streaming star
Grandmother Joan D ’ Elia described a living room production of Grease that hinted at future success . “ She was maybe 6 years old ,” D ’ Elia told Cotter . “ But she wanted to do it right . She was always serious about it , always had perseverance . She had it in her as early asthat .”
“ I gotta give her mother alot of credit , because she took her to New York and sat with her through I don ’ t know how many auditions ,” her grandfather Tony added . “ Sofia ’ s been through a lot of experiences and has handled all of it well — She went to London and to Africa , all by herself , to work on movies .”
Black-D ’ Elia ’ s portrayal of murder victim Andrea Cornish the following year in The Night Of led to more prominent roles , including Frannie Latimer , the high school teacher who has an affair with her student in the limited Showtime series Your Honor starring Bryan Cranston . She has also performed on Off-Broadway in the play Usual Girls , and starred in the film Viral , directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost .
Black-D ’ Elia married Joost , perhaps best known as the director , with Schulman , of the documentary and cautionary tale Catfish , last October . The two live in Brooklyn , where she is an avowed cat person .
“ I ’ ve really enjoyed falling in love with ( acting ) as an adult because I ’ ve gotten to establish myself as a person outside of this ,” she told W Magazine in January . “ It is not my identity , it ’ s my job , and Ilove it and feel really grateful to do it .”
But it is Clifton that she says she calls home . “ That should give you an idea of how often I come back ,” she says . “ Family dinner at my parents ’ house , a trip to Applegate ’ s with my girlfriends , a drive around town by myself ... Whatever it is , it ’ s just ‘ home .’ And it always will be .” ■
THE CLIFTON-HOLLYWOOD CONNECTION ( Clockwise from top ) Relaxing with Ally Sheedy ; at the premiere of Ben-Hur in Los Angeles in 2016 ; with Kaitlin Olson , Black-D ’ Elia ’ s co-star on Fox ’ s The Mick , in2017 .
SHEEDY & OPPOSITE PAGE : COURTESY OF KOURY ANGELO , FREEFORM ; BEN-HUR : KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES ; OLSON : MICHAEL LOCCISANO / GETTY IMAGES
36 MAY 2022 WAYNE MAGAZINE