Nafessa Williams

Nafessa Williams is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Anissa Pierce in The CW's Black Lightning and Robyn Crawford in the 2022 Whitney Houston biopic Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.

Williams was born and raised in West Philadelphia. She attended Robert E. Lamberton High School. Growing up in inner city Philadelphia, Williams was exposed to violence, drugs, and police brutality. After seeing Phylicia Rashad's lawyer character Clair Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show, Williams was inspired to attend law school to counter the violence she saw growing up.

Williams studied criminal justice at West Chester University and interned in the homicide unit of the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.

Early into her law career, Williams debated changing career paths, after being unhappy in her work, and began taking acting classes. She took on modeling and small television jobs while still working at the Martin Banks law firm. In 2008, she was fired for calling out to attend an audition. Williams credits this as the moment she fully decided to turn to acting full time, calling it "best thing that happened to [her]."

She began her acting career with local work in Philadelphia, with her first break being a Foreman Mills commercial. She moved to New York, following being fired from the firm. While living there she studied at the Susan Batson studios and trained with Tasha Smith.

In 2010, Williams gained her first film role, being cast opposite Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill in Streets. She credits native Philadelphia music industry insider Charlie Mack for his help getting the role and mentoring her. The film was released in 2011.

In March 2011, it was announced that Williams would join the cast of ABC's One Life to Live in the contract role of Deanna. When Williams auditioned, the character was only supposed to appear in three episodes, however by the time of her debut, she had signed a four-year contract. Only a month into her stint, it was announced that ABC had decided to cancel the series. Williams was released from her contract early and last appeared in July 2011. Following the show's cancellation, she moved to Los Angeles for more opportunities.

In March 2012, Williams announced that she would be guest starring on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Williams made her debut on May 8, 2012, appearing in two episodes.