9 Things You Should Know About ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Honoree Chanté Adams

By Okla Jones ·Updated March 22, 2022

Chanté Adams burst onto the scene in 2017 with her portrayal of the title character in the Netflix film Roxanne, Roxanne. Since then, she has had strong performances in several movies, and her star continues to rise in the entertainment industry.

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Adams is the youngest of four and began acting when she was in high school. Upon graduation from Carnegie Mellon University’s drama school, she moved to New York to take acting seriously. After that, as they say: “The rest is history.”

Her impact is undeniable, so much that she has been chosen to be honored at this year’s ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards.

Below are 9 things you should know about the talented actress.

01Chanté Adams was born to act.During a speech at her 27th birthday party, Chanté’s father gave a speech about her passion for acting: “Me and [Chanté’s] mom met at a play,” she says, reenacting the speech as her father, according to Refinery29. “And she was born while I was producing a play. She was born in the middle of the run. So, I say that to say that she’s had no choice but to do what she does. It was destined for her. She’s supposed to be doing this.”

02She also has a background in theater.In 2016, Adams was cast as Dussie Mae in August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The play ran for one month at the Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey.

03‘Roxanne, Roxanne’ was Chanté’s first movie role.Adams earned the starring role of Roxanne Shante just six weeks after graduating from CMU. She had just moved to New York a few weeks prior, and it was also her first ever movie audition.

04She was awarded the 2017 Sundance Special Jury Prize for Breakthrough Performance.Adams was the recipient of the Special Jury Prize for Breakthrough Performance at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. She received that honor for her portrayal of 80’s hip-hop pioneer Roxanne Shante in Netflix’s Roxanne, Roxanne.

05This naturally beautiful actress believes in the importance of taking care of the skin.Never one to wear too much makeup, Chanté gets 1 to 2 facials per year, and maintains a simple but careful skincare routine in the morning, during the day, and before going to bed. She gave some insight to her evening process in this video.

06She auditioned for ‘A Journal for Jordan’ four times before being told she received the role.After her fourth time reading for the role of Dana Canedy, Adams thought she had lost the part to someone else. Denzel Washington – the film’s director – hinted to her that they were looking at other people before jokingly admitting that she got the part.

07Adams made her Broadway debut earlier this year.She played Shanita, a pregnant single mother and second-generation factory worker in the Dominique Morisseau-written play, “Skeleton Crew.” The cast includes one of her idols, Phylicia Rashad.

08She has been cast in a starring role for the television adaptation of a classic film.Adams is set to play Maxine “Max” Chapman in the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series, A League of Their Own, which is an adaptation of 1992 film.

09Her being honored at this year’s ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards serves as a full circle moment.Chanté has been an attendee at the ESSENCE BWIH Awards in years past, now, she is set to take the stage as an honoree.