthrough, playing Shana in Jon M. Chu's live-action reboot. The film pulled from theaters after two weeks with a $1.4 million opening, one of the fastest studio retreats in recent memory. The real turn came with When They See Us (2019), Ava DuVernay's miniseries about the Central Park Five. Playing Tanya alongside a serious-minded cast signaled she was done being the person who made Jem and the Holograms.
In the Spotlight
In KAOS (2024), she played Riddy opposite Jeff Goldblum's Zeus in Netflix's Greek mythology dark comedy. It earned 6 nominations including a BAFTA nod, and critics singled her out among the mortal characters. Netflix canceled it after one season. She apparently confirmed the cancellation via Instagram before Netflix made it official, then deleted the post. That kind of move, whether chaotic or calculated, tells you more about where she's at than the role itself.
Side Notes
Growing up with Harold Perrineau (Lost, The Matrix sequels) as a father probably wasn't the worst career head start, but she built her early credits through modeling and bit parts before anyone gave her anything substantial. The more defining moment came in 2017, when she filed a police report alleging rape by Girls writer Murray Miller. Lena Dunham's response was to defend Miller publicly, citing her own 'insider knowledge' and invoking misreport statistics. The backlash nearly buried Dunham. Charges weren't filed. Dunham eventually apologized in person and then in print.