A New York native, Renée Felice Smith moved across the country for her role on the CBS hit series, “NCIS: Los Angeles.” Smith was executive producer and star of BABY, a short film that premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2015. She’s the writer, producer and director of the award-winning short film YOUNG(ISH), starring Broadway veterans Alvin Epstein and Patricia Conoly. Additionally, Smith directed and co-wrote a PSA for the North Shore Animal League’s Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum, an educational program that teaches emotional and social skills through the use of shelter animals. She’s also directed and appeared in a comedic rap video for FunnyorDie.com entitled, “Yo, Mommy.” Smith appeared in Tony Kaye’s “Detachment,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, in a supporting role opposite Lucy Liu. She made her Off-Broadway debut in Second Stage’s “Wildflower.” Additionally, she was a member of the Sundance Institute’s Theatre Lab on Governor’s Island in New York City and performed under the direction of Liz Diamond of the Yale School of Drama. Smith graduated with honors from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, with a Drama and Journalism double major and a History minor. During college she studied commedia dell’arte in Florence, Italy, and co-founded Tisch’s first student dance troupe. Smith shares her time between Los Angeles and Brooklyn, New York, and enjoys the company of her three dogs, Hugo, Velma, and Mabel.
Nikki Lanier
When asked why she has focused so much of her professional life onadvancing racial equity, Nikki Lanier will tell you it was anassignment passed to
