Serayah McNeill

Serayah Ranee McNeill, known mononymously as Serayah, is an American actress, model, and singer born on June 20, 1995. She is widely recognized for her television roles, including her breakout performance as Tiana Brown on the Fox musical drama series Empire from 2015 to 2020. She also gained prominence starring as Rebecca "Rbel" Belle in the BET+ musical drama series Kingdom Business from 2022 to 2023.

Serayah was born in Encinitas, California. She attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California, where she played on the girls' varsity basketball team before graduating in 2013. Her paternal grandmother is white, with Irish, Scottish, English, and German ancestry, while the rest of her family is African-American.

Her acting career began significantly with her role as Tiana on Empire, which marked her first major acting credit. After making her debut on the show, she was promoted to a series regular cast member in August 2015. Following her television success, she appeared in the 2017 drama film Burning Sands. She later starred in the Robin Givens-directed drama film Favorite Son in 2021 and its 2023 sequel Favorite Son Christmas.

In 2021, Serayah played the lead role in the Lifetime movie Envy: A Seven Deadly Sins Story and joined the Starz crime drama series Black Mafia Family in a recurring role. That same year, she starred in the VH1 movie Hip Hop Family Christmas alongside Keri Hilson, Ne-Yo, and Valarie Pettiford, returning for its 2022 sequel Hip Hop Family Christmas Wedding. She also starred opposite Ne-Yo in the BET+ film The Sound of Christmas.

Serayah was cast in a leading role alongside gospel singer Yolanda Adams in the BET+ series Kingdom Business, which premiered in May 2022 and aired its second season in November 2023. In 2023, she starred in the Tubi thriller film Best Friend. Her work extended to Tyler Perry's 2025 Netflix faith-based film Ruth and Boaz alongside Phylicia Rashad, playing an aspiring singer named Ruth and contributing live-recorded songs to the production.

Beyond her acting career, Serayah has maintained an active presence in music. In 2015, she appeared as the character Dilemma in Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" music video and joined Swift on stage in Chicago during The 1989 World Tour. She performed at the Marshall Academy of the Arts in 2015, was featured on RedOne's 2016 single "Don't You Need Somebody," and released her debut EP Addicted in 2018. Additionally, she appeared in music videos for Chris Brown and Diddy, and released an extended version of her EP Archives in 2024.

In her personal life, Serayah began dating rapper and actor Joey Badass in 2023. The couple announced in February 2025 that they were expecting their first child, and Serayah gave birth to their son on June 19, 2025.