Ashley Jackson (actress)

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Ashley Jackson (born May 18, 1999) is an American actress, screenwriter, producer, and recording artist. She is known for starring in the Netflix film BEATS as Niyah. Jackson is the youngest daughter of American political activist Jesse Jackson.

Early life and education

Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., to Jesse Jackson and Karin Stanford. In 2001, when news of her 1999 birth was leaked and rapidly spread globally, her mother participated in an interview on ABC News to dissuade false reports. Jackson has reported that her understanding of her familial status in the public arena was not immediate, stating, "I don't think it was until I saw the way that people reacted to him [Jesse] around me as a young girl that I started to kind of go, 'hmm, there's something different happening here.' I remember asking my mom at around 4 or 5 if my dad was a king."

Jackson set her sights on a professional career in the entertainment industry at a very young age. She began piano lessons at age four and voice lessons shortly afterward. As a primary and secondary school student, she began songwriting. Jackson also sang in her school choirs, performing at venues such as Disneyland, Anaheim Convention Center, and Carnegie Hall. Simultaneously, she began to take an interest in musical theater, spending her summers at the musical theater program, "Teenage Drama Workshop" with cast-mates including Julia Lester and Sabrina Carpenter.

Jackson attended Chaminade College Preparatory School during middle school and her early high school years. She then transferred to Sierra Canyon School on the Upper Campus, where she earned her high school diploma at age 16. Jackson attended California State University, Northridge, where she studied Cinema & Television Arts (emphasizing Screenwriting) for her first two years of college. She then transferred to Spelman College, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in an independent major she developed: "African American Narratives in Cinema and Television" with an emphasis in Screenwriting, under the advisement of director Julie Dash and Elyce Strong-Mann. Although she was a working actress while enrolled, Jackson maintained a consistent presence on the Dean's List and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA. She also holds membership in the National Society of High School Scholars and National Society of Collegiate Scholars Honor Society and graduated as one of the top 10 members of her 2020 class.

Career

2014-2015

She released her debut single as a recording artist and songwriter, "Just Do Me," in 2014. She then began working in the recording studio with Q Parker, a member of 112, on an unreleased project. Her second single entitled, "Fleek," was leaked by TMZ in 2015. After the Billboard premiere of the music video Jackson decided to temporarily move away from a music career and switched her focus to pursuing a career in film and television.

2016-2017

At age fifteen, Jackson became a protégé of veteran actor Richard Lawson. The following year, Jackson began acting professionally with a starring role, Diane, in The Counter: 1960, an award-winning short film she co-wrote and produced with casting director Tracy "Twinkie" Byrd. She then appeared in the Amazon Studios pilot, A Kid Called Mayonnaise, as Jennifer in 2017. In her next role, Jackson played Jayla, the love interest of actor Shane Paul McGhie, in the short film Broke Lovers. She also guest-starred on Awesomeness TV's Versus as Chloe.

2018-Present

Jackson was cast as Niyah in the Netflix film BEATS in 2018. The movie began principal photography in Chicago, Illinois, during the summer. The film premiered at the American Black Film Festival in 2019 and received positive reviews.

That same year, Jackson starred as Nessa in Blast Beat, filmed in Bogota, Colombia, and Atlanta, Georgia.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jackson accepted an Apprentice for Freeform & ONYX Collective position in the first inaugural Disney General Entertainment Content Apprenticeship Program.

Activism

Jackson is dedicated to social action causes and community service. She's been participating in protests since the age of two. Jackson has supported numerous community service-based organizations, including Journey Out (whose "mission is to help victims of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking") and the Atlanta Community Food Bank (which serves Georgia communities in the "fight against hunger").

Jackson actively participated in the Biden-Harris campaign and spoke during a "Phone Bank" event organized by the official Biden campaign affiliated HBCU group, HBCU Students and Alumni & Black Students for Biden.

After contracting COVID-19 at Sundance Film Festival and experiencing a resurgence of the virus a few months later, Jackson has been deemed a "COVID-19 Long Hauler." She has continued to advocate for those navigating chronic illness during the pandemic.

In 2021, Jackson became a member of the first historically African-American sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She was also recognized as one of the Most Influential People of African Descent by MIPAD in their Class of 2021 "100 Under 40" Edition, spotlighted in Media & Culture: High Achievers of African Descent Worldwide.

Scholarship

Jackson has presented academic research papers at the National Council for Black Studies (NCBS). In 2018, she unveiled her research paper entitled "The Liberation of Cinema: Nurturing Pan African Narratives During a Cultural War" at the NCBS conference in Atlanta, Georgia. That same year, Jackson published her research on her father in an article entitled "Jesse L. Jackson, Sr." in the two-volume Black Power Encyclopedia: From "Black is Beautiful" to Urban Uprisings.

References

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