Eden Duncan-Smith

Eden Sanaa Duncan-Smith made her Broadway debut as Raynell Maxson in 2010’s Tony Award winning cast of August Wilson’s Fences along side Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. It was her first time working with celebrated Wilsonian director, Kenny Leon and helped her shape her love for theater and respect for the craft. Her next Broadway role was Young Nala in Disney’s Lion King. Eden was nominated for Young Artist Awards for both shows winning Best Live Theater Actress for Fences. Other drama awards she won for these roles are the Delta Sigma Theta Emerging Artist Award and the Audelco Rising Star Award. In 2012, she lent her talents to human rights organization, Equality Now, speaking out against non-consensual child-marriage. Hollywood director and writer, Joss Whedon wrote her piece and doted, “Eden has extraordinary integrity as a kid actor.”

In 2013, she was a featured actor in the Off-Broadway production, Wood Bones. Wood Bones, written by Native American playwright William S. Yellow Robe, Jr. was about a young bi-racial girl coping with being molested by her stepfather and seeking sanctuary from this horror with the spirit of the house they lived in. A role that she developed and work-shopped, she gave received great acclaim for her soul stirring performance.

The same year in tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, Eden was reunited with Leon to participate in The Green Space celebration of the August Wilson’s American Century Cycle. She returned to her role as Raynell in honor of the rich legacy that Wilson left for actors of color around the world. In this production of Fences, she worked with veteran actor’s Regina Taylor and Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

Eden is a girl destined to change the world with her voice, talents and heart! She defies stereotypes of what roles young starlets should take and as a proud member of the Project Girl Performance Collective, stretches the definition of girl power. From the Fringe Festival to Estro-Genius Festival, she uses art to draw attention to issues that matter to her. This is also why in 2011; she was honored by BET and Black Girl’s Rock as a M.A.D. Girl (A girl making a difference) for her work with her non-profit, Angel In The S.K.Y.E. Network.

As a dancer, she has studied at Dance Theatre of Harlem, the American Ballet Theatre and Purelements: Evolution in Dance.

At 14, Eden is a blogger for Tween Girl Style Magazine and Society & Style. She has been featured in numerous commercials and is currently starring in the 2014 Sony Pictures remake of “Annie” as the foster kid, Isabella.

She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her parents and her lion-head rabbit, Bob Marley.

www.edensanaaduncansmith.com