Take a closer look at some of Hollywood's top-tier talent at the beginning of their careers.

Child Stars, Then and Now

Take a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s top-tier talent at the beginning of their careers.

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Danièle Watts is best known for her role in the critically acclaimed Academy Award winning blockbuster hit Django Unchained (2012), acting alongside Academy Award nominated actors, Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, and Leonardo DiCaprio as "Coco." On TV, she is known as "Angela Mullen" - love interest to "Shane Botwin" on the 8th season of Showtime's hit show Weeds (2012), and as Martin Lawrence's daughter on the FX show, Partners (2014), also starring Kelsey Grammer (Frasier).

A child of a Jamaican mother, and an American father, she studied the performing arts in high school at North Springs Magnet Performing Arts program in Atlanta, GA, and after 4 years of touring as an actress with educational, student-driven works throughout the greater Atlanta area, she was the first student board member to participate on the board of Artists Raising the Consciousness of Humanity (ARCH Productions). During that time she was featured on several episodes of the educational program "Couch Kids,' which presented real teenagers addressing relevant teen issues, which was distributed as part of health education curriculum to high school students in the Southern United States. She went on to receive a Norman Topping community service based scholarship, and a B.A. in Dramatic Arts from the University of Southern California (Los Angeles), and also studied abroad at the British American Drama Academy in London.

An award-winning theatre artist, and advocate for arts education, Danièle has taught performance through the Young Storytellers Foundation, Ices After School Program, and was a founding creator of the performing arts collaboration between Imaginese Productions and the nationally recognized Spark Program for middle school students in Los Angeles. In 2013, she was invited by Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, to host the arts education programming for The City of Los Angeles African-American Heritage Month events at The Los Angeles City Hall, and The Los Angeles Zoo.

On the internet, Danièle can be seen in a leading role in the romantic comedy Wingman Inc. (2015), distributed through Lionsgate and Amazon Instant Video. Her starring role opposite Max Burkholder (Parenthood), in the independent film, Babysitter (2015), can be viewed on various on-demand channels, iTunes, & Amazon Instant Video. On YouTube, she plays Brian Jordan Alvarez (Jane the Virgin)'s adopted sister in The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo (2016), a YouTube breakout hit, created by Alvarez, that was optioned by Lionsgate. Danièle also played a role Alvarez wrote for her, and served as an associate producer for Everything Is Free, Alvarez's feature film debut released in 2017 on Google Play, Amazon Prime, and various other online platforms.

Watts, and her husband Brian James Lucas, also known as celebrity chef, BeLive, were consulting creative producers for Television project, "Juice Bar," which is "in-development" through arts education non-profit, Arts Alliance For Humanity, created by Yale School of Drama grad and actor, Obi Ndefo.

Since making news headlines in 2014 for an incident involving Los Angeles police officers, civil liberties, and sexual expression, Watts and BeLive have been advocates of greater dialogue and awareness surrounding sexuality, and have participated with the Dr. Susan Block Institute for the Erotic Arts and Sciences to share sex therapy with the public.

As of 2020, Watts and BeLive are developing a musical documentary, "The Terrifying Lightness of Whiteness," an idea that she began developing in 2012, prior to the release of Django Unchained, as her desire for fame was colliding with her need for emotional and spiritual renewal. The film explores and celebrates the psychedelic awakening, expansion of consciousness, and music as a basis for a shared reality.

Jamie Foxx, Franco Nero, and Danièle Watts in Django Unchained (2012)

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Danièle Watts

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