Alexandra Shipp
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Alexandra Shipp (born July 16, 1991) is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence for portraying singer Aaliyah in the Lifetime television film Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014), and Kimberly Woodruff, in the film Straight Outta Compton (2015).
Shipp is best known for playing Storm in the X-Men franchise, starting with X-Men: Apocalypse, Abby Suso in the 2018 romantic comedy Love, Simon, and Susan Wilson in musical drama tick, tick... BOOM!
Early life
Shipp was born in Phoenix, Arizona. Her mother is a Kundalini yoga teacher, and her father James Sr. is a marketing executive. She has two brothers, James and Jordan, and a stepsister, Kasia. Shipp was educated at Squaw Peak Elementary School, Arizona School for the Arts, and St. Mary's Catholic High School in Phoenix. She moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17 to pursue an acting career.
Career
In 2009, Shipp made her acting debut with a minor role in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. She went on to star in the third season of Nickelodeon's mystery teen drama series House of Anubis, playing the role of KT Rush.
In 2014, Shipp gained attention for her roles as Dani Raymond in the VH1 television film sequel Drumline: A New Beat and Aaliyah Haughton, the title role, in the Lifetime television film Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B. For the latter performance, Shipp also sang. She next portrayed Ice Cube's wife, Kimberly Woodruff, in the biographical drama film Straight Outta Compton, which chronicled the careers of hip hop group N.W.A. In 2016, she co-starred in Bryan Singer's superhero film X-Men: Apocalypse as Ororo Munroe/Storm, a weather-controlling mutant previously portrayed by Halle Berry. In 2018, she starred alongside Nick Robinson and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. in Love, Simon and Kathryn Prescott and Lucy Hale in Dude, both high school comedy films.
She reprised the role of Ororo Munroe / Storm in the 2019 film Dark Phoenix, and, the same summer, also starred as Sasha Arias in the Shaft sequel. In 2021 she starred in the film adaptation of tick, tick... BOOM! as Susan.
Shipp starred in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, released on July 21, 2023. In November 2023, Shipp was cast in the revenge thriller film Violent Ends, which co-stars Billy Magnussen and Nick Stahl. Additionally, she will star in the horror film Forbidden Fruits as a member of a witch cult operating out of a retail store. Both films will be released by IFC Films in 2026.
Personal life
Shipp publicly came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in June 2021.
Filmography
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | Valentina | |
| 2015 | Straight Outta Compton | Kimberly Woodruff | |
| 2016 | X-Men: Apocalypse | Ororo Munroe / Storm | |
| 2017 | Tragedy Girls | McKayla Hooper | |
| 2018 | Spinning Man | Anna | |
| Love, Simon | Abby Suso | ||
| Dude | Amelia | ||
| Deadpool 2 | Ororo Munroe / Storm | Uncredited cameo | |
| 2019 | A Dog's Way Home | Olivia | |
| Dark Phoenix | Ororo Munroe / Storm | ||
| Shaft | Sasha Arias | ||
| Jexi | Cate Finnegan | ||
| 2020 | All the Bright Places | Kate Finch | |
| Endless | Riley Jean Stanheight | Also executive producer | |
| Father of the Bride, Part 3(ish) | Rachel Banks | Short film | |
| 2021 | Silk Road | Julia Vie | |
| Tick, Tick... Boom! | Susan Wilson | ||
| 2022 | Space Oddity | Daisy Taylor | |
| Asking for It | Regina | ||
| 2023 | The Good Half | Zoey Abbot | |
| Barbie | Writer Barbie | ||
| Anyone but You | Claudia | ||
| 2025 | Glenrothan | Amy | |
| Violent Ends | Emma Darling | ||
| 2026 | Forbidden Fruits | Fig | |
| TBA | Kung Fury 2 † | Rey Porter | Completed |
| Midnight † | Emma | Post-production; Also producer | |
| White Elephant † | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Switched at Birth | Ashley | Episode: "Dance Amongst Daggers" |
| 2012 | Victorious | Elise | Episode: "The Gorilla Club" |
| 2013 | House of Anubis | KT Rush | 41 episodes |
| House of Anubis: The Touchstone of Ra | TV special | ||
| Occult | Alana Hutchins | Unsold A&E pilot | |
| Awkward | Abby Martin | Episode: "Less Than Hero" | |
| 2014 | Ray Donovan | Tiffany | Episode: "Yo Soy Capitan" |
| Days of Our Lives | Mary Beth | 3 episodes | |
| Drumline: A New Beat | Dani Raymond | Television film | |
| Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B | Aaliyah Haughton | ||
| 2015 | Your Family or Mine | Lucy | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2020 | Make It Work! | Herself | Television special |
| 2024 | Laid | Aubrey | Episode: "More Handsome Than Joe Jonas" |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Telling Lies | Ava |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | "Chance" | Hayley Kiyoko | Love interest |
| 2025 | "Mad" | Reneé Rapp | Mad partner |
Discography
Singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Dirty Long Sleeve Shirt" | 2021 | TBA |
Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "30/90" (with Andrew Garfield, Joshua Henry, Vanessa Hudgens, Robin de Jesús and Mj Rodriguez) | 2021 | Tick, Tick... Boom! (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) |
Music videos
| Title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| "Dirty Long Sleeve Shirt" | 2021 | John Duff |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie: Breakout Star | X-Men: Apocalypse | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Squad | X-Men: Apocalypse | Nominated |
External links
- at IMDb