Cherise Boothe

Cherise Boothe’s Journey From Stage to Screen and Game Consoles

A background in African American Studies at UC Berkeley led to an MFA in Acting at New York University, and from there to a career built first on the stage. Theatre remained the anchor of her work even as television, film, and voice acting widened the scope of her career over the following two decades.

Ruined and the Obie-Winning Stage Work

Boothe originated the role of Josephine in Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Ruined, staged at the Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club. Two Obie Awards for Performance followed, the first for Kirsten Greenidge’s Milk Like Sugar and the second for the title role in Signature Theatre’s revival of Nottage’s Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine. Other credits include Barbecue at the Geffen Playhouse, Familiar at Yale Repertory Theatre, When We Were Young and Unafraid at Manhattan Theatre Club, and Ohio State Murders at Theatre for a New Audience, which earned a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival. Her regional theatre work was recognized with a Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship.

Sojourn, Tanya, and the Video Game Voice Career

Video game work has placed her voice inside some of the medium’s largest franchises. She plays Sojourn in Overwatch 2, a role that has carried into esports appearances and lore content for the series, and voices Tanya in Mortal Kombat 1. Additional credits include Dr. Lorelei Da Costa in Starfield, Taissa in Diablo IV, Fenirra in Horizon Forbidden West, and Lissandra in Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story.

Film and Television Roles

On screen, she appeared opposite Chadwick Boseman in 42 and alongside Meryl Streep in Ricki and the Flash. Television credits span The Resident, where she held a recurring role as Dr. Candace Oliver, along with Westworld, The Good Doctor, New Amsterdam, The Blacklist, and Law & Order: SVU. Animation work includes Jade Tusk in Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny and Aminata Mballo in Jurassic World: Chaos Theory.