Imani Branch is a Los Angeles based actor, singer, dancer, poet, and writer. She first began dancing and singing at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theatre in her hometown Fresno, CA. Though those painfully awkward pre-pubescent years were integral to her love for theatre, she credits the discovery of her passion to her first acting teacher. Her mom. Unbeknownst to young Imani, what she thought were simply games were actually acting exercises. You might even find a clip of Imani’s coveted intimate “living room concerts” down below. You can see the passion and dedication in her eyes. It was all very serious business. From the tender age of three years old, she was already preparing for her career in theatre.

In high school, Imani discovered another passion: speech and debate. Once she realized speech was really just competitive acting, she was hooked. Imani broke a record in her sophomore year when she was the first student from her school to make it to the final round at the State level. Her senior year, she won fourth in all of California and made it to the final round at Nationals, ranking seventh out of thousands of people nation wide.

Imani graduated with a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Howard University in 2021. She has come a long way from the concerts in her living room. During her time at Howard, she was in three productions, two cabarets, and assistant directed a student written play. She has also worked regionally, making her professional theatre debut in the Helen Hayes nominated ensemble of Blood at The Root at Theatre Alliance at Anacostia (2019). Most recently she was in Tony Nominated Signature Theatre’s production of Passing Strange (2023) and RENT (2021). Imani has also taken her talents to the screen. Most recently, starring in the short Film New Hire by Allison Allwine. She also starred as Diana in the web series Top 5 which won a Gold Remi Award at the Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival. She currently studies the Meisner Technique at Baron Brown Studio in Santa Monica, CA.

When she’s not acting or studying acting or watching actors well… act, Imani loves to read, preferably under a big shady tree, write short stories and poetry, and attend different Black curated events in Los Angeles. She considers herself a forever student because she believes there is always more to learn, more to explore, and more to discover.

Want to know more? Click here to view Imani’s Resume.