Tyla Abercrumbie

Tyla Abercrumbie
Born
Chicago, Illinois
Occupation
  • Actress
Years active1998–present

Tyla Abercrumbie is an American actress, director and playwright. She is best known for playing Nina Williams in the drama series The Chi and Officer Mary Jo Hayes in the crime series NCIS: Origins.

Early life

Abercrumbie was born in Chicago, Illinois. She described growing up in the Austin neighborhood as joyful despite the city lacking resources and residents struggled.[1] Her older sister encouraged her to express herself through the arts such as writing poetry,[1] encouraging her to read books and then write about them or act them out.[2] She holds a B.A. from Columbia College Chicago.[3]

Career

Early in her career Abercrumbie took roles in Chicago’s local theater circuit before working in theater and television nationally.[1] Her first big role came playing Nina Johnson in the drama series The Chi.[2][4] She made guest appearances in the police drama series Detroit 1-8-7 and the crime drama series The Chicago Code.[5] She also had a main role in the crime series NCIS: Origins playing Officer Mary Jo Hayes.[6]

Abercrumbie has participated in theatre productions throughout her career as not only an actress but also a director and playwright. She joined the TimeLine Theatre Playwrights Collective, which nutured her when writing and developing her play Relentless, which debuted at the Goodman Theater in 2022. It was originally planned to open in 2020 but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.[2] Set in 1919, it is inspired by people she knew in her Austin community.[1] In 2021, she received a $25,000 grant from Chicago's Raven Theatre to produce a new work.[7]

Asylum (aka Life) is a one woman show written by and starring Abercrombie early in her career (2003) which portrays the conflicting pressures that a modern woman experiences.[8]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1998Fitting DescriptionsBridge WomanShort
1998Placebo EffectSuit
1999Time ServedBrenda's Cellmate
2008The PorterWomanShort
2008The Poker HouseJanette
2008(Mis)Leading ManDanielle HollandShort
2015UnexpectedMs. Bryant
2017My Prom MomTiffanyShort
2018AnimatorRoz
2020Dreaming Grand AvenueCarol
2023We Grown NowChristine

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2000BetteCarolEpisode; Two Days at a Time
2004The Tracy Morgan ShowMs.BusbyEpisode; Super Boy
2009The BeastAgent Sarah BrennerEpisode; Bitsy Big-Boy
2011Detroit 1-8-7Jeanelle StiltonEpisode; Road to Nowhere
2011The Chicago CodeSara Galivaris2 episodes
2012–2013The Mob DoctorTransplant Coordinator2 episodes
2013Low Winter SunRegina Cook2 episodes
2016The Girlfriend ExperienceEstheticianEpisode; Separation
2016EmpireNurseEpisode; Light in Darkness
2016EasyShelbyEpisode; The F**King Study
2017ShrinkJulia6 episodes
2018Chicago MedLuke's MotherEpisode; Born This Way
2019Proven InnocentTamara FolsomEpisode; The Burden of Truth
2020UtopiaPattyEpisode; Tuesday's Child
2021The Big LeapDebra SadlerEpisode; Revenge Plot
2022Somebody SomewhereKimEpisode; Knick-Knacks and Doodads
2022South SideMs. LangfordEpisode; College
2023Chicago P.D.Marlene BagleyEpisode; Trapped
2018–2026The ChiNina Williams50 episodes
2024–presentNCIS: OriginsMary JoMain Role

Theater

YearTitleTheatre roleNotesRef
2003Asylum (aka Life)Writer and star of one-woman showPenn Theater (Pittsburgh)[8]
2006Intimate ApparelActress (Mayme)Milwaukee Repertory Theater[9]
2007, 2009The Piano LessonActress (Berniece)Portland Stage Company, Court Theatre[10][11]
2015Good PeopleActress (Kate)Asolo Repertory Theatre[12]
2017Paradise BlueActress (Silver)TimeLine Theatre Company[13]
2017East Texas Hot LinksActress (Charlesetta)Writers Theatre[14]
2021The Last Pair of EarliesDirectorRaven Theatre (Chicago)[15]
2022RelentlessPlaywrightTimeLine Theatre Company (premiere), Goodman Theater[16][1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Callender, Samantha (May 6, 2022). "Austin native's new play inspired by her hometown". austinweekly.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Greene, Janaya (November 24, 2021). "Tyla Abercrumbie is about more than The Chi". chicagoreader.com. Chicago Reader. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Tyla Abercrumbie". geffenplayhouse.org. Geffen Playhouse. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  4. ↑ "The Chi's Tyla Abercrumbie joins NCIS: Origins Prequel Series". blackfilmandtv.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Singles 2011: Tyla Abercrumbie". chicagomag.com. Chicago Reader. June 14, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  6. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (March 26, 2024). "'NCIS: Origins' Prequel Adds Tyla Abercrumbie & Diany Rodriguez To Cast". deadline.com. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  7. ↑ George, Doug (February 8, 2021). "Tyla Abercrumbie leads off new play initiative for Raven Theatre". Chicago Tribune – via newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 Karlin, Katherine (May 10, 2003). "'Asylum' actress shows she has lock on pressures modern women feel". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – via newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ McHale, Julie (March 2, 2006). "STAGE | An intimate look inside great characters". The Oconomowoc Enterprise. Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. p. E1 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Keyes, Bob (September 23, 2007). "Lessons learned". Portland Press Herald. p. E1 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Jones, Chris (May 18, 2009). "Parson brings out the ghost story in 'The Piano Lesson'". Chicago Tribune – via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Handelman, Jay (September 6, 2015). "And the winners are..." Sarasota Herald-Tribune. pp. E1, E2 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Greene, Kevin (May 5, 2017). "Trouble in Paradise: A Review of Paradise Blue at TimeLine Theatre Company". Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  14. ↑ Johnson, Lawrence B. (January 11, 2017). "Role Playing: Tyla Abercrumbie was set to run little 'Hot Links' café, but why was she there?". chicagoontheaisle.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Raven Theatre Welcomes Back Live Audiences with The Last Pair of Earlies". www.theatreinchicago.com. July 26, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  16. ↑ Weiss, Hedy (January 31, 2022). "Tyla Abercrumbie's 'Relentless' Digs Deep Into Rarely Explored Aspects of a Black Family's History". news.wttw.com. WTTW. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.