Tyla Abercrumbie
Tyla Abercrumbie | |
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| Born | |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1998–present |
Tyla Abercrumbie is an American actress, director and playwright. She is best known for playing Nina Williams in the drama series The Chi and Officer Mary Jo Hayes in the crime series NCIS: Origins.
Early life
Abercrumbie was born in Austin, Chicago. She described growing up in Austin as joyful despite the city lacking resources and residents struggled.[1] Her older sister encouraged her to express herself through the arts such as writing poetry,[1] encouraging her to read books and then write about them or act them out.[2] She holds a B.A. from Columbia College Chicago.[3]
Career
Early in her career Abercrumbie took roles in Chicago’s local theater circuit before working in theater and television nationally.[1] Her first big role came playing Nina Johnson in the drama series The Chi.[2][4] She made guest appearances in the police drama series Detroit 1-8-7 and the crime drama series The Chicago Code.[5] She also had a main role in the crime series NCIS: Origins playing Officer Mary Jo Hayes.[6]
Abercrumbie has participated in theatre productions throughout her career as not only an actress but also a director and playwright. She joined the TimeLine Theatre Playwrights Collective, which nutured her when writing and developing her play Relentless, which debuted at the Goodman Theater in 2022. It was originally planned to open in 2020 but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.[2] Set in 1919, it is inspired by people she knew in her Austin community.[1] In 2021, she received a $25,000 grant from Chicago's Raven Theatre to produce a new work.[7]
Asylum (aka Life) is a one woman show written by and starring Abercrombie early in her career (2003) which portrays the conflicting pressures that a modern woman experiences.[8]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Fitting Descriptions | Bridge Woman | Short |
| 1998 | Placebo Effect | Suit | |
| 1999 | Time Served | Brenda's Cellmate | |
| 2008 | The Porter | Woman | Short |
| 2008 | The Poker House | Janette | |
| 2008 | (Mis)Leading Man | Danielle Holland | Short |
| 2015 | Unexpected | Ms. Bryant | |
| 2017 | My Prom Mom | Tiffany | Short |
| 2018 | Animator | Roz | |
| 2020 | Dreaming Grand Avenue | Carol | |
| 2023 | We Grown Now | Christine |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Bette | Carol | Episode; Two Days at a Time |
| 2004 | The Tracy Morgan Show | Ms.Busby | Episode; Super Boy |
| 2009 | The Beast | Agent Sarah Brenner | Episode; Bitsy Big-Boy |
| 2011 | Detroit 1-8-7 | Jeanelle Stilton | Episode; Road to Nowhere |
| 2011 | The Chicago Code | Sara Galivaris | 2 episodes |
| 2012-2013 | The Mob Doctor | Transplant Coordinator | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Low Winter Sun | Regina Cook | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | The Girlfriend Experience | Esthetician | Episode; Seperation |
| 2016 | Empire | Nurse | Episode; Light in Darkness |
| 2016 | Easy | Shelby | Episode; The F**King Study |
| 2017 | Shrink | Julia | 6 episodes |
| 2018 | Chicago Med | Luke's Mother | Episode; Born This Way |
| 2019 | Proven Innocent | Tamara Folsom | Episode; The Burden of Truth |
| 2020 | Utopia | Patty | Episode; Tuesday's Child |
| 2021 | The Big Leap | Debra Sadler | Episode; Revenge Plot |
| 2022 | Somebody Somewhere | Kim | Episode; Knick-Knacks and Doodads |
| 2022 | South Side | Ms. Langford | Episode; College |
| 2023 | Chicago P.D. | Marlene Bagley | Episode; Trapped |
| 2018-2024 | The Chi | Nina Williams | 49 episodes |
| 2024–Present | NCIS: Origins | Mary Jo | Main Role |
Theater
| Year | Title | Theatre role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Asylum (aka Life) | Writer and star of one-woman show | Penn Theater (Pittsburgh) | [8] |
| 2006 | Intimate Apparel | Actress (Mayme) | Milwaukee Repertory Theater | [9] |
| 2007, 2009 | The Piano Lesson | Actress (Berniece) | Portland Stage Company, Court Theatre | [10][11] |
| 2015 | Good People | Actress (Kate) | Asolo Repertory Theatre | [12] |
| 2017 | Paradise Blue | Actress (Silver) | TimeLine Theatre Company | [13] |
| 2017 | East Texas Hot Links | Actress (Charlesetta) | Writers Theatre | [14] |
| 2021 | The Last Pair of Earlies | Director | Raven Theatre (Chicago) | [15] |
| 2022 | Relentless | Playwright | TimeLine Theatre Company (premiere), Goodman Theater | [16][1] |
References
- ^ a b c d e Callender, Samantha (May 6, 2022). "Austin native's new play inspired by her hometown". austinweekly.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ a b c Greene, Janaya (November 24, 2021). "Tyla Abercrumbie is about more than The Chi". chicagoreader.com. Chicago Reader. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ "Tyla Abercrumbie". geffenplayhouse.org. Geffen Playhouse. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ "The Chi's Tyla Abercrumbie joins NCIS: Origins Prequel Series". blackfilmandtv.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ "Singles 2011: Tyla Abercrumbie". chicagomag.com. Chicago Reader. June 14, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 26, 2024). "'NCIS: Origins' Prequel Adds Tyla Abercrumbie & Diany Rodriguez To Cast". deadline.com. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ George, Doug (February 8, 2021). "Tyla Abercrumbie leads off new play initiative for Raven Theatre". Chicago Tribune – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Karlin, Katherine (May 10, 2003). "'Asylum' actress shows she has lock on pressures modern women feel". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – via newspapers.com.
- ^ McHale, Julie (March 2, 2006). "STAGE | An intimate look inside great characters". The Oconomowoc Enterprise. Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. p. E1 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Keyes, Bob (September 23, 2007). "Lessons learned". Portland Press Herald. p. E1 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Jones, Chris (May 18, 2009). "Parson brings out the ghost story in 'The Piano Lesson'". Chicago Tribune – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Handelman, Jay (September 6, 2015). "And the winners are..." Sarasota Herald-Tribune. pp. E1, E2 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Greene, Kevin (May 5, 2017). "Trouble in Paradise: A Review of Paradise Blue at TimeLine Theatre Company". Retrieved January 12, 2026.
- ^ Johnson, Lawrence B. (January 11, 2017). "Role Playing: Tyla Abercrumbie was set to run little 'Hot Links' café, but why was she there?". chicagoontheaisle.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ "Raven Theatre Welcomes Back Live Audiences with The Last Pair of Earlies". www.theatreinchicago.com. July 26, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
- ^ Weiss, Hedy (January 31, 2022). "Tyla Abercrumbie's 'Relentless' Digs Deep Into Rarely Explored Aspects of a Black Family's History". news.wttw.com. WTTW. Retrieved January 12, 2026.