Dionne Gipson (she/her)

“Ddé” Dionne Gipson is a professional actress and singer. She was born and raised in Peoria, Illinois and got her start in the entertainment industry through singing with her father Byron “Wild Child” Gipson; a popular local musician. By her teens she was performing in local plays and pageants to hone her talents and soon set her sights on a career in theatre and music. She attended the Historical Black University Florida A&M where she earned a double-degree in English and Theatre. After winning a national competition in the categories of dramatic monologue, oral interpretation of pros and one-act play, she was invited to audition for several graduate programs who offered full scholarships and selected Penn State University.

She made her debut on the professional stage in the hit musical Dream Girls at the 14th St. Playhouse in Atlanta, GA and since then has appeared in numerous plays, musicals, films and television shows and has also written, arranged and performed music for live shows, film soundtracks and voiceover productions.

Some of her film credits include, a Netflix original, Pee Wee's Big Holiday, Sweet Home Alabama and Squatters. She has guest-starred on the hit television shows, Criminal Minds, The Young and the Restless, Greenleaf on OWN and recently as a recurring guest star on the CBS Network's long-running hit NCIS. Follow her currently on the brand new series, The Wilds, on Amazon Prime.

Her musical performer credits include the Los Angeles hit concert series, For the Record Live, Tarantino, Scorsese, Baz Luhrmann, Zemeckis and Paul Thomas Anderson. She closed out the beloved performace space Rockwell Table & Stage in the hit musical, Edward Scissorhands. She has sung and recorded professionally for Rick Springfield, Wayne Brady and Public Enemy, has written songs for and played roles in the films, Josie and the Pussy Cats, Trois and Black Dynamite and has co-­written along­side greats like Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, The Go-Go's, Jane Wiedlin, Raphael Saadiq and Chris Collingwood of Fountains of Wayne. She has worked abroad in Australia with the revered and legendary director, actress and producer, Debbie Allen in musical Freeze Frame as well as The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.