black hollywood
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She Slays: Danai Gurira Is the New Face of Reebok
It’s no secret that Danai Gurira’s fiercely-fit frame is #bodygoals, or that the actress, writer and activist is also a force to be reckoned with, stealing scenes in Black Panther and The Walking Dead, and regularly killing it on the red carpet. Now, Gurira can add another credit to her resume: she’s the latest to…
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Doing the Work: Gabrielle Union Talks Inclusion and the Insidious Influence of Colorism
Essence Fest is the gift that keeps on giving; the annual celebration of black womanhood, which this year took place from July 5-8 in New Orleans with half a million in attendance, drops gem after gem—many we’re still processing long after the festivities have ended. For Essence Fest veteran Gabrielle Union, “[it’s] a family reunion…
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Let Love Rule: Zoë Kravitz Is Saint Laurent’s Latest Campaign Star
In the lexicon of cool-girl style, there are very few cooler than double-threat celebrity progeny Zoë Kravitz—that is, unless you consider that she got it from her mama, Lisa Bonet (dad Lenny Kravitz is no slouch, either). Now, legendary French fashion house Saint Laurent—formerly more commonly known for its founding designer Yves Saint Laurent, YSL…
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Ladies First: Essence Fest 2018 Took Over NOLA, and We Had FOMO
We wanna be down! While The Root’s own Danielle Young made her way to New Orleans from July 5-8 to party with our sister-girls at the 2018 Essence Music Festival, alas, The Glow Up stayed home to attend to other pertinent business. But that didn’t keep us from catching a major case of FOMO. After…
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Dystopian by Design: Costume Designer Deirdra Govan Isn’t Sorry to Bother You
Just watching the trailer for Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You is like taking a mini psychedelic trip. The rapper-turned-director’s dystopian fever dream may be set in present-day Oakland, Calif., but explores alternate dimensions as an allegory of the dangers of assimilation. The satirical comedy, which stars Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson and Omari Hardwick, among…
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Uncensored: Alexandra Shipp Attempts to Clarify Those Colorism Comments for Glamour Magazine
Alexandra Shipp will not be censored. The 27-year-old actress was best known for her roles in the 2014 biopic, Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B and 2015’s Oscar-nominated Straight Outta Compton before being cast as Marvel superhero Storm in 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse; but Shipp sparked a storm of her own on social media last year when…
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Mona Scott-Young’s Major Keys to Success
Love her or hate her, one thing’s for sure: Mona Scott-Young is a boss. The music turned television executive has built an empire in a space that is dominated by men; but in Scott-Young’s world, there are women on both sides of the camera—putting in work. “Women, especially women of color, have always been the…
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Happy to Bother You: Tessa Thompson and Lakeith Stanfield Serve Up Some Summer Loving in GQ
“I was in love with Tessa for the duration of the shoot,” Lakieth Stanfield tells GQ about working with Tessa Thompson on the much-talked-about Boots Riley-directed film, Sorry to Bother You. In anticipation, the two are featured in GQ’s August issue, where they show off the chemistry that won them the roles of anti-hero Cassius…
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Blakanda and the Beautiful: The Best, the Boldest and the Bad(dest) Looks of the 2018 BET Awards
“Blakanda” was the theme, and black Hollywood didn’t disappoint at the 2018 BET Awards Sunday night, when black excellence took center stage at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Since several of our Root crew were in attendance, we left it to them to fill you in on all the details about the show, while…