Best known for her role as Michonne on the AMC television zombie horror-drama, The Walking Dead, Danaio Jekesai Gurira is an actress and playwright of Zimbabwean origin. The winner of Tony Award for writing the play Eclipsed, it became the first play with an all-black and female cast and crew to premiere on Broadway. Gurira received the 2016 Sam Norkin Award, for her plays, Familiar and Eclipsed.

Gurira got her first break on TV in a 2004 episode of hit series, Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001-2011). She made her acting debut on the big screen with the Oscar nominated movie, The Visitor (2007). Gurira won the Method Fest Independent Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress for the movie. Her other acting credits include movies like Ghost Town (2008), Restless City (2011), Mother of George (2013) and All Eyez on Me (2017). Gurira has also acted in TV shows like Life on Mars (2008-2009), Law & Order (1990-2010), Lie to Me (2009-2011) and the acclaimed HBO TV show, Treme (2010-2013). In 2018 Gurira got her biggest break till date as Okoye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, Black Panther. The Ryan Coogler movie has Chadwick Boseman playing T`Challa a.k.a. Black Panther, while Lupita Nyong`o, Forest Whitaker, Martin Freeman, Angela Bassett, and Andy Serkis will be seen in supporting roles. Later this year, Gurira will also be seen in MCU`s 19th movie, Avengers: Infinity War. She will be seen reprising her character, Okoye from Black Panther in the sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).