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Maleena Lawrence


Actress•Journalist

Entertainment Correspondant Producer•Entrepreneur

Maleena Lawrence was born in Smyrna, Delaware. Maleena began acting in elementary school and later continued her studies in theatre while attending Norfolk State University. After graduating NSU with a B.A. degree in Psychology, Maleena relocated to California to pursue her dreams in the entertainment industry and social justice advocacy. She began interning for Congresswoman Barbara Lee to handle constituent grievances. Maleena also hosted a music television show on VJTV, a local cable channel in the Bay Area while running Balanced Touch, a respected and successful massage therapy practice on the weekends. 

In Oakland, CA she went on to manage national field campaigns to broaden issue advocacy in underserved communities nationwide. As Maleena created campaign strategies, she began producing and hosting a variety talk show called, The Maleena Lawrence Show on COMCAST Cable. This opened up casting doors appearing in films, (Matrix, Black August, Birth of A Holy Dynasty), music videos (Lenny Kravitz, Miko Marks, Mac Dre), commercial ads (Site for Sore Eyes, Clorox, Intel, HP, Sony VAIO, 140Proof and Google) and red carpet opportunities interviewing celebrities, artist and political figures, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Congresswoman Karen Bass, Taraji P. Henson, Lou Gossett Jr., Ruby Dee, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Raheem DeVaughn, Keke Palmer, Anthony Anderson, Lt. Governor Gavin Newsome, Charlie Wilson, Smokey Robinson and Quincy Jones to name a few.   

To further fulfill her dreams, Maleena moved to Los Angeles, CA and began working with The Smiley Group. There, she graduated from production assistant to producer and is recognized for her work on State of the Black Union, HBCU College Tours, Accountable book tour and launching, Tavis Smiley Reports, a PBS based docu-series that rose to become a prominent brand. Maleena is the Founder of Deep Rooted Entertainment, a multi-media production company specializing in creating conscious content, social responsible messaging, creative consultant and TV & Film production services.

In addition to her work in television, Maleena is a featured contributor for The Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper and co-author of the relationship book, "Just Friends"?. Maleena was also featured in the 2015 book release, The Magic of Mentoring: Pearls of Wisdom by Barbara A. Perkins.

Increasing her social media presence, she created and is lead commentator on The Constituent, a social-political entertainment blog. Amongst a dynamic team of progressive political junkies, Maleena is a founding member of Black Los Angeles Young Democrats (BLAYD)Maleena co-starred on an investigation Discovery network show, Wives with Knives (Episode: Battlefield of Love) and She can also be seen playing the feature role of “Momma” in the independent feature film, The UNNAMED. Currently, Maleena is set to revolutionize Hollywood with her producing creative partner April Q. in the glitzy street theatre project, Black Hollywood Marilyn which spins off into a web-series, Hollywood & Highland, where she portrays the role of Katyana, cousin to Blahom whom are two supernatural beings from the Planet Sirius.

                                                Maleena’s motto, “To Thyself Be True”.