It's Niecy Nash-Betts' World and We're Just Living In It
From her first major role as Deputy to her next project as Detective, Niecy Nash-Betts is conquering it all
If you ask someone to name some of the greatest actresses of our time, one might say names such as Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, Halle Berry, Angela Basset, Whoopi Goldberg, and Kathy Bates. But amongst those stars is a space made specifically for a hidden gem: one Carol Denise Betts, known professionally as Niecy Nash-Betts. If you have found yourself wondering lately “wow, I’ve been seeing her everywhere these days,” you would be correct. And it has been a long time coming.
For 30 years, Niecy Nash-Betts has carved an illustrious career, making a name for herself as one of the most diverse actors of our time. And while she is getting her well-deserved flowers, magazine covers, and press coverage, this path was not forged without going through the rings of fire. But this is not an article of painful reflection, revisiting the path of every obstacle faced. It is an article of admiration, appreciation, and purpose.
Niecy’s first professionally credited role was “Woman at the Diner” in the 1995 film Boys On the Side, starring Academy award winning actresses Whoopi Goldberg (who later became an EGOT), Drew Barrymore, and Mary-Louise Parker. This film marked the beginning of Niecy advocating for herself in a space that historically silences women and women of color. During a pivotal scene, Nash yelled “Cut!” at Whoopi Goldberg for messing up the dialogue. This moment caused her to nearly lose her job. However, her intuition and gut-feeling as an actor led to the scene being corrected—making the film better and cementing her reputation for unapologetically speaking her mind, regardless of the outcome.
If you weren’t familiar with her face from Boys on the Side, then you definitely became familiar with her game as the iconic Deputy Raineesha Williams in the satirical series Reno 911!. Nash played Deputy Williams from 2003-2009 and reprised her role in 2020 during the revival, which was nominated for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series at the Television Academy Awards. Her impact on representation in television was insurmountable—her character bringing an authenticity not only in personality, but in body positivity for Black women in a major TV series without being an archetype or sidelined as the butt of a joke. Inspired by her own family members’ fuller figures, Nash made an otherwise overlooked and shamed body figure extremely sexy, fostering a community of women who finally felt seen and felt like they belonged in the conversations of desirability.
More than a looker, Niecy’s comedic chops and acting abilities were on full display in Reno 911!. In a space where the dialogue can become mundane and repetitive—with jokes flying over the audiences heads or crash landing before it even reaches them—Deputy Williams added a unique approach to mockumentary that could only come from the magic of Niecy herself. With timeless quotable moments and an iconic look, Nash’s charisma, charm, and light permeated households across the world, her name instantly synonymous with greatness.
While it is not lost on us that Hollywood loves to show fuller Black women as the funny sidekick, Nash knew her purpose was to also showcase her dramatic abilities as well as show that she—and women who look like her—can be a leading lady. During the 2010s, Nash went on a film and tv run that is equally inspiring as it is aspirational. With titles such as G-Force (2009), Scream Queens (2015-2016), and Claws (2017-2022), Niecy Nash-Bett’s talents only grew, knowing no bounds.
Perhaps the turning point for just how capable she is as a dramatic performer was as Delores Wise in When They See Us (2019)—the fierce and overprotective mother of Korey Wise, one of the wrongly convicted boys of the Central Park Five. This role did more than shed a spotlight on Nash’s talents, it highlighted a parents’ struggle navigating an unjust system, a system that still disproportionately impacts Black Americans and people of color to this day. Not only did the series reignite activism and advocacy in citizens to continue the fight for the wrongfully accused, Nash was so moved by the story that she became an ambassador for the Innocence Project—a non-profit organization that exonerates wrongfully convicted people through means of new evidence, DNA testing, and witness testimony—using her voice to advocate for others facing similar injustices.
This visibility led to her first Emmy winning role for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series in January 2024 for her heartbreaking and gut-wrenching portrayal as Glenda Cleveland in Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Her portrayal allowed Nash to reach into the depths of her dramatic talent—showcasing a horrific historical travesty from the point of view of a neighbor whose warnings were not heeded by the police and whose concerns went ignored. Her character, much like Delores Wise in When They See Us, went on to work to support families of the victims as well as speak out against the negligent Milwaukie Police Department; a role that directly aligns with her values and beliefs in her daily life.
In her latest FX series, All’s Fair, Niecy stuns as the investigator for the all-female/all-female-clientele law firm as Emerald Green. Her role as a former detective in this series shows a pattern of justice in the roles she chooses and the roles she accepts—never straying far away from portraying a woman who wants to fight for those who cannot otherwise fight for themselves. This latest project is no different as she is welcomed to season 2 of NBC’s latest procedural crime drama, The Hunting Party—where she guest stars as Detective Erica Burke alongside Melissa Roxburgh, who plays Bex, whose shared history with a serial killer sets them on the path of working together to put him back in prison.
Whether she’s placing you under arrest, being fiercely overprotective, doing a mean full-set, or simply looking good, Niecy Nash-Betts will forever be “that girl” while doing it. As she famously stated during her speech at the 75th Emmy Awards “gone girl with yo bad self. You did that!”
Check out the trailer below for her upcoming guest appearance in season 2 of The Hunting Party, coming Thursday, January 8, 2026 at 10/9c only on NBC.