# Grace Byers
**Grace Byers** (born 1984, birth name Grace Lillis Gealey) is a Caymanian-American actress, author, and anti-bullying activist best known for playing Anika Calhoun on the Fox music-industry drama *[Empire](https://www.edgepedia.org/empire-2015-tv-series)* and Quinn Joseph on the [Amazon Prime](https://www.edgepedia.org/amazon-prime) comedy series *[Harlem](https://www.edgepedia.org/harlem-tv-series)*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full birth name | Grace Lillis Gealey[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6349706/bio/) |
| Born | 1984, Butler, Pennsylvania; raised in the Cayman Islands from age 2[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6349706/bio/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/grace-byers/) |
| Education | B.A. in Theater Arts, University of South Florida; MFA in Acting, University of California, Irvine (2010)[3](https://kodaheart.com/grace-byers/) |
| Signature role | Anika Calhoun on Fox's *Empire*, her first screen role, 2015–2018[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/grace-byers/) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/53435/grace-byers) |
| Later series | Reeva Payge on *The Gifted*; Quinn Joseph on Amazon Prime's *Harlem*, 2021–2025[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/53435/grace-byers) • [5](https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/grace-gealey-byers/) |
| Books | *I Am Enough* (2018), a New York Times bestseller and 2018 Goodreads Choice Award winner for Best Picture Book; *I Believe I Can* (2020)[5](https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/grace-gealey-byers/) |
| Spouse | Actor Trai Byers, her *Empire* co-star, married April 14, 2016; one son, born 2023[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/53435/grace-byers) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6349706/bio/) |
## Early life and training
Byers was born in [Butler, Pennsylvania](https://www.edgepedia.org/butler-pennsylvania), to a biracial couple: her mother, Cheryl McCoy Gealey, is Afro-Caribbean and Caymanian, and her father is a Caucasian-American[6](https://www.nickiswift.com/1170268/why-fans-are-absolutely-fascinated-by-empire-standout-grace-byers/) • [3](https://kodaheart.com/grace-byers/). Both of her parents are deaf; her father was born deaf, and her mother lost hearing after a bout of pneumonia[3](https://kodaheart.com/grace-byers/). As a Child of Deaf Adults (CODA), she learned [American Sign Language](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-sign-language) before she could speak[3](https://kodaheart.com/grace-byers/). When she was two years old, the family moved to the [Cayman Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/cayman-islands), her mother's native home, where she lived full-time until leaving for college[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6349706/bio/) • [6](https://www.nickiswift.com/1170268/why-fans-are-absolutely-fascinated-by-empire-standout-grace-byers/).
She has described being bullied throughout her childhood for being biracial and a CODA, an experience she later cited as the impetus for her writing and advocacy[7](https://theimagista.com/grace-byers-2/) • [5](https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/grace-gealey-byers/). At 18 she left for the [University of South Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-south-florida) in Tampa, intending at first to become a drama teacher because she did not believe professional acting was realistic for someone from the islands; a freelance director's comment on a mid-college performance persuaded her to try performing, and she went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in acting at the [University of California, Irvine](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-california-irvine), completing it in 2010[3](https://kodaheart.com/grace-byers/) • [6](https://www.nickiswift.com/1170268/why-fans-are-absolutely-fascinated-by-empire-standout-grace-byers/).
## Stage and screen career
After graduate school, Byers moved to New York City and worked [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway), appearing in *Venus Flytrap: A Femme Noir Mystery* and in *Rent*; she later performed in Chicago productions of *The Misanthrope* and *Tartuffe*[3](https://kodaheart.com/grace-byers/) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/53435/grace-byers). While struggling as an actor she worked retail and customer-service "survival jobs" and considered becoming a full-time ASL interpreter; she has said she was close to giving up acting when director [Lee Daniels](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-daniels) cast her as Anika Calhoun on *Empire*[6](https://www.nickiswift.com/1170268/why-fans-are-absolutely-fascinated-by-empire-standout-grace-byers/).
*Empire* was her first screen role. Cast in 2014, she played Anika, a record-label executive and one of the show's principal antagonists, when the series debuted in the winter of 2015 and appeared through 2018[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/grace-byers/). The role brought her an NAACP Image Award nomination[8](https://www.ladygracebyers.com/about).
After her *Empire* character was killed off, Byers took the main role of Reeva Payge on Fox's Marvel series *The Gifted*[6](https://www.nickiswift.com/1170268/why-fans-are-absolutely-fascinated-by-empire-standout-grace-byers/). Her film work includes the crime thriller *Bent* (2018), in which she played the singer Kate; the comedy horror film *[The Blackening](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-blackening-film)* (2022), as Allison; *The Retirement Plan* (2023); and the TV movie *Wife Stalker* (2025), as Piper[6](https://www.nickiswift.com/1170268/why-fans-are-absolutely-fascinated-by-empire-standout-grace-byers/) • [9](https://tubitv.com/person/134959/grace-byers). From 2021 to 2025 she starred as Quinn Joseph, one of four friends in Manhattan, in Amazon Prime's comedy *Harlem*, created by Tracy Oliver, who drew on Byers's Caymanian heritage in shaping the character[6](https://www.nickiswift.com/1170268/why-fans-are-absolutely-fascinated-by-empire-standout-grace-byers/) • [10](https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/grace-byers-harlem-interview).
## Writing and advocacy
Byers's first children's book, *I Am Enough*, was published in March 2018 and became a New York Times bestseller, winning the 2018 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Picture Book[5](https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/grace-gealey-byers/). She described it as conceived as an anti-bullying book that she deliberately reframed as a book about self-love[10](https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/grace-byers-harlem-interview). Her second book, *I Believe I Can*, followed in 2020[5](https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/grace-gealey-byers/).
Her advocacy draws directly on her upbringing. She volunteers with the nonprofit anti-bullying organization Saving Our Daughters and with deaf organizations supporting deaf culture and awareness[8](https://www.ladygracebyers.com/about). In 2015, Glamour and [Investigation Discovery](https://www.edgepedia.org/investigation-discovery) honored her with their annual "Inspire A Difference" award for her philanthropy with Saving Our Daughters[5](https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/grace-gealey-byers/). As a speaker she gives anti-bullying talks and a presentation about the near-fatal car collision she survived before her television career[5](https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/grace-gealey-byers/).
## Personal life
Byers became engaged to her *Empire* co-star Trai Byers in July 2015 and they married on April 14, 2016, on [Grand Cayman](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-cayman)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6349706/bio/) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/53435/grace-byers). The couple have one son, born in 2023[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6349706/bio/). She retains close ties to the Cayman Islands, visiting several times a year, and the couple appeared together in an official tourism campaign for the territory[3](https://kodaheart.com/grace-byers/) • [6](https://www.nickiswift.com/1170268/why-fans-are-absolutely-fascinated-by-empire-standout-grace-byers/).
## References
1. [Grace Byers – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6349706/bio/)
2. [Grace Byers – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/grace-byers/)
3. [Grace (Gealey) Byers (1984– ), KODAheart](https://kodaheart.com/grace-byers/)
4. [Grace Byers – TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/53435/grace-byers)
5. [Grace (Gealey) Byers – APB Speakers](https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/grace-gealey-byers/)
6. [Why Fans Are Absolutely Fascinated By Empire Standout Grace Byers, Nicki Swift](https://www.nickiswift.com/1170268/why-fans-are-absolutely-fascinated-by-empire-standout-grace-byers/)
7. [GRACE BYERS – Imagista](https://theimagista.com/grace-byers-2/)
8. [About — Grace Byers, official site](https://www.ladygracebyers.com/about)
9. [Grace Byers – Tubi](https://tubitv.com/person/134959/grace-byers)
10. [Grace Byers on the New Amazon Prime Comedy 'Harlem', W Magazine](https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/grace-byers-harlem-interview)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Bu to Ce*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license