# Sierra Capri
**Sierra Capri** (born 1998) is an American actress best known for playing Monse Finnie, the lead female role in the Netflix coming-of-age series *On My Block*, which ran from 2018 to 2021.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1998, Baltimore, Maryland[1](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/sierra-capri.html) |
| Breakout role | Monse Finnie, lead role on Netflix's *On My Block* (2018–2021)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8609229/) |
| First screen work | An extra, as one of the NASA "computers," in the Oscar-nominated *Hidden Figures* (2016)[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/03/on-my-block-sierra-capri-netfix-season-1-interview) |
| Casting route | Found the *On My Block* call on the Actors' Access website while studying biology at Armstrong State University in Savannah, Georgia[4](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/welcome-to-sierra-capris-block/) |
| Other films | Kai in *American Skin* (2019); lead as Cassidy in the Sundance film *Young. Wild. Free.* (2023)[4](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/welcome-to-sierra-capris-block/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8609229/) |
| Upcoming | Deputy Diaz in Aaron Sorkin's *The Social Reckoning* (2026)[5](https://gq.co.za/culture/tv-shows/2026-09-28-sierra-capri-on-on-my-block-perseverance-and-her-new-role-in-the-social-reckoning/) |
| Training | No acting lessons; learned through free online videos and on-set experience[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/03/on-my-block-sierra-capri-netfix-season-1-interview) |
## Early life and education
Capri was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and lived there with her mother until she was about 12, when they moved to Georgia and settled with her grandmother; she went to high school and college in Georgia[6](https://www.abookof.us/nextchapters/sierra-capri). She was raised by a single mother, although her father, a self-taught musician, remained part of her life[7](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a37982892/sierra-capri-on-my-block-season-4-interview/). She grew up with three older brothers, whose relationships she later used as a model for Monse's three male best friends on screen[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/03/on-my-block-sierra-capri-netfix-season-1-interview).
An artistic family shaped her early interests. Her mother taught [African dance](https://www.edgepedia.org/african-dance) and modern jazz and, when Capri was young, worked at a cable station in Maryland, where she brought her daughter from about age six and let her write scripts and act them out on camera[5](https://gq.co.za/culture/tv-shows/2026-09-28-sierra-capri-on-on-my-block-perseverance-and-her-new-role-in-the-social-reckoning/). Her mother took her to auditions around Maryland, including one for Disney, which her mother declined on her behalf because the arrangement would have separated them[5](https://gq.co.za/culture/tv-shows/2026-09-28-sierra-capri-on-on-my-block-perseverance-and-her-new-role-in-the-social-reckoning/).
At Armstrong State University in Savannah, Capri majored in biology and initially planned a career in forensics[8](https://downtownmagazinenyc.com/2019/04/sierra-capri-on-my-block/). She had promised her parents she would finish a degree before pursuing acting, and while a student she worked as a paid extra, appearing in *Hidden Figures* (2016) and in *Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising* to cover her bills[4](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/welcome-to-sierra-capris-block/).
## Breakthrough with On My Block
**A website audition.** In her final year of college, Capri saw the *On My Block* casting call on Actors' Access, a site where anyone can submit themselves, and applied from her dorm room[4](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/welcome-to-sierra-capris-block/). At a seminar in Atlanta she met the self-tape coach Deja Dee, whom she credits as a mentor; when the audition came, she drove four hours from Savannah to Atlanta to record her tape[9](https://hiddenremote.com/2018/03/14/sierra-capri-netflix-series-on-my-block/). After the tape, co-creator Lauren Iungerich requested a FaceTime meeting, then a flight to Los Angeles for chemistry tests with other finalists; a little over a month later Capri had the part[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/03/on-my-block-sierra-capri-netfix-season-1-interview). She has said she was selected partly because she looks young enough to play a character several years her junior[1](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/sierra-capri.html).
**The role.** *On My Block*, created by Iungerich, Eddie Gonzalez, and Jeremy Haft, follows four teenagers navigating high school in South Central Los Angeles[10](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/on-my-block/). Capri played Monse Finnie, the headstrong tomboy the articles describe as the de facto leader of the "Core Four"[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/03/on-my-block-sierra-capri-netfix-season-1-interview). The starring role was her first; she had never taken an acting lesson and learned on the job[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/03/on-my-block-sierra-capri-netfix-season-1-interview). The series ran for four seasons from 2018 to 2021[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8609229/), and Netflix's statistics recorded it as the most-binged show of 2018[11](https://www.papermag.com/sierra-capri-on-my-block).
Monse is written as an Afro-Latina character, which Time noted as part of a small wave of Afro-Latino representation on television, while pointing out that Capri herself is not Afro-Latina[12](https://time.com/5889072/afro-latino-actors-roundtable/). Capri has discussed the character's resonance: raised largely by her father in the story, Monse mirrors the single-parent households Capri says she wanted to see more of on screen[7](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a37982892/sierra-capri-on-my-block-season-4-interview/).
## After On My Block
During the series' run Capri appeared as Kai in *American Skin* (2019), directed by [Nate Parker](https://www.edgepedia.org/nate-parker); the role came to her through a casting director rather than an open audition[4](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/welcome-to-sierra-capris-block/). She then played the lead, Cassidy, in the Sundance film *Young. Wild. Free.* (2023)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8609229/).
Her next listed credit is as Deputy Diaz in [Aaron Sorkin](https://www.edgepedia.org/aaron-sorkin)'s *The Social Reckoning*, scheduled for release on 9 October 2026[5](https://gq.co.za/culture/tv-shows/2026-09-28-sierra-capri-on-on-my-block-perseverance-and-her-new-role-in-the-social-reckoning/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8609229/).
Capri has also said she intends to finish her science degree and described a possible dual career in forensics and acting, along with a long-term goal of developing a show based on her mother's upbringing in [Newark, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/newark-new-jersey)[7](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a37982892/sierra-capri-on-my-block-season-4-interview/).
## References
1. [Sierra Capri – Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/sierra-capri.html)
2. [Sierra Capri – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8609229/)
3. [The Inner-City Kids Are All Right in Netflix's Binge-Worthy On My Block – Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/03/on-my-block-sierra-capri-netfix-season-1-interview)
4. [Welcome to Sierra Capri's Block – LADYGUNN](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/welcome-to-sierra-capris-block/)
5. [Sierra Capri on On My Block, perseverance and her new role in The Social Reckoning – GQ South Africa](https://gq.co.za/culture/tv-shows/2026-09-28-sierra-capri-on-on-my-block-perseverance-and-her-new-role-in-the-social-reckoning/)
6. [Sierra Capri [On My Block] – A Book Of](https://www.abookof.us/nextchapters/sierra-capri)
7. [Sierra Capri Gets Candid About the Final Season of On My Block – ELLE](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a37982892/sierra-capri-on-my-block-season-4-interview/)
8. [Checking in with Sierra Capri of "On My Block" – Downtown Magazine](https://downtownmagazinenyc.com/2019/04/sierra-capri-on-my-block/)
9. [Interview: Sierra Capri talks about her role in new Netflix series On My Block – Hidden Remote](https://hiddenremote.com/2018/03/14/sierra-capri-netflix-series-on-my-block/)
10. [On My Block Reviews – Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/on-my-block/)
11. [Get Ready for Sierra Capri's Glow Up – PAPER Magazine](https://www.papermag.com/sierra-capri-on-my-block)
12. [These Afro-Latino Actors Are Pushing Back Against Erasure in Hollywood – TIME](https://time.com/5889072/afro-latino-actors-roundtable/)
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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 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
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