Dominique Thorne was born November 5, 1997,[4] in New York to Trinidadian immigrants. She has two brothers.[5]
Thorne attended Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan (PPAS) where she studied dramatic theatre formally. During her senior year of high school, she won the 2015 Young Arts Award in Spoken Theater as well as the U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, which is given annually by the White House. After applying to a number of universities for both academics and art programs, Thorne chose to attend Cornell University, where she was initiated into Mu Gamma chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority in Spring 2018. The following year, she received her bachelors degree in Human Development with a minor in Inequality Studies. Prior to graduating in May 2019, she became a member of the Sphinx Head secret senior honors society.[5][6] As of 2020, she and her family live in Atlanta.[5]
In 2020, she was cast as Riri Williams / Ironheart in the upcoming Disney+ television series Ironheart.[1][2] Because of her earlier tests with Marvel Studios, she was cast in this role without any additional auditions.[11][12] She made her debut as Riri in the 2022 feature film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.[3] Producer Nate Moore said that when Marvel Studios was casting Riri Williams, Dominique was their "first and only call."[13]
