Today's guest was initially in the business of fashion til she seized the opportunity to fill in for a coworker as a background actor for a popular show. She made such an impression that she was asked to return week after week until she got her union card and the rest is history for YOLONDA ROSS. 

An independent film darling, Yolonda made her feature film debut in the award-winning independent film “Stranger Inside” in 2001. Yolonda went on to win an IFP Gotham Award for Best Breakthrough Performance for the role as well as received her first Film Independent Spirit Award nomination in the category of Best Debut Performance.

From there she's worked steadily from 24 to THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND, THIRD WATCH, LAW & ORDER, TREME, THE GET DOWN, and HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER. But it is her sensitive turn in the recurring role as the tough but loving mother, "Nurse Jada", in Lena Waith's THE CHI on Showtime is where she's been able to deepen her craft. She's done all she can to not be a one trick pony by directing a short film but shares the challenges of producing her own work.

Yolonda has made an impression on any director who has had the privilege to work with her including the dynamic Angela Bassett in WHITNEY and the incomparable Denzel Washington who cast her in ANTWONE FISHER. Yolonda shares her techniques in creating a character by using music, wigs, jewelry and even perfumes. She talks about how she built a career working predominantly with female directors and how she uses her body as a vessel to tell stories for those that are underrepresented.