Anika Noni Rose  Anika Noni Rose (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress and singer known for voicing Tiana, Disney's first African-American princess, in Walt Disney Pictures' "The Princess and the Frog" (2009) and her starring role as Lorrell Robinson in the Academy Award-winning film "Dreamgirls" (2006). She is also known for her Tony Award-winning performance in the Broadway production of "Caroline, or Change" (2004) for playing Beneatha Younger in the Broadway revival of "A Raisin in the Sun" (2014), for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She was named a Disney Legend in 2011. Rose was born in Bloomfield, Connecticut, the daughter of Claudia and John Rose; her father was a corporate counsel. She began her acting career in high school, appearing in a school production during her freshman year. She then attended Florida A&M University where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in theatre, and started studying drama at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California. Rose moved to New York without a job. After three months, she secured the role of Rusty in Broadway's "Footloose". She followed "Footloose" with numerous workshops and two musicals using pre-existing song catalogs, "Eli's Comin'" Off-Broadway and "Me and Mrs. Jones" with Lou Rawls in Philadelphia. Both of the full-scale tuners ["tuner": theatre parlance introduced by Variety trade newspaper.] were rumored for transfers, but neither made it anywhere after their limited engagements ended. Rose's big Broadway break was getting cast as Emmie Thibodeaux in "Caroline, or Change". In 2004, she was awarded the Theatre World Award, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress, and the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for "Caroline, or Change". In 2014, Rose returned to Broadway in a revival of "A Raisin in the Sun," receiving a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. After her film debut, "King of the Bingo Game", she played the role of Kaya in "From Justin to Kelly" in 2003 and she performed in "Temptation" in 2004, followed by "Surviving Christmas" as a singer in the choir. In 2006, Rose starred in "Dreamgirls" as Lorrell Robinson with Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, and Eddie Murphy.