Who is Nelsan Ellis?

Nelsan Ellis (1977–2017) was a dramatist and actor from the United States. He rose to prominence as Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO television series True Blood (2008–2014). He even made an appearance in Elementary before his death.

Nelsan Ellis’s career began in early 2000 when he appeared in a short film. Warm Springs, a television film he starred in, was released in 2005. He performed in a number of guest and recurring roles in the years that followed.

Nelsan Ellis – Birth, Parents, Siblings & Education

Nelsan Ellis was born in Harvey, Illinois, on November 30, 1977. Jackie Ellis was his mother’s name, and Tommie Lee Thompson was his father’s.

Alice Nellis, Babon Ellis, Lakeeia Thomson, Maurice Turne, Shaentika Beard, Tianna Thompson, Tommie Lee Thompson, and Yvonne Ellis were his siblings.

In Bessemer, Alabama, their maternal grandma reared them all. Ellis was an African-American naturalized citizen of the United States of America. His upbringing was characterized by great poverty.

Nelson died on July 8, 2017, at the age of 39, in New York City, USA. He died as a result of heart failure complications.

Ellis spent a year at Jess Lanier High School. He went on to McAdory High School.

When he was six years old, his family moved to Bessemer, Alabama, and subsequently to Dolton, Illinois, where he attended Thornridge High School.

He graduated from this Dolton, Illinois, high school in 1997. Soon after leaving the United States Marine Corps, he enrolled at Illinois State University.

He attended at the Juilliard School at the age of 22, when he met Rutina Wesley, who would later work with him on the HBO series True Blood.

He is a Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate. He also wrote Ugly, a semi-autobiographical drama, while at Juilliard.

It was performed at the school and afterward earned the Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award.

The drama depicted the damage caused by domestic violence. It was inspired by a true-life incident in 2002 when his sister Alice’s husband shot her.

Ellis had also moved from Alabama to New York to join Juilliard’s famed acting program.

Net Worth of Nelsan Ellis? Salary, Earning

Ellis thrived in school despite coming from a damaged household.

For his semi-autobiographical play Ugly, he received the Martin E. Segal Award.

Similarly, he got a Satellite Award from the International Press Academy in 2008 for his performance as Lafayette Reynolds in HBO’s True Blood.

He was nominated for a Scream Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2009.

In the same year, he got the NewNowNext Awards’ Brink of Fame: Actor honor.

Meanwhile, for True Blood, he received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2011.

He also won the Ewwy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on True Blood.

Nelsan has always wished to work as an actor. Acting and playwriting were his primary sources of revenue.

At the time of his death, he had a net worth of around $3 million.

Facts of Nelsan Ellis

Nelsan Ellis – Relationship, Married Life, Boyfriend/ Girlfriend

Nelsan was a happily married man. There’s not much information available about his wife. He does, however, have two children, a son named Breon Ellis and a daughter named Ashley (an infant at the time of his demise). At the time of his death, his daughter was only a newborn.

Body Measurement- Height, Weight, Hair Colour

The gifted performer stood 5 feet and 10 inches tall. He was a lovely and humble individual. May his spirit find peace.

Nelsan Ellis- Professional Career

Ellis’s career began in early 2000 when he appeared in a short film. Warm Springs, a television film he starred in, was released in 2005. He performed in a number of guest and recurring roles in the years that followed.

He made his breakthrough in True Blood as Lafayette Reynolds. His character’s homosexuality was of particular importance to the filmmakers.

He, on the other hand, made it appear so simple. The show debuted on September 7, 2008, and concluded on August 24, 2014. True Blood is a seven-season, eighty-episode drama.

Hehas also appeared in feature films such as The Express: The Ernie Davis Story (2008), The Soloist (2009), and Secretariat (2010).
He plays Martin Luther King Jr. in The Butler. Critics gave The Butler largely favorable reviews.

Ellis played Shinwell Johnson in the TV series Elementary from 2016 to 2017. He was only on the show till the fifth season. True to the Game and Roxanne Roxanne published his final piece. Following his death, both pictures were released. He passed away at the age of 39.

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Quick Facts of Nelsan Ellis

• Nelsan Ellis was well-known for his portrayal of Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO television series True Blood.
• He had a net worth of about $3 million at the time of his death.
• The cause of death is thought to be an ongoing battle with drug and alcohol abuse.
• He made his breakthrough as Lafayette Reynolds in True Blood.