Dawn-Lyen Gardner Biography: Net Worth, Height, Movies, Age, Ethnicity, Awards, Parents, Husband
Dawn-Lyen Gardner is an American actress, voice actress, theatre performer, teaching artist and advocate born on August 30, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, United States.
She began performing professionally at the age of nine, later trained at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and graduated from The Juilliard School, where she received the Elizabeth Smith Prize.
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Her career spans television, film, theatre, animation and video games, but she became especially prominent as Charley Bordelon West in Ava DuVernay‘s Queen Sugar.
Her other major credits include Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Luke Cage, Heroes, Castle, The Dunning Man, Art School Confidential and Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld.
She has also devoted significant time to racial justice, women’s rights, youth arts education and social advocacy.
| Dawn-Lyen Gardner | |
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| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Name: | Dawn-Lyen Gardner |
| Born: | August 30, 1981 (age 45 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Nationality: | American |
| Ethnicity: | African American and Chinese |
| Height: | 175 cm |
| Religion: | Christianity |
| Parents: | Mr. and Mrs. Gardner |
| Siblings: | 1 |
| Occupation: | Actress, Voice Actress, Theatre Performer, Teaching Artist, Advocate |
| Net Worth: | $2 million |
Early Life and Education
Dawn-Lyen Gardner was born on August 30, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in the city. She was brought up by her Parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gardner.
Her family background is African American and Chinese; her father is African American and her mother is Chinese.
Growing up in Los Angeles placed her close to the entertainment industry, but her interest in performance developed naturally from an early age rather than beginning only after adulthood.
She has one brother, but his name is not known.
Gardner began auditioning for television commercials and acting roles at nine years old after a family friend who worked as a commercial casting director encouraged her to audition.
She also studied music and dance as a child, giving her an early foundation in several performance disciplines.
Her early television appearances included Viper and ER, allowing her to gain professional experience while she was still young. Her religion is Christianity.
Her education later became strongly connected to the arts. Gardner attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where she continued developing her acting abilities.
After graduating in 1999, she moved to New York City to attend the prestigious Juilliard School and pursue formal professional actor training.
At Juilliard, Gardner studied alongside future Queen Sugar co-star Rutina Wesley.
Her training exposed her to classical theatre and demanding dramatic techniques, helping her develop a career that would eventually encompass stage performance, television, film, animation and voice acting.
She was also awarded the Elizabeth Smith Prize during her time at Juilliard.
Theatre became a particularly important part of Gardner‘s artistic development. During and after her formal training, she performed in productions such as For Colored Girls, The School of Night, The Seagull and As You Like It.
Her early stage work established a foundation that later helped her move comfortably between theatrical productions and screen acting.
Career
Gardner began her professional acting career as a child performer, appearing in commercials and television productions from approximately nine years old.
One of her early recurring television appearances came on Viper, followed by a guest appearance on ER. These early credits gave her practical experience before her formal Juilliard training.
After graduating from Juilliard, Gardner immersed herself in New York theatre.
She originated roles in world-premiere productions and performed in productions such as A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, The School of Night, The Seagull and For Colored Girls.
Her theatre career later expanded to regional companies across the United States.
In 2016, Gardner received one of the biggest opportunities of her career when she was cast as Charley Bordelon West in Queen Sugar, created by Ava DuVernay and executive produced by Oprah Winfrey.
Charley became one of the central characters in the series, and Gardner remained part of the production across its run.
Queen Sugar allowed Gardner to explore complicated subjects involving family, race, land ownership, motherhood, business, identity and social justice.
Her performance became closely associated with the series and brought her a much larger television audience. She appeared in 78 episodes according to current entertainment records.
The same period brought another major screen opportunity in Marvel’s Luke Cage. Gardner played Megan McLaren in the Netflix series, appearing across several episodes during its first season.
The project expanded her work into the Marvel television universe.
In 2025, Gardner returned to the Star Wars universe by voicing Arin in Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld. The animated anthology added another major franchise credit to her voice-acting résumé.
Her career has therefore developed across several areas: child television performer, Juilliard-trained theatre actress, television lead, film performer, animation voice actress, video-game performer, teaching artist and social advocate.
Rather than concentrating on one medium, Gardner has continued moving between stage, screen, voice work and community-oriented projects.
Awards and Nominations
- Elizabeth Smith Prize: Winner during her training at The Juilliard School.
- Black Reel Awards — Outstanding Actress, Drama Series: Nominated for Queen Sugar.
- NAACP Image Awards — Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series: Nominated, 2022, for Queen Sugar.
Social Media
- Instagram: @dawnlyen
- X/Twitter: @dawnlyen
- Official Website: dawnlyengardner.com
Personal Life
Dawn-Lyen Gardner is 45 years old. She is engaged to a writer and physician who works in end-of-life care. They keep his name private to protect patient and personal privacy. There is no reliable public record confirming children.
Gardner has instead devoted substantial public attention to her career, artistic development, education and advocacy. Her professional identity extends beyond acting, particularly through her work as a teaching artist and speaker. Her advocacy has included youth arts empowerment, racial justice, women’s issues and equity.
Her connection to Women for Women International became particularly meaningful because she had previously portrayed a Congolese survivor of war in Lynn Nottage‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Ruined.
That theatrical experience introduced her to the organization’s work and eventually contributed to her becoming an official 2018 ambassador.
Gardner has also participated in initiatives focused on representation in entertainment. Her membership in HARNESS placed her alongside artists and activists working to amplify marginalized communities and address racial and social inequities.
Theatre remains an important personal and artistic interest. Her professional history includes Shakespeare, contemporary drama, world premieres, regional theatre and Off-Broadway productions, demonstrating that she has maintained a connection to live performance even after achieving major television recognition.
Her interests also include music, dance, youth education, social advocacy and community engagement.
Music and dance were part of her childhood training, while teaching and advocacy later became significant extensions of her creative work.
Gardner has continued to reside in Los Angeles, the city where she was born and where her artistic journey began. Film Independent identifies her as a native Angeleno and states that she resides in Los Angeles. Her height is 175 cm.
Net Worth
Dawn-Lyen Gardner‘s net worth is $2 million. Her principal income comes from television acting, film acting, theatre performances, voice acting and video-game performance.
A major source of her professional earnings has been Queen Sugar, where she played Charley Bordelon West across the series’ seven-season run.
Her extensive television résumé also includes Luke Cage, Heroes, Castle, Bones, Cane, ER and other productions.
Filmography
Films
- Art School Confidential
- The Dunning Man
- Invisible Scream
- The Truth About Angels
- The Little Things
Television
- Queen Sugar
- Luke Cage
- Heroes
- ER
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Voice and animation
- Prototype 2
- Conan Exiles
- Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld
What People Ask
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