Garcelle Beauvais is Black Hollywood royalty. While the model, author, activist, and actress might have few leading roles under her belt, she has made her supporting roles into head-turners. She was Fancy Monroe on the Jamie Foxx Show, and Valerie Haywood on NYPD Blue. At just 19 she secured her first acting role in the comedy Coming to America and would go on to land spots on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and the cult science-fiction show, The Magicians.
What many might not know is that Garcelle Beauvais was born in Haiti.
She doesn’t keep this aspect of her heritage a secret. In late 2021, she penned an open letter to President Joe Biden addressing the treatment of Haitian migrants trying to cross the border between Mexico and the United States. At the time, unsettling images of border police on horseback rounding up Haitian immigrants conjured collective memories of chattel slavery. In the second paragraph of her letter, she wrote:
“What I have seen happening at the borders in Southern Texas shakes me to my core of who I am as a person, a Haitian immigrant, a United States citizen, and a staunch supporter of yours. I was filled with so much hope and joy the night you were elected, as were many of my friends and family. I personally endorsed and supported you for the compassion, honesty and character you represented. Seeing September’s show of brute inhumane force by the US Border Patrol, and the ongoing mistreatment of Haitian migrants, has me questioning whether or not my faith in you and your administration was misplaced.”
She continued to lambast the treatment on humanitarian grounds, taking the President to task on campaign promises of a gentler approach to illegal immigration from countries in turmoil.
Her activist streak doesn’t stop there. Beauvais is an author of children’s books, co-authoring the book “I Am Mixed,” which featured two children exploring their diverse ancestry to arrive at a new identity, which is more than their parents combined. Beauvais is also an environmentalist so the book is printed on 100% recycled paper.
Garcelle Beauvais was born in Saint-Marc, Haiti. She is the youngest of 7 children, born to Marie-Claire Beauvais, a nurse, and Axel Jean Pierre, a lawyer. She moved to Peabody, Massachusetts with her mother and siblings after her parents’ divorce. She taught herself English through episodes of Sesame Street.
