Editors’ Note: Black history is American history. Reel 360 News’ Reel Black List is a commitment to recognizing the impact of Black voices across film, television, music, media, and culture every single day of the year. In a moment when DEI initiatives have been challenged and hard-won progress feels increasingly fragile, it’s more important than ever to amplify the voices of Black artists, leaders, and innovators who have shaped the industry and continue to move it forward. Today, we spotlight a lovely, talented actress and creator, Nadège August.
Nadège is an award-winning actress, creator, and storyteller whose work bridges raw emotional truth with global sophistication. She is best known as Joan, a series regular on Tyler Perry’s gripping drama Ruthless, where her commanding performances have made her a standout presence.
Beyond television, Nadège is the creator, writer, and lead of the bold web series Bougie Dilemma (2015), streaming on YouTube, and the unapologetic host of the podcast What the Fockery? (2019), where culture, creativity, and candor collide.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised between France and Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from the ages of 4 to 14, Nadège brings an international sensibility to her craft. Fluent in English, French, and Haitian Creole, she moves seamlessly between worlds, both on and off screen.
A trained performer, Nadège earned her MFA in Theatre Arts from the Actors Studio Drama School at The New School and is a lifetime member of The Actors Studio. Her stage work has earned critical recognition, beginning with a 2008 NAACP Theatre Award nomination for her riveting portrayal of Abbie Putnam in Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in Los Angeles. In 2016, she garnered further acclaim for her leading role in the West Coast premiere of Dominique Morisseau’s Sunset Baby.
In 2019, Nadège received the Outstanding Supporting Actress Award from the Desert Theatre League for her performance as Kate in David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People, further cementing her reputation as a fearless and versatile force across stage, screen, and digital media.
Let’s meet Nadège!
What’s the version of your origin story you don’t put on LinkedIn?
What’s a LinkedIn? Is that a place for a Plan B? All joking aside, I do not highlight my stage accomplishments; I mostly share my What The Fockery? podcast episodes there. I understand that it is a very serious place where adults hang out. Oh, wait, I used to be an Adjunct Professor of Speech! That ended in 2014. Yeah, that’s not on LinkedIn.
Which dream did you outgrow? Which one won’t go away?
Being a triple threat (Act, Sing, dance). Being a storyteller, an interpreter of the human experience through the written text, breathing life into the stories, or through observation, is simply a wonderful habit that I refuse to shake off.
Was your career a choice, an accident, or a survival instinct?
Is it wild to say that I have wanted this since I figured out what it was? Never contemplated anything else though my undergrad degree is in Communications. A definite CHOICE!
Who were your mentors?
I admire the good folks who have reached out to me over the years for mentorship. To ask for help. I wish I understood how invaluable that could have been. I have worked with more seasoned performers when I first started out, who dropped ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ here and there. Great advice, but to name one in particular, I sadly had none. Because I did not know how to ask for help. Now that is my Achilles Heel.
What’s a risk you took that looked insane to everyone else but felt necessary to you?
Packing my car in Brooklyn with whatever could fit and driving cross-country to move to Los Angeles to be in the industry. My NY agents called me after I tested for a soap and didn’t get it. They said, “Listen, you don’t sing, have no formal dance training, Broadway is saturated with musicals… Move to LA where there is work for you”.
I listened. Was that mentorship? Well, they weren’t wrong. I knew no one, but I had the address to The Actors Studio. And there, I found community. What lie do you tell yourself to keep going?
What lie do you tell yourself to keep going?
That Quitting is NOT an option.
You wake up in a film universe? What is it? Who do you play?
A prestige Neo-noir thriller, where I would play a high-ranking commanding officer of sorts or a rogue diplomat in an International setting where I slip in and out of ALL the languages.
What’s something people assume about you that’s completely wrong?
That I am too silly for drama. I am a goofball. Drives me crazy that the opportunity to be authentically me (goofball) in a role has yet to come my way.
What are you chasing next: clarity, chaos, peace, or power?
Peacefully thriving in my chaotic Power.
What does success look like when nobody’s watching?
Discipline and integrity when there is no external applause to be had.
What does 2026 look like for you?
Mostly, honoring my Haitian heritage, staying Black and Proud! Wykyk.
For more Reel Black List honorees, click here.
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