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.