Audiences, critics, artists (and her mom and dad!) alike have hailed chandra thomas as “brilliant”, “superb” and “excellent”. chandra brings her unique combination of wit, beauty, intelligence and sensitivity to her work as an actor-writer-producer-director-dancer-singer-artist/activist.

Originally from New York, this young, busy and dynamic talent just wrapped a co-star role on the CBS primetime hit, The Good Wife. She also recently completed another appearance on the primetime crime drama Law & Order: Criminal Intent as well as a supporting role in the independent drama Sweet Lorraine (also starring Tatum O’Neal, Peter Greene and Steven Bauer; written and directed by Christopher Frieri.)

chandra’s early training as a performer began by watching her mother and other women in her family tell stories. Her fascination with storytelling quickly translated into her imaginative writing, training as a concert pianist and her weekly live-action shows based on her favorite Saturday morning cartoons.

Her more formal training began with performances in musicals and school choruses before doing plays and musicals, and starting an improv group in college. chandra continued her training at the prestigious MFA program at Columbia University where she expanded her toolbox as an artist.

chandra booked her first major job shortly after graduating and has continued to work steadily ever since. Her projects widely vary from her 2009 Barrymore Award nominated turn in Nilaja Sun’s No Child..., where she played eight different characters and choreographed/performed a closing dance to the incredible play, to playing an eager news reporter on the long-running crime drama, Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Also, on camera, chandra brings her gift for performing in various genres like the independent drama Bedlam where she performs as the homeless and mentally ill woman alongside actors Chandler Williams and Arthur French or the independent comedy Filmic Achievement, where chandra appears as an overeager film student in this comedic mockumentary. chandra has also worked in other films and TV show including the daytime drama As the World Turns, the urban drama Kickin’ It High, the dramatic short Retreat, the late night comedic talk show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, among others. chandra also works in voiceover and commercials.

On stage, chandra has performed at a host of Off-Broadway, New York and regional theatres including the Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem, the Guthrie Theater, the Alliance Theatre, the Cherry Lane Theatre, P.S. 122, Women’s Project, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, among others. With a particular passion for new works, chandra has originated roles in various plays like the comedic musical Pinning Hope, where she played First Lady Michelle Obama, to the drama Daughter by Cassandra Medley, where she was a young soldier re-entering civilian life after her face was blown off by a bomb in Iraq. chandra has also performed roles the AUDELCO-nominated production of The Cherry Orchard, Crowns, The Crucible and Suzan-Lori Parks’s 365 Days/365 Plays. Recently, she became a member of Coyote REP, continuing her commitment to new theatrical works.

Off-stage and off-camera, chandra is highly active in various causes, particularly arts education and youth advocacy. To this end, she co-founded viBe Theater Experience (viBe) in 2002. viBe is an award-winning, non-profit, performing-arts education organization that provides free creative and collaborative space for young, urban women to share their stories and use their voices to transform themselves and their communities. chandra is also the founder of Bizness for the Artist, a company providing innovative workshops and seminars specifically empowering young artists in their transition to working professionals.

chandra, who spells her name in all lowercase, puts into practice the Ghanaian proverb,

“you must act as if it is impossible to fail”

– and she has only just begun. . .