{{short description|American actress}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Yaani King Mondschein | image = | caption = | imagesize = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|8|10}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = | spouse = {{marriage|Adam Mondschein<br />|July 25, 2012}} | birth_name = | occupation = Actress | website = }}
'''Yaani King Mondschein''' (born August 10, 1981) is an American actress, best known for portraying Neely Lloyd in the crime drama series ''Saving Grace'' (2007–2010), Bridgette King in the OWN series ''The Kings of Napa'' (2022) and providing the voice and motion capture for Riley Abel in the action-adventure video game ''The Last of Us: Left Behind'' (2014).
==Early life== King was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on August 10, 1981.<ref name=bio /> Her mother, a retired NYPD officer, also performed in theater.<ref name="IMDB">{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1477301/bio|title=Yaani King Mondschein|website=IMDb}}</ref> She is of Guyanese and West Indian descent<ref name="IMDB" />{{CN|date=January 2025}} and grew up in New York's Queens borough.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.mylifetime.com/movies/deliverance-creek/cast/yaani-king|title=Yaani King|work=myLifetime.com|access-date=August 22, 2015}}</ref> She attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and later studied acting at The Actors Centre in London.<ref name=bio/>
==Career== Yaani began her acting career appearing in a number of off-Broadway productions, and had guest roles on television series including ''Law & Order'' and ''Sex and The City''. She made her film debut in a small part in the 2003 erotic thriller ''In the Cut'', before a supporting turn in the 2004 romantic comedy ''The Prince & Me''.<ref name=bio/> In 2007, she moved to Los Angeles and had guest starring roles on ''Criminal Minds'', ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', and ''Ghost Whisperer''.
From 2009 to 2010, King was a regular cast member on the TNT crime drama series ''Saving Grace'' as Neely Lloyd, a young drug addict. During this time, she also guest starred on ''Mad Men'', ''Major Crimes'', and ''NCIS''.
Yaani provided the voice and motion capture for Riley Abel in the 2014 action-adventure video game ''The Last of Us: Left Behind''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wegotthiscovered.com/gaming/first-details-the-last-of-us-left-behind-dlc-announced/|title=First Details For The Last Of Us: Left Behind DLC Announced|author=Justin Alderman|work=We Got This Covered|date=November 15, 2013|access-date=August 22, 2015}}</ref> Later that year, she played a plantation slave in the Civil War western film ''Deliverance Creek''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/yaani-king-books-regular-role-on-lifetimes-post-civil-war-set-drama-deliverance-creek|title=Yaani King Books Regular Role On Lifetime's Post-Civil Wa - Shadow and Act|author=Tambay A. Obenson|date=October 31, 2013|work=Shadow and Act|access-date=August 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140916125839/http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/yaani-king-books-regular-role-on-lifetimes-post-civil-war-set-drama-deliverance-creek|archive-date=September 16, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2013/10/pilots-eye-candy-deliverance-creek-cast-regulars-623982/|title=Pilots 'Eye Candy' & 'Deliverance Creek' Cast Regulars - Deadline|author=Nellie Andreeva|work=Deadline|date=October 31, 2013|access-date=August 22, 2015}}</ref> In 2015, she was cast in a recurring role as Ada Eze on the ABC prime time television soap opera ''Blood & Oil'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/08/wilson-bethel-cast-blood-oil-jackson-rathbone-finding-carter-1201503363/|title=Wilson Bethel Cast In ABC's 'Blood & Oil' - Deadline|author=Denise Petski|work=Deadline|date=August 21, 2015|access-date=August 22, 2015}}</ref> and had a role on ''The Magicians'' in 2016. She appeared in the 2020 horror comedy film ''Bad Hair''.
In 2022, Yaani was cast as one of leads in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera, ''The Kings of Napa''.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2021/04/the-kings-of-napa-ebonee-noel-rance-nix-karen-leblanc-yaani-king-mondschein-own-drama-1234730093/ ‘The Kings Of Napa’: Ebonee Noel, Rance Nix, Karen LeBlanc, Yaani King Mondschein To Star In OWN Drama]</ref>
==Personal life== Yaani married actor Adam Mondschein on July 25, 2012.<ref name="IMDB" />
==Filmography==
===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2003 | ''In the Cut'' | Frannie's Student | |- | 2004 | ''The Prince and Me'' | Amanda | |- | 2005 | ''God's Forgotten House'' | Crystal | |- | 2008 | ''For Heaven's Sake'' | Ashley | |- | 2008 | ''Gospel Hill'' | Sarah | Uncredited{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} |- | 2012 | ''The Last Fall'' | Chris | |- | 2013 | ''Cavemen'' | Jasmine | |- | 2015 | ''Kraft of Revenge: Mousetrap 2'' | Mousetrapketeer | Short film |- | 2020 | ''Bad Hair'' | Sista Soul | |- |2023 |''Steadfast - The Thornton Chase Story'' | | |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2002 | ''The Education of Max Bickford'' | Student | Episode: "I Never Schlunged My Father" |- | 2002 | ''Law & Order'' | Monique Thomas | Episode: "Access Nation" |- | 2003 | ''Sex and the City'' | Marcy | Episode: "Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little" |- | 2007 | ''Campus Ladies'' | Deborah | Episode: "Barri & Joan Rush a Black Sorority" |- | 2007 | ''Criminal Minds'' | Deborah Lewis | Episode: "Fear & Loathing" |- | 2007 | ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' | Sheila Latham | Episode: "Fallen Idols" |- | 2008 | ''Numb3rs'' | Laurie Porter | Episodes: "End Game", "Atomic No. 33" |- | 2009 | ''Ghost Whisperer'' | Anne-Marie Ramsey | Episode: "Excessive Forces" |- | 2009–2010 | ''Saving Grace'' | Neely Lloyd | Main role (season 3), 19 episodes |- | 2011 | ''Against the Wall'' | Tamika | Episode: "Second Chances" |- | 2012 | ''Vegas'' | Estelle Drew | Episode: "Legitimate" |- | 2012 | ''County'' | Angela | Unsold television pilot |- | 2013 | ''Mad Men'' | Phyllis | Episodes: "Collaborators", "The Flood" |- | 2013 | ''Major Crimes'' | Mrs. Walker | Episode: "Risk Assessment" |- | 2014 | ''Extant'' | Mom | Episode: "Extinct" |- | 2014 | ''Deliverance Creek'' | Cassie | Television film |- | 2015 | ''NCIS'' | Leandra Perkins | Episode: "Status Update" |- | 2015 | ''The Haves and the Have Nots'' | Alliyah Delong | Recurring role |- | 2015 | ''Blood & Oil'' | Ada Eze | Recurring role |- |2016 | ''The Magicians'' | Kira | Episode: "The Writing Room" |- |2022 |''The Kings of Napa'' |Bridgette Peele |Series regular, 8 episodes |- |2022 |''Quantum Leap'' | Frankie |Episode: "Salvation or Bust" |- |2023 |''Party Down'' | Maggie |Episode: "Jack Botty's Delayed Post-Pandemic Surprise Party" |}
===Video games=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2014 | ''The Last of Us: Left Behind'' | Riley Abel | Voice and motion capture |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=1477301|name=Yaani King Mondschein}} * {{twitter|yaaniking}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Yaani}} Category:1981 births Category:American film actresses Category:Living people Category:American people of Guyanese descent Category:Actresses from Brooklyn Category:American television actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Category:Actresses from Queens, New York