Jazz Raycole

Jazzmine Raycole Dillingham (born February 11, 1988) is an American actress and dancer. She is best known for her role as Claire Kyle on the ABC sitcom My Wife and Kids during its first season. She is credited as Jazzmine Raycole.

Jazz Raycole
Born	Jazzmine Raycole Dillingham (1988-02-11) February 11, 1988 (age 36) Stockton, California, U.S.
Other names	Jazzmine Raycole
Occupation(s)	Actress, dancer
Years active	1995–present

Early life and education

Raycole was born in Stockton, California,^[1] the daughter of Ray, a water company superintendent,^[1] and Claudia Dillingham, who owned a dance studio and managed Raycole's career during her childhood.^[2] A trained dancer, Raycole first danced when she was a toddler.^[3] Raycole studied dance under both her mother^[2] and Barbara Faulkner,^[4] and was a competitive dancer by the age of four.^[5] She attended a program at the Boston Ballet in 2001,^[6] and also taught dance classes that year.^[1] Raycole was home schooled by her mother.^[1]

Career

Raycole's acting career began in 1995, when she appeared in two films: voicing a puppy in Babe^[7] and as Onika Harris in Waiting to Exhale.^[8] One of her earliest roles on television was a guest spot on sitcom Ellen.^[9] She also once featured as the voice of a one-time appearing character named Chloe on Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold! in 2003.^[10]

In 2001, Raycole appeared in the first dozen episodes of My Wife and Kids as Claire Kyle,^[11] with Damon Wayans portraying her father.^[12] However, she was subsequently replaced on the show by Jennifer Freeman when the second season began.^[13] It is reported that Raycole herself said "I was 12 years old when I got that job. The producers wanted a different thing, they wanted someone a little bit older. I wasn't ready for that," she said. "I ended up going to New York to dance, which was my first passion. I really thank God for that because I got to grow and travel."^[14]

She has made several guest appearances on television series, including Malcolm & Eddie, The Jamie Foxx Show, Smart Guy,^[1] Everybody Hates Chris, Monk and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.^[15] Between 2007 and 2008, she portrayed Allison Hawkins in the post-apocalyptic drama Jericho.^[16] She replaced Geffri Maya Hightower, who played the role in the show's pilot episode.^[17] Raycole appeared regularly as Lyric Ballentine on the TV Land sitcom The Soul Man (2012−14).^[18] From 2017 to 2018, Raycole starred as college student Sydney Fletcher on the BET series The Quad.^[19][20] She also played the daughter of Stanley Hudson on the TV show The Office.

Raycole appeared as Mae, the girlfriend of Kimiko Glenn's character, in the television film Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas (2019).^[21] She portrayed Sage, a pregnant woman who has Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome, in short-lived series Council of Dads.^[22] In 2020, Raycole was set to play in the lead role of Izzy, Mickey's client in the drama series The Lincoln Lawyer, which was based on the Michael Connelly novels and was written by David E. Kelley,^[23] The pilot was passed on by CBS due to a scheduling conflict, but in 2021, Raycole was one of the few actors who returned in her role when Netflix picked up the series, taking it to air in 2022.^[24]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Babe	Puppy	Voice
1995	Waiting to Exhale	Onika Harris

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	The Parent 'Hood	Sierra	Episode: "Nick the Player"
1998	From the Earth to the Moon	Lead Dancer	Miniseries
1998	Ellen	Angela	Episode: "Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute: Part 2"
1998	Smart Guy	Vanessa	Episode: "Henderson House Party"
1998	The Jamie Foxx Show	Kayla	Episode: "We Got No Game"
1999	Malcolm & Eddie	Geneva Jensen	Episode: "Daddio"
2001-2002	My Wife and Kids	Claire Kyle	Main cast (season 1; last appearance in season 2)
2003	Hey Arnold!	Chloe (voice)	Episode: "Ghost Bride/Gerald vs. Jamie O."
2004	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Megan	Episode: "Careless"
2004	Clubhouse	Vicky	Episode: "Pilot"
2005–2007	Everybody Hates Chris	Lisa / Prom Girl	4 episodes
2006	Monk	Kimberly	Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Big Game"
2006, 2007	The Office	Melissa Hudson	2 episodes
2006–2008	Jericho	Allison Hawkins	Recurring role
2007	Lincoln Heights	Sharon	Episode: "Flashpoint"
2008	Without a Trace	Kelli Peters	Episode: "A Bend in the Road"
2009	10 Things I Hate About You	Belinda	Episode: "Don't Give a Damn About My Bad Reputation"
2009	Eastwick	Justine	2 episodes
2010	First Day	Paige	Main cast (season 1)
2011	Brave New World	Hillary King	TV movie
2012	New Girl	Miriam	Episode: "Fancyman Part 2"
2012	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Jane	Episode: "Allies"
2012	Perception	Vicky	Episode: "Kilimanjaro"
2012–2014	The Soul Man	Lyric Ballentine	Main cast (season 1), recurring role (seasons 2–3)
2013	Suburgatory	Amber	Episode: "Body Talk"
2013	Rizzoli & Isles	Ashley Harper	Episode: "Judge, Jury and Executioner"
2013	Bones	Jessica Miller	Episode: "The Fury in the Jury"
2014	A Lesson in Romance	Eve	TV movie
2014, 2015	Faking It	Jasmine / Online Date	2 episodes
2015	Vanity	Zoe	Main cast
2015	iZombie	Bethany Miller	Episode: "Real Dead Housewife of Seattle"
2016	Crazy Ex-Girlfriend	Tanya	Episode: "I'm Back at Camp with Josh!"
2017	Sweet/Vicious	Danielle Fox	Episode: "Pure Heroine"
2017–2018	The Quad	Sydney Fletcher	Main cast
2019	I Ship It	Winnie	Recurring role (season 2)
2019	Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas	Mae	TV movie
2020	Council of Dads	Sage	3 episodes
2022–present	The Lincoln Lawyer	Izzy Letts	Main cast

References

1. Ayala, Jamie (June 14, 2001). "Stockton-born TV star teaching dance class". The Record. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
2. "Stockton girl appears in feature film". The Record. December 20, 1995. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
3. Fearn-Banks, Kathleen (August 4, 2009). The A to Z of African-American Television. Scarecrow Press. p. 347. ISBN 9780810863484.
4. "Barbara Faulkner to present 15th dance recital June 30". Lodi-News Sentinel. June 26, 1991. p. 9.
5. "Raycole Biography". Internet Movie Database.
6. Ortega, Fred (August 22, 2005). "Dancing from the heart". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
7. Lentz, Harris M. (2001). Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits: Filmography. McFarland & Company. p. 872.
8. Willis, John (March 2000). Screen World 1996. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 158. ISBN 9781557832528.
9. Tracy, Kathleen (February 25, 2005). Ellen: The Real Story of Ellen DeGeneres. Kensington Publishing Corporation. p. 382. ISBN 9780786017508.
10. "Jazzmine Raycole Dillingham (visual voices guide)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
11. Perkins, Ken Parish (March 27, 2001). "Wayans brings charm to reinvented role of TV dad". The Dispatch. p. 10B.
12. Duffy, Mike (March 28, 2001). "Wayans provides comic energy in new 'My Wife and Kids'". The Spokesman-Review. p. D9.
13. Collier, Aldore (December 2003). "My Wife And Kids Backstage At No. 1 Black TV Show". Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company. p. 168.
14. Thomasos, Christine (July 4, 2012). "Jazz Raycole, 'The Soul Man' Actress, Worshipped Her Way Into Latest Role". The Christian Post. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
15. Baldonado, Ann Marie (January 17, 2017). "Rachel Bloom Upends Romantic Comedy Tropes On 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'". National Public Radio. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
16. Lavigne, Carlen (September 28, 2018). Post-Apocalyptic Patriarchy: American Television and Gendered Visions of Survival. McFarland & Company. p. 17. ISBN 9780786499069.
17. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 697. ISBN 9780307483201.
18. Terrace, Vincent (January 14, 2018). Encyclopedia of Television Shows: A Comprehensive Supplement, 2011-2016. McFarland & Company. p. 153. ISBN 9781476630946.
19. Blake, Meredith (February 1, 2017). "Review: Set at a black college,'The Quad' is a campus drama that borrows heavily from Shonda Rhimes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
20. Otterson, Joe (April 9, 2018). "'The Quad' Canceled at BET After Two Seasons". Variety. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
21. Brecht, Bronte (December 5, 2019). "Kimiko Glenn on Her Queer Romance in Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas". The Advocate. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
22. Jacobs, Meredith (July 1, 2020). "'Council of Dads' Finale: Oliver & Peter Aren't on the Same Page About Adopting (VIDEO)". TV Insider. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
23. Petski, Denise (February 19, 2020). "'The Lincoln Lawyer': Angus Sampson Joins Kiele Sanchez in CBS Drama Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
24. Andreeva, Nellie (February 2, 2021). "Becki Newton Joins 'The Lincoln Lawyer', Jazz Raycole & Angus Sampson To Continue On Netflix Series – Deadline". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 2, 2021.

External links

• Jazz Raycole at IMDb