Houston Texas native Chandra Wilson has been a talented actress since she was a small child. She performed in theater while she was growing up and joined Houston's Theatre Under the Stars Company at age 5!

She went on to study performing arts and earned a BFA in 1991 from New Tork University's Tisch School of the Arts. She became very popular in the New York Theatre scene even earning a Theater World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance in The Good Times Are Killing Me. 

Chandra Wilson's On-Screen Career

While performing on stage she began landing guest spots on Prime Time TV shows like The Cosby Show, Law & Order, Third Watch, Sex and the City, and The Sopranos. She even made it on the hit Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington film Philadelphia! 

Unfortunately, she was struggling to obtain big roles even though she was earning high praise for all of her work so she began to work s a bank teller as well. 

Then in 2005, she hit the jackpot. Chandra earned a spot as "Dr. Miranda Bailey" on Grey's Anatomy.

Chandra Wilson a.k.a. "Dr. Miranda Bailey"

The role was originally billed for a blonde white woman but show creator Shonda Rhimes told USA Today that Chandra was perfect. "In the surgeon world that she's in, Miranda shouldn't necessarily be there. She's a woman and an African-American. And she doesn't worry about any of that. I hope I have some of that in me."

Her character became an instant success. Chandra was nominated 4 times for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama at the Emmy's and won the SAG Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Drama Series! She won 4 NAACP Image Awards and the People's Choice Award for Favorite Scene-Stealing Star.

Chandra is even gaining traction as a director. She has directed 20 episodes of Grey's, a few episodes of The Fosters and Scandal.

Chandra Wilson Interesting Facts

• While she was a bank teller Chandra tragically worked in the building across the street of the South Tower of the World Trade Center during 9/11.
• She has also played a doctor on General Hospital.
• Her first performance was The King and I when she was 5.