Denyce Lawton

Denyce Lawton
Born	Denise-Marie Lawton (1978-05-02) May 2, 1978 Seoul, South Korea
Residence	Neptune, New Jersey Largo, Maryland
Occupation	Actress, Producer, Model
Years active	1999–present
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Partner(s)	Wesley Jonathan (2006-2009)
Relatives	Gregory Lawton, Jr (Brother)

Denise-Marie Lawton (Korean: 데니스 마리 러튼) (born May 2, 1978) is a Korean-born American actress known as Denyce Lawton.

Biography

Lawton is of African American and Korean descent. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Lawton is the middle child of three children. She lived a military life with her family abroad in such countries as South Korea, Japan and Germany. Her family moved around the United States, living primarily in Neptune, New Jersey then in Washington D.C. where she graduated from Largo High School in Largo, Maryland. She went to Kettering Middle School with R&B singer Mýa Harrison.

Personal life

Lawton was romantically involved with actor Wesley Jonathan from 2006 until 2009. Lawton is conversational in Korean.^[1] On March 24, 2011, Lawton's brother, Gregory Lawton, Jr., was murdered in Temple Hills, Maryland.^[2]

Career

Best known for her four seasons as a SERIES REGULAR on the #1 Cable Comedy Series & 6 time NAACP Best Comedy Series Winner, Tyler Perry's House of Payne where she plays the character Dana the manicurist in the barber shop. Denyce has recently completed 9 films including her recent leading role in Up (TV network) Original Movie “The Dempsey Sisters” (in which she is also a Co-Producer), Swirl Films & New Image Movie “Frat Brothers” also starring Stomp The Yard & Soul Food: The Series Star Darrin Dewitt Henson and Rapper/Actor Romeo Miller, which she also Co-Produced. Denyce immediately went straight to filming and completed her leading role in the Dramedy Movie entitled “Jump”, where she held her own amongst the cast of comedians also starring Esau McGraw & Brian Hooks. The other film credits, in less than one year, include UP Tv’s Original Movie “Between Sisters” opposite Vanessa Bell Calloway, “Winnerz” opposite Glenn Plummer & BET "Let's Stay Together" actor Christian Keyes,“Act Like You Love Me” opposite Lynn Whitfield & Glynn Turman, “Switchin’ The Script”, ABFF & HBFF crowd pleaser "The Coalition", UP TV Original movie “The Love You Save” opposite Robin Givens, & Lions Gate Thriller “The Helpers” in theaters Fall 2013. You can also find Denyce starring opposite "Numb3rs" stars Alimi Ballard & Rob Morrow in an “Inception” inspired shortfilm “Interception”, opposite Reagan Gomez-Preston & Wesley Jonathan in an original family web series “Almost Home” as well asopposite Calvin Snoop Dogg Broadus in “Malice N Wonderland”. Outside of “House Of Payne” and her abundance of othertelevision and film work, if Denyce’s face seems familiar, it may also be the heavy rotation on cable of her two other films “Redline” (an action auto thriller) & horror thriller “DEAD TONE”.

Denyce began her entertainment goals and career as a background dancer in theater, NYC famous Broadway and then later for recording artists such as 'N Sync, Mýa, Nelly, Jagged Edge, Ja Rule, Puff Daddy aka Sean Combs, & many others. Wanting to set her goals higher, Denyce ventured into the music industry as a backdoor into the film industry. Denyce served as assistant Vice President of Urban Promotions at Warner Bros. Records then later became A & R at Priority Records in New York City, NY. A fastand dedicated worker, Denyce gained unmatched experience and knowledge that would prove to be critical in the development of creative properties working as personalassistant to Record Executive & mogul Irv Gotti at The Inc. Records (Formerly Murder Inc Records) then later finally transitioning into the film industry working as an Assistant Junior Publicist at 20th Century Fox Films. Soon after, Denyce utilized her deep-rooted creativity, WB ties and Fox affiliations to share her unique talent and on-screen charisma, hosting a multitude of shows and events. With limited experience and opportunities, Denyce participated in several Theatrical Plays as well as the famous Shakespeare In The Park Company while she began modeling for Kemi Oil, FUBU, ADIDAS, Enyce, Karl Kani and Baby Phat. While pursuing her acting and modeling career, she conquered a solid presence in notable Hip Hop/R&B/Pop music videos; "The Way” by Clay Aiken, “Peaches & Cream" by 112, "One Mic" by Nas, & "Anything" by Jaheim, (to name just a few), solely to accumulate enough camera experience and money to fund her acting pursuits & move to Los Angeles CA & has been gracing the screens in ever since. Amongst her accomplishments, Denyce has also become the new, fresh and first African American-Asian face of the AZN Comcast Campaign as well as a SummerCampaign for Coors Light. You may also recognize Denyce from the "Bacardi & Cola" commercial series as well as Jeep Grand Cherokee, Pepsi, Nike, Turbotax and Coors Light commercials over the years. She has also been featured in and graced the covers of several magazines including MAMI Magazine, Black Men, The Source, Todays Black Woman, BQE Magazine, Smooth, Edge Magazine, XXL, J’Adore, Smooth Girl, Daily News, Mass Appeal, XXL Presents Eye Candy Magazine.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

• Denyce Lawton at the Internet Movie Database
• Denyce Lawton at Rotten Tomatoes
• Denyce Lawton on Twitter
• Denyce Lawton on Facebook