Nikki M. James was born to Caribbean immigrant parents, a
Vincentian father and a
Haitian mother who settled in New Jersey in pursuit of the
American dream. James grew up in
Livingston, New Jersey where she would graduate from
Livingston High School. As a young girl, she sang and acted in church and in school performances. She was nominated for a Rising Star Award at
Paper Mill Playhouse for her performance as Dolly Levi in
Hello, Dolly! in high school. She later attended the
Tisch School of the Arts at
New York University. James made her
Broadway debut in
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and starred as Ottilie in the
New York City Center Encores! production of
House of Flowers. She played Adela Alba in the
Off-Broadway run of
Michael John LaChiusa's musical adaptation of
Bernarda Alba and appeared in the Broadway cast of
All Shook Up. James played
Dorothy Gale in the new revival of
The Wiz at
La Jolla Playhouse and also starred in
Romeo and Juliet and
Caesar and Cleopatra at the
Stratford Festival with
Christopher Plummer. For her performance as Nabulungi in
The Book of Mormon, she won the 2011
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical at the
65th Tony Awards. During that run, she took a leave in June 2012 to film a screen version of
Lucky Stiff. From 2014 to January 2015, she played
Éponine Thénardier in the Broadway revival of
Les Misérables. In July 2017, James starred in the New York City Center
Encores! staged concert of
The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin. In 2024 she began starring as journalist and civil rights activist
Ida B. Wells in the musical
Suffs. James was nominated for a
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance at the
77th Tony Awards. On March 6, 2026, she joined the Off-Broadway revival cast of
Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey opposite
Jordan Fisher and
Andy Karl. She also has had many notable film and television roles as an actor, starting on
Law & Order, followed by
30 Rock,
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby,
The Good Wife,
Severance and
Daredevil: Born Again. ==Acting and directing credits==