Javicia Leslie (/dʒəˈviːsiə/jə-VEE-see-ə;[1] born May 30, 1987) is an American actress. After landing her first major role in the Lifetime film Swim at Your Own Risk (2016), she appeared as a series regular on the BET drama The Family Business (2018–present) and the CBS comedy-drama God Friended Me (2018–2020). She also starred as the lead of the film Always a Bridesmaid (2019). In 2021, Leslie began portraying the title role of The CW superhero series Batwoman, and Red Death in the first five episodes of the ninth and final season of The Flash.
In 2020, Leslie was cast in the title role of Batwoman following the departure of original lead Ruby Rose. She plays Ryan Wilder, an original character created for the show, who takes up the mantle of Batwoman in the second season, and her evil Earth-4125 doppelganger who goes by the moniker Red Death[broken anchor] in the first five episodes of the ninth and final season of the CW live action TV series The Flash.
^ ab"Javicia Leslie – God Friended Me Cast Member". God Friended Me. CBS. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020. Javicia Leslie was born in Augsburg, Germany. She moved to Maryland at a young age and was raised in Upper Marlboro, near Washington, D.C. … Her birthday is May 30.
^Yan, Jack (April 28, 2020). "Javicia Leslie: balancing act". Lucire. Retrieved August 12, 2021. As a Christian, Leslie felt God guided her to make the transition.
