Ariana DeBose Joins American Film Institute Board of Trustees

Stage and screen star Ariana DeBose is among the newest members of the the American Film Institute’s board of trustees, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

DeBose joins the board along with Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-chair and CEO Pamela Abdy and Wylie A. Aitken, an esteemed trial attorney. 

In addition to setting the agenda for AFI, the board also oversees its national education programs. Board chair Kathleen Kennedy toldTHR. “The addition of Pam, Wylie and Ari to the board will further propel our national mandate to inspire, to educate and, ultimately, to drive culture forward.”

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Ariana DeBose made her Broadway debut in 2012 as part of the original Broadway cast of "Bring it On: The Musical". In 2015, she was part of the original ensemble cast for "Hamilton" in both the Broadway and off-Broadway productions as well as the Emmy Award-winning film version. She was nominated for a Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her role in "Summer: The Donna Summer Musical." 

She is best known for her groundbreaking performance in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story," which earned her an Oscar for best supporting actress in 2022, as well as a British Academy Film Award, a Critics' Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She was the first openly queer Afro Latina to win an Academy Award.