Nafessa Williams (born December 4, 1989) is an American actress. She is most known for her 2011 role as Nicole Gordon in the Meek Mill film Streets, her 2011 role as Deanna Forbes on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, and her 2016 role as Dr. Charlotte Piel on the CBS drama Code Black. Since 2018, she plays Anissa Pierce in The CW's Black Lightning. Description above from the Wikipedia article Nafessa Williams licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- December 4, 1989 (36)
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Actor, also producer and writer
- 16 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
What are Nafessa Williams' films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 9
Light 0 · Serious 3 · Dark 6
Grounded 8 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · Intense 5
Steady 2 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 0
A split, not a type: Casual 5 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 0 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 5
Resolved 8 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Ally: 3 of 5 analyzed roles.
- Heroas Nicole Gordon in Streets (2011)
- Allyas Sahirah in True to the Game (2017)
- Allyas Anissa Pierce in Black Lightning (2018)
- Heroas Noel in A Holiday Chance (2021)
- Allyas Robyn Crawford in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022)
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet7
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Nafessa Williams' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 15 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (8).
Subscription and free streaming for Nafessa Williams' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
17 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Rivals(2024)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
A Holiday Chance(2021)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
Black and Blue(2019)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
Black Lightning(2018)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows
True to the Game(2017)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Tales(2017)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all shows
Burning Sands(2017)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Asterisk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Restored Me(2016)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Man in 3B(2015)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Code Black(2015)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
Brotherly Love(2015)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Whitney(2015)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Survivor's Remorse(2014)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows
Streets(2011)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Twin Peaks(1990)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Career shape
Star power in the 92nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 17 titles from 1990 to 2024; peak year 2016.
Biggest box office
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022)
Highest rated
Brotherly Love (2015)
Most popular right now
Black Lightning (2018)
Film career
Peak 2016 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2015Screen debut· Whitney
- 2022Career best· Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Nafessa Williams' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 53rd percentile, the median of all 10; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 56th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 16 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved2
- Divisive3
- Cult Classic3
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the acting 66/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles; fans 76, detractors 46. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Nafessa Williams' work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Nafessa Williams work with?
People who share at least 2 of Nafessa Williams' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jamal Hill shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Jamal HillShared titles: A Holiday Chance (2021), Brotherly Love (2015), Streets (2011)See all 3 shared titles with Jamal Hill
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Chris PaultreShared titles: A Holiday Chance (2021), True to the Game (2017), Brotherly Love (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Chris Paultre
- Matthew JoffeShared titles: Brotherly Love (2015), Streets (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Matthew Joffe
- Todd WolfeShared titles: Brotherly Love (2015), Streets (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Todd Wolfe
Producers
- Manny HalleyShared titles: A Holiday Chance (2021), True to the Game (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Manny Halley
- Rodney Turner IIShared titles: A Holiday Chance (2021), True to the Game (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Rodney Turner II
- Yolanda HalleyShared titles: A Holiday Chance (2021), True to the Game (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Yolanda Halley
- Charles E. AlstonShared titles: Brotherly Love (2015), Streets (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Charles E. Alston
