reyna raquel bledsoe
july 27, 1987 • 27
leo / rabbit / ENTP
actress (mostly)
los angeles + toronto
"rey", "raquel", "slim"
junior, red & method
in a long-term relationship
   Reyna Raquel Maeda Bledsoe (born July 29, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for playing Corrine Baxter in the television series Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, Nebula Wade in Disney's popular Zenon films, and Jess Merriweather in television series Friday Night Lights. In January 2015, it was announced that she would portray a younger version of the Marvel Comic book character Storm in X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016. Early Life    Bledsoe was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario to plumber James Bledsoe and physical therapist Amaya Maeda-Bledsoe. She is of mixed race background—her mother is of Japanese and African American descent, while her father is of Afro-Spanish descent. She has described her upbringing as "comfortable", citing the fact that her parents were happily married and able to provide she and her siblings with a hardship-free upper middle class upbringing in a nice Toronto suburb. She has been acting since she was eight years old, starting out with summer drama camps and "bit parts for kids" in local productions. From the age of twelve, she attended a private performing arts academy in the greater Toronto area. Career    Television
   Bledsoe made her professional debut in 1999's Disney television film Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, winning the role after responding to a large and competitive casting call in Ontario. It turned out to be just the beginning in a string of supporting roles in some of the many television films Disney filmed in Canada at the time. She went on to appear in the two Zenon sequels in 2001 and 2004, Alley Cats Strike! (2000), The Color of Friendship (2000), and Cadet Kelly (2002).
   In 2002, she was cast as Corrine Baxter in Global TV's Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. The series ran for four years and Bledsoe appeared in all but four of its episodes.
   She made three appearances on American series Smallville as Plastique between 2008 and 2010. In 2009, she joined the cast of Friday Night Lights as Jess Merriweather and remained on the show for the rest of its run. She returned briefly to television in 2012, playing Alma Walker in six episodes of American Horror Story: Asylum..

   Film
   Her first feature film appearances were in 2006, playing love interests in ATL and The Covenant. In 2007, she played a teenaged prostitute in The Brave one and appeared in Denzel Washington's directorial debut The Great Debaters. Her next role was in 2008's box office hit Cloverfield
   She had a small role in 2010's Get Him to the Greek, followed by a more visible supporting role in the 2011 drama Shame and an appearance in 50/50. Her next substantial role came after being cast as the title character in the ambitious 2012 remake of the 1976 cult classic. For the film, she did all of her own singing and appeared on the film's soundtrack along with her co-stars.
   In 2013, she played Jackie Robinson's wife in biopic 42 and and Olivia in the well-received horror reboot Evil Dead.
   Dear White People, released in 2014, marked her second starring role after Sparkle and the film was met with critical acclaim. She followed it up playing Ice Cube's daughter and Jonah Hill's love interest Maya in sequel 22 Jump Street.
   Her upcoming work includes appearances in biopic Hands of Stone and reboot Mad Max: Fury Road. In late January 2015, she was confirmed as having signed on to play Ororo "Storm" Munroe, taking over for Halle Berry, in X-Men: Apocalypse, slated for release in 2016.

   Music
   As early as 2010, she was making low-key appearances with friends Jesse Nolan and Stephen Edelstein in the retro-influenced band Lore of Babylon, providing back-up vocals and occasional percussion. They gained a small following after several songs were featured in popular television shows. Their full-length debut, Human Nature, was released in April 2014. However, despite performing in a band and singing in Sparkle, Bledsoe has consistently stated a lack of desire to entertain the idea of an actual side career in music. Personal Life    Bledsoe has one older brother, Roman, and two older sisters, Hana and Teresa. Her father was raised Baptist Christian and her mother Buddhist; she is knowledgeable about both belief systems while not strictly following either. She describes herself as ambiguously “spiritual”. While she avoids espousing political beliefs in interviews or any official capacity, she has said she considers herself “fiscally conservative but socially liberal” and is very vocal about the racial and gender inequalities she has experienced within the confines of the entertainment industry.
   Since reportedly meeting him as a teenager, she has been in an on/off relationship with rapper and fellow Canadian, Raphael Hurst. It's no secret that two are dating, but both are tight-lipped about the relationship to the press.
X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (2016 • FILMING APRIL) Ororo Munroe / Storm HANDS OF STONE (2015 • DECEMBER 11) Juanita Leonard MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015 • MAY 13) Toast STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (2015 • AUGUST 14) Kim 22 JUMP STREET (2014) Maya DEAR WHITE PEOPLE (2014) Sam White AMERICAN HORROR STORY ('12-'13) Alma Walker (6 eps) EVIL DEAD (2013) Olivia THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE (2013) Alice SAVED BY THE BELL (2013) Lisa Turtle SPARKLE (2012) Sparkle 50/50 (2011) Jackie FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS ('09-'11) Jess Merriweather (26 eps) SHAME (2011) Marianne GET HIM TO THE GREEK (2010) Kali SMALLVILLE ('08-'10) Bette Sans Souci/Plastique (3 eps) CLOVERFIELD (2008) Lily Ford THE GREAT DEBATERS (2007) Samantha Booke THE BRAVE ONE (2007) Chloe ATL (2006) New New THE COVENANT (2006) Kate Tunney STRANGE DAYS AT BLAKE HOLSEY HIGH ('02-'06) Corinne Baxter (38 eps) ZENON: Z3 (2004) Nebula Wade CADET KELLY (2002) Cadet Carla Hall ZENON THE ZEQUEL (2001) Nebula Wade ALLEY CATS STRIKE! (2000) Gina THE COLOR OF FRIENDSHIP (2000) Piper Dellums ZENON: GIRL OF THE 21ST CENTURY (1999) Nebula Wade
Lore of Babylon (tessa thompson of caught a ghost)
HUMAN NATURE LP (RELEASED APR. 1 2014)
WATERFALLS (TLC COVER)
YOU SEND ME (SAM COOKE COVER)
PORTIONS FOR FOXES (RILO KILEY COVER)
LIKE A VIRGIN (MADONNA COVER)

Sparkle OST (as "Sparkle"/Jordin Sparks' contributions)
   • as a solo performer:
Look Into Your Heart, Love Will, & One Wing
   • w/ Carmen Ejogo & Tika Sumpter:
Giving Him Something He Can Feel, Hooked on Your Love, & Jump
   • w/ Whitney Houston:
Celebrate
   • Her mother, Amaya, is a Toronto native who worked as a physical therapist and then Reyna's manager until 2006, when Rey moved to California with her sister and Amaya stayed behind in Toronto with the rest of their family. Her father, James, was born in Detroit and moved across the border to work before meeting his wife and eventually starting his own plumbing company to support their family.

   • Reyna has three older siblings: Roman, a music producer that she gets along well with despite a nearly ten year age gap. Hana, a make-up artist with one daughter (Anita) who lives near Reyna in L.A. and often travels with her younger sister to do her make-up for big events. The two are very close. The middle sister, Teresa, is only a year older than she and the two can barely tolerate each other. She still resides Toronto, not far from their parents, and is an accountant.

   • In 2006, shortly after filming wrapped on the final season of Strange Days, Reyna moved to Los Angeles to focus on breaking into the U.S. film industry and has walked a fine line while trying to balance the need to pay bills with the desire to be as selective as she can be, which, she admits, isn't very.

   • Currently has twelve tattoos*, many of them quite prominent. They are usually covered up for film roles and she's spoken in the past about also occasionally having to conceal them for auditions.
right shoulder & left collarbone: wheel of dharma & the Toni Morrison quote “I am all the things I have ever loved.”
right side: hand holding a winding lotus blossum.
back: Buddha on a lotus blossom, Bible verse in Japanese, the rising sun flag, & the phases of the moon.
hands: three black bars on the underside of her right wrist + the word 'US' on her left ring finger.
left leg: the seven principles of bushidō.
lower abdomen: “thug life” 2pac tribute.
• ???: the signature of her on/off boyfriend of several years.
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