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Brief
A quadruple threat as an actress, singer, dancer, and director, Guy's dynamic career spans from her early days as a dancer for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to her continued work in television and film. Her versatility is evident in her two albums (Jasmine Guy and Try Me), Broadway performances in Grease!, Leader of the Pack, The Wiz, Dancin' in the Street, Bubbling Brown Sugar, and Chicago, and roles in Spike Lee's School Daze, Harlem Nights, Stompin' at the Savoy, and The Vampire Diaries.
She's most celebrated for her portrayal of Whitley Gilbert in A Different World, a role that has inspired generations of young Black viewers and helped shape conversations about HBCUs in American culture. Beyond her groundbreaking stage and screen work, Guy shared a close friendship with Tupac Shakur and his mother Afeni Shakur. This friendship led to her authoring Afeni's biography Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary (2004), bringing her artistic depth and personal insight to tell Shakur's story of Black activism and resilience.
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