Bianca Lawson

Bianca Lawson
Born	Bianca Jasmine Lawson (1979-03-20) March 20, 1979 Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1988–present
Parents	Richard Lawson Denise Gordy

Bianca Jasmine Lawson (born March 20, 1979) is an American film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for regular roles in the television series Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Goode Behavior and Pretty Little Liars. She has also had recurring roles in the series Sister, Sister, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Steve Harvey Show, Dawson's Creek, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, The Vampire Diaries, and Teen Wolf.

Early life

Lawson was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of Denise (née Gordy) and actor Richard Lawson. Lawson is also the great niece of Motown founder Berry Gordy. She attended the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and graduated from Marymount High School, a Catholic school in Los Angeles. She then went on to study film and psychology at University of Southern California.

Career

Lawson began acting at the age of nine, having appeared in commercials for Barbie and Revlon. In 1993, she was cast in the television series Saved by the Bell: The New Class as series regular Megan Jones. She appeared in multiple episodes of The WB sitcoms Sister, Sister as Rhonda Coley and The Steve Harvey Show as Rosalind. In 1996, she co-starred in the UPN sitcom Goode Behavior as family sub-title character Bianca Goode, which lasted for just one season. In 1997, she appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as vampire slayer Kendra Young. In 1999, she appeared in The WB's Dawson's Creek as rival character Nikki Green.

In 2009, Lawson was cast as Shawna in The Secret Life of the American Teenager. That same year, she was cast in the CW television series The Vampire Diaries, as witch Emily Bennett. In December 2009, she was cast as Maya St. Germain in the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars, based on the book series by Sara Shepard. Since 2012, she has had a recurring role as Ms. Morell in the MTV television series Teen Wolf, based on the original film from 1985.

Lawson has made appearances in two different television miniseries. In 1998, she appeared in The Temptations as Diana Ross (whom Lawson is related to through Ross's daughter Rhonda Ross Kendrick); and in 2001, she was cast as Anna Bella Monroe in Anne Rice's The Feast of All Saints.

Some of Lawson's film credits to date include Primary Colors (1998), Save the Last Dance (2001), Bones (2001) and Breakin' All the Rules (2004).

Aside from film and television, Lawson provided her voice in 2011 to the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1998	Twice the Fear	Girlfriend	Direct-to-video film
	Primary Colors	Loretta	Theatrical film
2000	Big Monster on Campus	Darien Stompanato	Direct-to-video film
2001	Save the Last Dance	Nikki	Theatrical film
	Bones	Cynthia	Theatrical film
2003	Jeepers Creepers 2	(uncredited)	Theatrical film
2004	Breakin' All the Rules	Helen Sharp	Theatrical film
	Dead & Breakfast	Kate	Independent film
	The Pavilion	Mary	Direct-to-video film
2005	Flip the Script	Angel	Direct-to-video film
2006	Broken	Mia	Independent film
	National Lampoon's Pledge This!	Monique	Direct-to-video film
2007	Supergator	Carla Masters	Direct-to-video film
2009	Killing of Wendy	Brooke	Independent film
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993–1994	Saved by the Bell: The New Class	Megan Jones	Regular role; 39 episodes
1994	What'z Up?	Herself	Co-host
	My So-Called Life	Third Bathroom Girl	1 episode: "Pilot"
1995	Me and the Boys	Girl	1 episode: "The Age of Reason"
	In the House	Rachel	1 episode: "The Final Cut"
	Saved by the Bell: The New Class	Megan Jones	Archive footage: "Schreech's Dream"
1995–1996	Sister, Sister	Rhonda Coley	Recurring role; 7 episodes
1996–1997	Goode Behavior	Bianca Goode	Regular role; 22 episodes
1997–1999	Smart Guy	Tracy/Shirley	2 episodes
1997	The Parent 'Hood	Jasmine	2 episodes
1997–1998	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Kendra Young	3 episodes
1998	Silk Stalkings	Renee	1 episode: "Rage"
	The Steve Harvey Show	Rosalind	3 episodes
	The Temptations	Diana Ross	TV miniseries
1999–2000	Dawson's Creek	Nikki Green	4 episodes
2001	Strong Medicine	Esperenza Maldonaldo	1 episode: "Control Group"
	The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn	Herself	Guest
	The Feast of All Saints	Anna Bella Monroe	TV miniseries
2002	For the People	Asia Portman	1 episode: "Textbook Perfect"
	Haunted	Brandi Combs	1 episode: "Blind Witness"
2003	Loose Lips	Herself	TV series documentary
2004	The Division	Marilynn Resiser	1 episode: "Play Ball"
	The Big House	Angela	1 episode: "Almost Touched by an Angel"
	Fearless	Harmony Kaye	Unsold TV pilot
2006	Living in TV Land	Herself	1 episode: "Sherman Hemsley"
2008	The Cleaner	Jeannie	2 episodes
2009	Bones	Albie	1 episode: "Fire in the Ice"
	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Shawna	Recurring role; 6 episodes
	Sorority Wars	(uncredited)	TV movie
2009–2011	The Vampire Diaries	Emily Bennett	Recurring role; 5 episodes
2010–2012	Pretty Little Liars	Maya St. Germain	22 episodes
2010	Nikita	Emily Robinson	1 episode: "The Guardian"
2011	American Horror Story	Abby	1 episode: "Pilot"
2012	Teen Wolf	Ms. Morell	Recurring role; 5 episodes
	Beauty and the Beast	Lafferty	1 episode: "Trapped"
	All About Christmas Eve	Lila	TV movie
	2 Broke Girls	Stacy	1 episode: "And the Silent Partner"

External links

• Bianca Lawson at the Internet Movie Database