Saniyya Sidney

Saniyya Sidney (/səˈnaɪə/;[2][3] born October 30, 2006)[4] is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for three Black Reel Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards, an NAACP Image Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Saniyya Sidney
Born (2006-10-30) October 30, 2006[1]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active2012–present

Following independent and short film roles, Sidney earned recognition with the horror series American Horror Story: Roanoke (2016). Her breakthrough came with the period drama film Fences (2016), for which she received a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. She appeared in the biographical film Hidden Figures (2016) and the superhero film Fast Color (2018), before earning praise for leading FOX's vampire drama The Passage (2019) and playing young Venus Williams in King Richard (2021). For the latter, she was nominated for the Black Reel Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer.

Career

Sidney began acting in 2012, starring in a minor role as Amity in the short horror film The Babysitters. She next made a guest appearance as Kizzy Waller in the miniseries Roots,[4] and was soon cast in the horror television series American Horror Story: Roanoke in the recurring role of Flora Harris, which was her breakthrough role. Both were played in 2016.[5] Sidney starred in the period drama film Fences as Raynell Maxson,[6] and also starred in the biographical drama film Hidden Figures as Constance Johnson, both of which were released in December 2016.[7][8] The films were critically acclaimed, and the former film earned her nominations for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.[9][10]

Sidney next starred in the superhero film Fast Color as Lila, the daughter of Ruth,[11] which had its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival on March 10, 2018.[12][13] The film attained a release in theaters the following year.[14] In January 2019, Sidney was cast in the lead role of Amy Bellafonte in the fox series The Passage, for which her performance was critically acclaimed.[15] The series was cancelled after one season. In the same year, she starred as Riley in the Netflix comedic special Kevin Hart's Guide to Black History, which was released in February.[16]

Sidney appears in the 2021 biographical drama film King Richard as Venus Williams, a daughter of Richard Williams, alongside Will Smith.[17] She had never played tennis prior to accepting the role and learned to play tennis in Venus' style, including playing right-handed when Sidney is left-handed.[18] She earned critical acclaim for the role,[19] with Variety magazine praising her for "handling both the dramatic and athletic dimensions of their characters across a span of approximately three years."[20] She received several awards for her performance, including nominations for the Black Reel Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer.[21][22][23]

Sidney is set to appear in The First Lady for Showtime as Sasha Obama.[24][25] In January 2022, Sidney was tapped to play Claudette Colvin in the drama film Spark, directed by Anthony Mackie, which is his directorial debut.[26]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2012 The Babysitters Amity Short film
2016 Fences Raynell Maxson
Hidden Figures Constance Johnson
2018 Fast Color Lila
2019 Kevin Hart's Guide to Black History Riley Netflix special
2021 King Richard Venus Williams

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2016 Roots Kizzy Waller (age 6) Episode: "Part 2"
American Horror Story: Roanoke Flora Harris 4 episodes
2019 The Passage Amy Bellafonte Main role
2022 The First Lady Sasha Obama Recurring role

Awards and nominations

Solo awards
Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2021
 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Youth in Film - Female King Richard Nominated [27]
Online Association of Female Film Critics Breakthrough Performance Nominated [28]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Youth Performance Nominated [29]
2022
 African-American Film Critics Association Breakout Actor Won [30]
Black Reel Awards Breakthrough Performance - Female Nominated [21]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Young Actor/Actress Nominated [22]
Music City Film Critics Association Best Young Actress Nominated [31]
Online Film & Television Association Best Youth Performance Nominated [32]
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Youth Performance Runner-up [33]
Hollywood Film Critics Association Star on the Rise Award Herself Won [34]
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award Won [35]

Ensemble awards
Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2016
 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Acting Ensemble Fences Nominated [36]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Ensemble Nominated
2017
 Black Reel Awards Outstanding Ensemble Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated [37]
2022
 Black Reel Awards Outstanding Ensemble King Richard Nominated [21]
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated [38]
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated [23]

References
  1. "Introducing 10-Year-Old Actress Saniyya Sidney!". YouTube. The Real Daytime. January 30, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  2. "Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton Ask Each Other Anything". IMDb. November 17, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  3. "How I Became Venus Williams in 'King Richard'". Teen Vogue. November 19, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  4. Topman (February 24, 2016). "Saniyya Sidney". LA Management. Themes Industry & Different Themes. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  5. Topman (September 20, 2016). "Saniyya Sidney on American Horror Story". LA Management. Themes Industry & Different Themes. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  6. Busch, Anita; D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 4, 2016). "Mykelti Williamson & Russell Hornsby Reprise Roles For 'Fences' Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  7. Coggan, Devan (September 6, 2016). "Denzel Washington, Viola Davis head to 1950s Pittsburgh in Fences first look". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  8. Lewis, Hilary (October 15, 2016). "It's Official: Fox's 'Hidden Figures' NASA Film to Get Oscar-Qualifying Limited Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  9. "Critics Choice Awards | Critics Choice Awards". Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  10. staff, T. H. R. (2016-12-14). "SAG Award Nominations 2017: The Complete List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  11. D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 15, 2017). "David Strathairn, Lorraine Toussaint & Others Join Drama Thriller 'Fast Color'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  12. Galuppo, Mia (January 31, 2018). "SXSW: Emily Blunt's 'A Quiet Place' to Open Fest". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  13. "Fast Color". South by Southwest. 2018. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  14. N'Duka, Amanda (2018-09-20). "Codeblack Films Nabs Rights To SXSW Pic 'Fast Color'". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  15. The Passage: Season 1, retrieved 2020-02-13
  16. "Kevin Hart's Guide to Black History | Netflix Official Site". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  17. Tinubu, Aramide A. (2021-11-19). "'King Richard': How Breakouts Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton Aced Venus and Serena Williams". IndieWire. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  18. "Saniyya Sidney Goes From Playing One American Icon to the Next". W Magazine. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  19. Grantham-Philips, Wyatte; Grantham-Philips, Wyatte (2022-01-13). "'King Richard' Star Saniyya Sidney on SAG Nominations and Favorite On-Set Memories: 'Every Day Was the Best'". Variety. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  20. Debruge, Peter (2021-09-03). "'King Richard' Review: Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis Inspire as Venus and Serena Williams' Eye-on-the-Prize Parents". Variety. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  21. "Press Releases".
  22. Verhoeven, Beatrice (2021-12-13). "'West Side Story,' 'Belfast' Lead 2022 Critics Choice Film Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  23. Coates, Hilary Lewis,Tyler; Lewis, Hilary; Coates, Tyler (2022-01-12). "SAG Awards: 'House of Gucci,' 'The Power of the Dog' Lead Film Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-02-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. Petski, Denise (April 13, 2021). "'The First Lady': Regina Taylor To Play Michelle Obama's Mother In Showtime Anthology Series; Saniyya Sidney, 2 More Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  25. Petski, Denise (2021-04-13). "'The First Lady': Regina Taylor To Play Michelle Obama's Mother In Showtime Anthology Series; Saniyya Sidney, 2 More Cast". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  26. Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 19, 2022). "Anthony Mackie Making Directorial Debut On 'Spark;' 'King Richard's Saniyya Sidney To Star As Unsung Civil Rights Pioneer Claudette Colvin". Deadline Hollywood.
  27. Neglia, Matt (December 12, 2021). "The 2021 Las Vegas Film Critics Society (LVFCS) Nominations". NextBestPicture. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  28. "Online Association of Female Film Critics 2021 Awards – Nominees". 17 December 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  29. "2021 WAFCA Award Winners". The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association. 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  30. Murphy, Jackson (2022-01-17). "'The Harder They Fall' Wins Best Picture at African American Film Critics Association Awards". Variety. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  31. Neglia, Matt (25 January 2022). "The 2021 Music City Film Critics Association (MCFCA) Winners". Next Best Picture. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  32. Neglia, Matt (6 February 2022). "The 2021 Online Film & Television Association (OFTA) Nominations". NextBestPicture. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  33. "2021 San Diego Film Critics Society Award Winners". San Diego Film Critics Society. January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  34. Anderson, Erik (28 February 2022). "5th Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) Awards winners: 'CODA' named Best Picture, Andrew Garfield and Kristen Stewart nab lead acting prizes". AwardsWatch. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  35. "Santa Barbara Film Festival to honor Haim, DeBose, 6 others". KOB 4. 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  36. "La La Land Leads with 12 Nominations for the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards". Critics' Choice. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  37. "SAG Awards 2017: The Complete List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. December 14, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  38. Lewis, Hilary (2022-01-18). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Harder They Fall,' 'Insecure' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
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