Kimberly Elise Trammel (born April 17, 1967), professionally known as Kimberly Elise, is an American film and television actress. She made her feature film debut in Set It Off (1996), and later received critical acclaim for her performance in Beloved (1998).During her career, Elise has appeared in films such as John Q. (2001), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005), The Great Debaters (2007), For Colored Girls (2010), and Dope (2015).