What is Cleopatra Coleman's ethnicity? Clipped actress' nationality and heritage explored

Clipped, a new sports mini-series on Hulu, cast Cleopatra Coleman as V. Stiviano, the former mistress of the LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Back in the 2013-14 NBA season, the tabloids were obsessed with Stiviano for her role in recording and leaking Sterling’s infamous racist rants, along with her erratic behavior in interviews following the scandal.

With Coleman playing Stiviano’s role in the six-part docu-series based on the scandalous story of Clippers, the actress has caught even more attention from the masses. With such a distinctive name, many fans assumed she might be from Egypt—like Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt. But the truth is, Cleopatra Coleman was born and raised in Australia, with Jamaican and Scottish heritage.

Cleopatra Coleman, 36, is originally from New South Wales in Australia. Because she was born and raised there, the White Famous actress is heavily influenced by Australian culture.

That said, Coleman has an interesting mix of culture and heritage—she has roots in Jamaica, where her mother, Turquoise Coleman, was originally from. On the other hand, the actress’s father, Mick Coleman, is Australian with Scottish ancestry.

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Cleopatra Coleman’s career, breaking racial stereotypes in acting

The Australian biracial actress began her acting career in Australia before going to Hollywood. It started when she was cast in the Australian science fiction TV series Silversun. Her first role in the sci-fi series as the strong-minded and outspoken Zandie Brokow set the stage for her diverse career in film and TV, in and outside of her home country.

When she left Australia for LA in search of bigger, better roles, the move can be considered a hit, considering Coleman’s success in the business. She’d been involved in several hit films and starred in multiple lead roles after a minor role as Penelope in the 2012 film Step Up Revolution.

She’s had parts in various TV and film genres, such as drama, sci-fi, comedy, and thriller, showcasing her creativity and artistry in bringing to life complex and bold characters of challenging women and subcultures in many different projects.

Since moving to LA, Cleopatra Coleman has starred as Sadie in Showtime’s White Famous TV series about a black comedian and in FOX’s post-apocalyptic comedy show The Last Man on Earth, which ran from 2015 to 2018 and was nominated for several Emmys.

While Cleopatra Coleman is proud of her mixed heritage and ethnicity, she doesn’t let herself get constrained by the stereotype when it comes to her acting career. In a 2017 phone interview with Bustle about her character as Sadie in White Famous, Coleman mentioned that while the show’s main premise is racially conscious, she chooses the roles she plays that are not necessarily written for a biracial woman. She said:

“I’ve always played roles that could be played by anyone. I’m proud of that, and I want that to be something that continues in my career.”

Instead of “lazily” relying on the character’s race, gender, or sexuality, she prefers to focus on the “human stories” when it comes to exploring the many dimensions of the roles she’s playing.

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In recent news, Cleopatra Coleman starred as Devra Bloodaxe in both parts of Zack Snyder’s recently released sci-fi saga Rebel Moon. Meanwhile, her Clipped docu-series had its double-header premiere on Hulu on June 4, with episode 3 coming to the streaming platform on June 11.