Nelsan Ellis – Bio, Net Worth, Height

Nelsan Ellis – Bio, Net Worth, Height

origin
Nelsan Ellis is an American actor and playwright. He co-starred in “Lafayette Reynolds” on the HBO drama “True Blood.” His film credits include Get on Up (2014), The Help (2011) and The Secretariat (2010). Ellis was born on November 30, 1977 in Harvey, Illinois. His parents are Jackie and Tommy Lee Thompson. He has several siblings, including an older sister named Alice. Ellis was raised in Bessemer, Alabama by his grandmother, Alex Brown. He eventually moved back to Illinois at the age of 14. Ellis attended Sunridge High School, followed by Illinois State University. He completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Juilliard School in New York in 2004.

Profession
Ellis started working as a stage actor in high school. His first notable role was “Juni” in George C. Wolfe’s play “The Museum of Color.” He also showed potential as a top speech contender. After high school, he served briefly in the U.S. Marine Corps. Ellis began writing screenplays while at Juilliard. He wrote the play “Ugly” based on his sister’s death. His pregnant sister was murdered by her husband. The show won him the Martin E. Segal Award at Lincoln Center.

Ellis made her small screen debut in the TV movie Warm Spring (2005). He frequently played the role of “Cart Howard” in the Fox crime drama “The Insider” (2005-06). Other early TV shows include “Invisible” and “Veronica Mars.” Ellis got her big break after playing “Lafayette Reynolds” in the dramatic fantasy series “True Blood.” The series premiered on HBO on September 7, 2008. A total of 7 seasons aired until the end of August 2014. The series won Ellis a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Scream Award in 2009. Ellis appeared in a 2005 episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race. He played “Sinwell Johnson” on the CBS series “Elementary.”

Ellis played musician “Bobby Byrd” in the biopic “Get on Up” (2014). The film is directed by Tate Taylor and stars Chadwick Boseman as James Brown. Before that, Ellis played “Martin Luther King Jr.” In Lee Daniels’ Housekeeping (2013). His film credits also include The Soloist (2009) with Jamie Foxx, The Secretariat (2010) with Diane Lane and The Help (2011) with Jessica Chastain. His last completed film was Faithful to the Game (2017). The film is based on Terry Woods’ 1992 novel of the same name.

personal
Nelson Ellis passed away on July 8, 2017 at the age of 39. The cause of his death was reportedly heart failure complications. He is survived by his father, grandmother, seven siblings and his son Breon. Ellis is about 5 feet 9 inches tall and of African-American ancestry. Before his death, his net worth was estimated at $3 million.

Photo by Lauren Zabel (flickr.com/photos/spazzbot/5002364519) [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/)], via flickr

Nelsan Ellis real name, birthday, wiki

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