Early career Rose moved to New York without a job. After three months, she played the role of Rusty in Broadway's
Footloose. She followed
Footloose with numerous workshops and two
musicals using pre-existing song catalogs, ''Eli's Comin'
Off-Broadway and Me and Mrs. Jones'' with
Lou Rawls in Philadelphia. Both of the full-scale
tuners were rumored for transfers, but neither made it anywhere after their limited engagements ended. Rose's big Broadway break was getting cast as Emmie Thibodeaux in
Caroline, or Change. In 2004, she was awarded the Theatre World Award, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress, and the
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for
Caroline, or Change. After her film debut,
King of the Bingo Game, she played the role of Kaya in
From Justin to Kelly in 2003 and performed in
Temptation in 2004, followed by
Surviving Christmas as a singer in the choir. In 2006, Rose starred in
Dreamgirls as Lorrell Robinson with
Beyoncé Knowles,
Jennifer Hudson,
Jamie Foxx, and
Eddie Murphy. Rose appeared in the films
Just Add Water and
Razor. Rose also starred alongside
Jill Scott in
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency directed by
Anthony Minghella.
The Princess and the Frog Rose is best known for her role in Disney's 2009 animated feature
The Princess and the Frog as the voice of the lead character
Tiana. Rose was named a
Disney Legend on August 19, 2011. Rose said, "I always dreamed of being a voice in a Disney movie, but even in those dreams, I never once dreamed of being a princess... I feel like what an honor that this is and how the dream comes true, bigger and stronger than I had even imagined it."
2010s |235x235px In 2010, Rose played the role of Yasmine in the film
For Colored Girls directed by
Tyler Perry and co-starring
Phylicia Rashad and
Janet Jackson. One critic described Rose's performance as "especially fierce". From 2010 to 2013, Rose had a guest-starring role in the legal TV drama
The Good Wife. She played the role of Sara Tidwell in the
A&E miniseries
Bag of Bones in 2011, based on the
Stephen King novel of the
same name. In 2012, Rose guest-starred in
The Simpsons episode "
Gone Abie Gone", voicing
Abe Simpson's second wife, Rita LaFleur. In 2014, Rose returned to Broadway in a revival of
A Raisin in the Sun, receiving a nomination for the
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Rose played the adult Kizzy in two episodes of
Roots, an adaptation of the novel by
Alex Haley and a remake of the
1977 miniseries. Critic Alan Sepinwall, in suggesting Emmy nominees to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, called her "one of the best parts of the outstanding
Roots ensemble". She had a role in the
Starz series
Power and the leading role in the 2017 BET drama
The Quad. In 2019, a star was named after Rose through the
International Star Registry. She also said that she wanted to help children act silly, use their imaginations, and find a love of books that Rose said she had as a child. As one of the stories in the series, Rose chose the
Princess and the Frog book "Tiana's Growing Experiment." In 2020, Rose starred in the Netflix musical
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey playing Jessica Jangle. Rose applauded the film's portrayal of black and brown professionals in an English Victorian setting. In 2021, she played in the Netflix limited series
Maid and in the Amazon horror-series
Them. Between 2022 and 2023, she acted as Naomi Cole on
Showtime series
Let the Right One In and returned to voice the character of Tiana in Disney special film
Once Upon a Studio and series
Lego Disney Princess: The Castle Quest. In 2024, she returned to acting in the theater after four years, playing the role of Elena in the
Lincoln Center Theatre revival of the
Anton Chekov play
Uncle Vanya at the
Vivian Beaumont Theatre. The same year Rose worked as a voice actress in season two of
SuperKitties, where she voiced Cat Burglar's country cousin Sassy, and in
Barry Jenkins' film
Mufasa: The Lion King as Afia, being nominated at the
56th NAACP Image Awards for her performance. In 2025, she had a voice cameo as the “Squeal of Fortune” in the Disney animated film
Zootopia 2.
Tiana's Bayou Adventure In June 2020, Disney announced that they would be reworking the ride
Splash Mountain in their U.S. theme parks with characters from
The Princess and the Frog due to controversy regarding its base film,
Song of the South. Rose said: "It's thrilling. People are amped and ready. I think it's awesome, particularly now, to be reinvigorating her story." Disney stated that the ride would take place after the events of the film, during
Carnival season. Rose also added that she would love for Disney to create a Tiana's Palace Restaurant at the theme parks. "I've been looking forward to a Tiana's Palace for years ... I have dreams of them partnering with [New Orleans']
Café du Monde on some real deal
beignets, having some fantastic
shrimp and grits and
king cake during
Mardi Gras season. And the occasional
second line through the joint. Basically all the things I love!" In June 2022, Rose mentioned that she was involved with discussions with Disney on what they wanted the ride to be like. In July 2022, Disney announced that the ride would be called
Tiana's Bayou Adventure, setting and opening date of "late 2024" at
Disneyland and
Magic Kingdom. In September 2022, it was confirmed that Rose would reprise her role as
Tiana for the ride. In January 2023, it was announced that Disneyland would convert its French Market Restaurant in the
New Orleans Square section of the park into a Tiana's Palace restaurant. Tiana's Palace opened in September 2023. Tianas Bayou Adventure opened at Magic Kingdom in June 2024, and at Disneyland in November 2024. == Personal life ==