Persia White

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title: "Persia White" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "1972-births", "21st-century-african-american-women-singers", "20th-century-african-american-actresses", "20th-century-american-actresses", "21st-century-african-american-actresses", "21st-century-american-actresses", "21st-century-american-singers", "21st-century-american-women-singers", "actresses-from-miami", "african-american-female-models", "20th-century-african-american-women-singers", "20th-century-american-women-singers", "20th-century-american-singers", "american-environmentalists", "american-film-actresses", "american-television-actresses", "american-women-environmentalists", "bahamian-actresses", "bahamian-people-of-american-descent", "bahamian-emigrants-to-the-united-states", "bahamian-people-of-irish-descent", "female-models-from-florida", "entertainers-from-nassau,-bahamas", "american-trip-hop-musicians"] description: "American actress" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persia_White" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actress ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Persia White
image	Persia White at GSBC 2024.jpg
caption	White in 2024
birth_date
birth_place	Miami, Florida, U.S.
occupation	Actress, singer
years_active	1988–present
known_for	Lynn Searcy in Girlfriends
spouse
children	1
website
::

| name = Persia White | image = Persia White at GSBC 2024.jpg | caption = White in 2024 | birth_name = Persia Venessa White | birth_date = | birth_place = Miami, Florida, U.S. | alma_mater = |occupation=Actress, singer | years_active = 1988–present | known_for = Lynn Searcy in Girlfriends | spouse = | children = 1 | website = ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Mara_Brock_Akil_and_Girlfriends_cast.jpg" caption="Left to right: [[Mara Brock Akil]] with White, [[Golden Brooks]], [[Tracee Ellis Ross]], and [[Jill Marie Jones]] in 2013"] ::

Persia White (born October 25, 1972) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lynn Searcy on the UPN/CW sitcom Girlfriends. She is also known for her role as Abby Bennett Wilson in The Vampire Diaries (2012–2017). White is also a singer, and released a solo album, Mecca, in 2009.

Early life

White was born 1972 in Miami, Florida and was one of four children to an Irish-American mother and a Bahamian father. Her early years were spent in The Bahamas. White's father was paralyzed in a car accident when she was three, and he later moved to Miami to seek better medical care. White's mother moved with her children to South Florida two years later but did not reunite with White's father. White later joined the Miami Coconut Grove Children's Theater. As a teen, she studied dance, acting, singing, and painting. After high school, White signed with the Ford Agency and obtained her Screen Actors Guild card. She then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.

Career

White has appeared in various independent films, including Red Letters (opposite Peter Coyote) and the cult horror Blood Dolls. She starred in the made-for-TV movies Operation Sandman, opposite Ron Perlman, and Suddenly, opposite Kirstie Alley. Her television work includes appearances on Angel, NYPD Blue, The Steve Harvey Show, Brooklyn South, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as regular roles on Breaker High with co-star Ryan Gosling, Sister Sister as Anya and Girlfriends as Lynn. In 2008, White appeared in The Fall of Night in the role of Dawn. She can also be seen in Chrisette Michele's video for "Be OK".

In addition to acting, White also co-produced the award-winning documentary Earthlings, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix. In July 2011, White won the award for Best Performance by an Actor in the American Black Film Festival for her work in Dysfunctional Friends. She also appeared as Bonnie's mother on The Vampire Diaries in a semi-recurring role.

In 2019, she reunited with her Girlfriends co-stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Jill Marie Jones, and Golden Brooks in an episode of the ABC comedy series Black-ish.

Personal life

White is a vegan, a human and animal rights advocate, and environmentalist. She was honored by PETA as a 2005 Humanitarian of the Year. She is a board member for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

White has a daughter, born .

On February 29, 2008, White became engaged to singer Saul Williams, her boyfriend of five years, and married in 2008. They met in 2003 when he made a guest appearance on the TV show Girlfriends. On January 17, 2009, White announced via her Myspace blog that she and Williams were no longer together.

After three years of dating, White married fellow Vampire Diaries actor Joseph Morgan in Ocho Rios, Jamaica on July 5, 2014, after which, he adopted her daughter and they had her legal name changed to Mecca Morgan White.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Last Action Hero	Herself
1994	Blue Chips	-
1996	Suddenly	Trina	TV movie
1999	Blood Dolls	Black Baby
2000	Operation Sandman	Private Winslow	TV movie
Red Letters	Vanessa Cody
Stalled	Leanne
2007	The Fall of Night	Dawn
Everyday Joe	Gina	Short
2009	Spoken Word	Shea
2010	Kiss the Bride	Trina	Video
2012	Dysfunctional Friends	Trenyce
The Marriage Chronicles	Marcia Anson
Guardian of Eden	Clarke
Black November	Tracey
No Mo Games	Morgan
Mafia	Mel
2013	Revelation	-	Short
2014	Desiree	Jack
2016	Wichita	Raven
2017	Cargo	Berneice
Candid	-	Short
Miss Me This Christmas	Millicent Williams
You Can't Fight Christmas	Millicent Williams
Carousel	Nicole	Short
2018	Juice Truck	Pat	Short
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	The Client	Black Female Student	Episode: "The Burning of Atlanta"
1996	NYPD Blue	Margie	Episode: "These Old Bones"
Malibu Shores	Listener	Episode: "Hotline"
Saved by the Bell: The New Class	Heather	Episode: "Little Hero"
Goode Behavior	Trish	Episode: "Goode Grades"
1997	Weird Science	Kim	Episode: "Gary Had a Little Cram"
The Burning Zone	Jenny	Episode: "Critical Mass"
Sister, Sister	Anya	Episode: "Three the Heart Way"
The Parent 'Hood	Alexia	Episode: "Tango & Cash"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Aura	Episode: "Welcome to the Hellmouth"
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction	Molly	Episode: "On the Road"
1997–98	Breaker High	Denise Williams	Main Cast
1998	Brooklyn South	Cinnamon	Episode: "Cinnamon Buns"
Malcolm & Eddie	Sharon	Episode: "Bowl-a-Drama"
1999	The Steve Harvey Show	Monique	Episode: "All That Jazz"
Clueless	Veronica	Episode: "My Best Friend's Boyfriend"
Another World	Kineisha 'K.C.' Burrell	Regular Cast
2000–08	Girlfriends	Lynn Searcy	Main Cast
2001	The Test	Herself/Panelist	Episode: "The Liar Test"
Angel	Agnes "Aggie" Belfleur	Episode: "Over the Rainbow"
2004	NAACP Image Awards	Herself/Co-Host	Main Co-Host
2005	Infanity	Herself	Episode: "Girlfriends"
Unscripted	Flirty Girl	Episode: "Episode #1.8"
2008	Battleground Earth	Herself	Episode: "Something's Fishy"
2012–17	The Vampire Diaries	Abby Bennett Wilson	Recurring Cast: Season 3, Guest: Season 4 & 8
2019	Black-ish	Lila	Episode: "Feminisn't"
2020	Will & Grace	Katie Palmer-Payne	Episode: "Of Mouse and Men"
::

Documentary

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role
2005	Earthlings	Co-Narrator
2015	Unity	Narrator
::

Awards

::data[format=table]

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Win/Nomination
2008	ALMA Award	Outstanding Female Performance in a Comedy Television Series	Girlfriends	Nomination
2023	Vienna Independent Film Festival	Best Music Video	Vampire	Winner
::

Music

| italic_title = no | name = Mecca | type = studio | artist = Persia White | released = October 31, 2009 | recorded = 2005–2009 | genre = | length = 36:30 | label = Hybrid Music | misc = {{Singles | name = Mecca | type = studio | single1 = Wanting | single1date = October 7, 2009 Mecca is Persia White's debut album. It was released digitally on October 31, 2009, and on CD on December 8, 2009. The title comes from the name of White's daughter. The final three songs on the album were all featured in several episodes of Girlfriends.

1. "Wanting" – 3:58
2. "Perfect" – 3:15
3. "Receive" (featuring Saul Williams) – 4:15
4. "Pressed Against Gods Thoughts" – 2:02
5. "Haunt" – 3:02
6. "2 Sea" – 1:23
7. "Danger" (featuring Saul Williams) – 3:25
8. "Salvation" – 4:57
9. "Tease" (featuring Tricky) – 3:22
10. "Choices" (Girlfriends season 6 finale song) – 2:47
11. "Past Mistakes" (featuring Tricky) – 4:10

References

References

1. Crissy Calhoun. (2014). "Love You to Death – Season 3: The Unofficial Companion to the Vampire Diaries". ECW Press.
2. "Persia White {{!}} Actress, Writer, Director".
3. "Persia White".
4. Turner, Miki. (February 23, 2004). "Persia's Edge". Sun-Sentinel.
5. Turner, Miki. (February 23, 2004). "Persia's Edge". Sun-Sentinel.
6. "''Earthlings'': Cast and Crew". earthlings.com.
7. "ABFF Announced 2011 Winners". abff.com.
8. "The 'Girlfriends' cast reunites on 'black-ish' — and EW has a first look at them back together".
9. "Persia White: Biography". cwtv.com.
10. "SSCS Board of Directors: Persia White". seashepherd.org.
11. "Feeding sheep : photo image".
12. (March 19, 2005). "Persia White attending the 19th Annual Genesis Awards – Arrivals and VIP Reception held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA on 3/19/2005 | SGG-059590".
13. "Love Life and Friendship". blogs.myspace.com.
14. "Joseph Morgan Marries Persia White in Jamaica".
15. "Who Is Joseph Morgan's Wife? All About Persia White".
16. (September 6, 2023). "VIFF".

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