Tenaya Cleveland
Biography
Tenaya Cleveland was born in Hawaii, and grew up in California. As a child, she sang in the Malcolm X Jazz Chorus (led by jazz pianist Dick Whittington, who enlisted jazz greats such as Bobby Hutcherson, Mary Stallings and Richie Cole to play & sing with the kids at concerts). At 10, she made her public acting debut as "The Kid" in the play "Bleacher Bums". After years of acting in theater, background work and small independent films, she landed a small role on HBO's acclaimed Six Feet Under (2001). Ms. Cleveland is a supporter of animal and human rights, and the environment. These passions drew her to work behind the scenes on Josh Tickell's multi-award-winning documentary, Fuel (2008), which won the prestigious Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival. Director Ambika Leigh, also a close friend, cast Cleveland as the lead in her dramatic short film, "Watching" followed by a quirky supporting role in her multi-award-winning short, Switchboard (2011). Soon after filming Switchboard, Tenaya toured the U.S. playing a triple-character role in the live comedy, "The Moderns." She was then discovered by the Emmy-winning director Fran Burst-Terranella, and cast as the pill-popping artist, Rosemary Cross in the feature film, The 12 Lives of Sissy Carlyle (2017) In between shooting scenes for Sissy Carlyle, Cleveland appeared in small roles on the TV shows Drop Dead Diva (2009) and Doktor D (2011). She was then cast in multiple episodes of The Haves and the Have Nots (2013), created and directed by Tyler Perry She has also appeared in the Funny or Die web series, "The Drunks." Ms. Cleveland has pursued her career from San Francisco, CA, Los Angeles, CA and Atlanta, GA. She has authored articles on subjects such as acting and independent filmmaking, and moderated / served on panels for the Atlanta Film Festival in 2014 & 2015.
Known For & Full Filmography6 Titles
Drama Series - 2009, 16 episodes • as Granola Instructor
The story of two vampire brothers obsessed with the same girl, who bears a striking resemblance to the beautiful but ruthless vampire they knew and loved in 1864.
Drama Series - 2018, 16 episodes • as Georgetta Chenault
A tough, brilliant senior resident guides an idealistic young doctor through his first day, pulling back the curtain on what really happens, both good and bad, in modern-day medicine.
Drama Series - 2016, 16 episodes • as Trauma Surgeon
20-something Angus MacGyver creates a clandestine organization where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening.
Drama Series - 2018, 16 episodes • as Rehab Coordinator
Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.
Movie - 2026, 2h 15m • as Dr. Billie Ashley
Amziah King, beekeeper, musician, and anchor of his community, reunites with former foster daughter Kateri after many years apart, and fends off threats to his honey business.
Movie - 2017, 2h 15m • as Rosemary Cross
Seven years ago, Sissy Carlyle's parents were killed in an icy car crash. While her charming irresponsible brother continued his questionable pursuits, Sissy stepped in to take care of their parents' antique shop, their home and the family cat Horatio. With her own life at a screeching halt, Sissy begins to fill 11 secret journals with the exciting adventures of daring, bold women she imagines she could be. Now her 27th birthday is just days away and Sissy decides to fill her 12th journal with the adventures of her real life - but much to her dismay, she has absolutely nothing to write about. Then one afternoon, an intriguing young performance artist walks into Sissy's shop and their chance encounter leads Sissy to face a tough choice - to remain safely cocooned in her fantasy lives or to take a chance and discover what her real life might become