Niecy Nash

Niecy Nash-Betts, born Carol Denise Ensley, is an American actress, producer, and television host. She initially came to prominence for her role as Deputy Raineesha Williams in the satirical comedy series Reno 911! and as the presenter of the Style Network series Clean House. Over the course of her career, she has built a versatile filmography spanning broad television comedy, reality television, and critically acclaimed dramatic performances.

Nash was born in Los Angeles, California, on February 23, 1970, and was raised in nearby Compton. Her ambition to pursue acting was inspired at age five after watching performer Lola Falana on television. During her youth, she experienced personal hardship, including witnessing her mother survive a shooting when Nash was fifteen. Following the tragic shooting death of her younger brother Michael in 1993, Nash began using humor to support her family and served as a spokesperson for Mothers Against Violence In Schools, an organization established by her mother. She graduated from Gardena High School and later attended California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Nash made her professional acting debut in the 1995 feature film Boys on the Side, followed by roles in films like Cookie's Fortune and guest appearances on television series such as NYPD Blue, ER, Reba, and Girlfriends. Her profile expanded significantly in 2003 when she began playing Deputy Raineesha Williams on Comedy Central's Reno 911! and hosting Clean House, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2010. She also participated in season ten of Dancing with the Stars, placing fifth, and appeared in films such as Not Easily Broken and G-Force.

In subsequent years, Nash took on more dramatic and complex television roles. She starred in the sitcom The Soul Man and joined the cast of Getting On, earning two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her work on the series. She also appeared in Scream Queens, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Masters of Sex. Beginning in 2017, she played salon owner Desna Simms in the TNT crime comedy-drama Claws, a role that earned her a Satellite Award. She frequently collaborated with filmmaker Ava DuVernay, appearing in the historical drama Selma, the biographical drama Origin, and the Netflix miniseries When They See Us, which garnered her another Primetime Emmy nomination.

Nash achieved major award recognition for her performance as Glenda Cleveland in the 2022 Netflix true-crime anthology series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Her role earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and nominations for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has continued to work extensively across television, starring in the spinoff series The Rookie: Feds, hosting the game show Don't Forget the Lyrics!, appearing in the series Grotesquerie and All's Fair, and receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018.