---
name: "Eisa Davis"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/eisa-davis"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "5 May 1971"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 77
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-19T08:39:19.109852+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Eisa Davis

Actor. Born 5 May 1971 in Berkeley, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 5 May 1971, Berkeley, California, USA
- **Active:** 2009–present
- **Also known as:** Angela Eisa Davis 
- **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 80 (1), 2020s 76 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 77 to 78 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 1 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 2, Comedy 1, Crime 1, Music 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 2 hours of reviewed films
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisa_Davis, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28033745, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0204555/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/91670

## Streaming the US now

- **Pluto TV:** [*Passing Strange*](https://film.one/film/passing-strange.md) (80)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Eisa Davis is an American actress, playwright and singer-songwriter. Born on 5 May 1971 in Berkeley, California, she graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1992 and earned an MFA from the Actors Studio at the New School for Social Research.

She is known for her stage work, including the role of Mother in the musical *Passing Strange* (2008 Broadway; 2009 film), for which she received an Obie Award with the ensemble. Her plays include *Bulrusher* (2006), a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and *Angela's Mixtape* (2009). On screen she has appeared in *The Wire* (2002) as Bubbles' sister, *House of Cards* (2013) as Cynthia Driscoll, *Succession* (2018) as Joyce Miller and *Mare of Easttown* (2021) as Gayle Graham.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, ibdb.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Mare of Easttown* (2021), Fi1m 78, as Gayle Graham — [page](https://film.one/tv/mare-of-easttown.md)
- *Betty* (2020), Fi1m 74, as Jeanne — [page](https://film.one/tv/betty.md)
- *Passing Strange* (2009), Fi1m 80, as Mother — [page](https://film.one/film/passing-strange.md)

## Complete filmography (38)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Lucy Schulman* (2026), Actor
- *Relay* (2025), as Wash
- *Ride or Die* (2025), as Sherri
- *Ex-Husbands* (2024), as Eileen Link
- *Monarch: Legacy of Monsters* (2023), series, as May's Mom
- *Ahsoka* (2023), series, as Captain Girard
- *Justified: City Primeval* (2023), series, Producer, Writer
- *Extrapolations* (2023), series, as Christina
- *Baby Ruby* (2023), as Sarah
- *tick, tick... BOOM!* (2021), as Aspiring Composers and Lyricists
- *Mare of Easttown* (2021), series, as Gayle Graham — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/mare-of-easttown.md)
- *Betty* (2020), series, as Jeanne (voice), Jeanne — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/betty.md)
- *After the Wedding* (2019), as Tanya
- *God Friended Me* (2018), series, as Lena
- *Succession* (2018), series, as Joyce Miller — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/succession.md)
- *First Match* (2018), as Bianca
- *The House on Coco Road* (2016), Writer
- *Blindspot* (2015), series, as Alexandra Harrison
- *Gotham* (2014), series, as Judith Barthel
- *Madam Secretary* (2014), series, as Jane Smith
- *The Blacklist* (2013), series, as ND Agent
- *House of Cards* (2013), series, as Cynthia Driscoll
- *Elementary* (2012), series, as Ellen's Doctor
- *Free Angela and All Political Prisoners* (2012), as Angela Davis
- *The Letter* (2012), as Therapist
- *Smash* (2012), series, as Abigail
- *Hart of Dixie* (2011), series, as Addy Pickett
- *Welcome to the Rileys* (2010), as Vivian
- *The Good Wife* (2009), series, as Dr. Allison Sugar — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *Passing Strange* (2009), as Mother — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/passing-strange.md)
- *Pretty Bird* (2008), as Corporate Hotshot
- *Damages* (2007), series, as Carla Stenson — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/damages.md)
- *Happenstance* (2007), as Samantha
- *The Architect* (2006), as Linda Freeman
- *Confess* (2005), as Glyness Bennet
- *The Wire* (2002), series, as Bubbles' Sister — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md)
- *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, as Vera Galeano
- *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Erica Yelin, A.D.A., Ms. Danvers, Virginia Hogan — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md)

## Gallery

- ![Eisa Davis (2024)](https://film.one/media/person/495377/gallery-62a1c09e092f.jpg) Eisa Davis (2024) — LSophie Logrant, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/RIVERSIDE_SHOT_Eisa_Davis_5368_M2A.jpg/1280px-RIVERSIDE_SHOT_Eisa_Davis_5368_M2A.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Guests at the 2026 Met Gala, wearing fashion in theme of "Costume Art"](https://film.one/media/person/495377/gallery-284ed08e20dd.jpg) Guests at the 2026 Met Gala, wearing fashion in theme of "Costume Art" — SWinxy, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Guests_at_the_2026_Met_Gala_508.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Eisa Davis](https://film.one/media/person/495377/gallery-5cfd82065306.jpg) Eisa Davis — Hip-Hop Theater Festival, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Eisa_Davis_sings_at_NYC_Hip-Hop_Theater_Festival_10th_Anniversary_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won

- Creative Capital Award 2020: Creative Capital Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/eisa-davis