Denzell Dandridge

Denzell Dandridge, born Denzell Manning is an American Actor, Model, and Influencer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1994 to parents Linda Moorlet, and Dezvon Dandridge. Denzell is the 8th of 9 children, known as the silly kid, he found himself always being the one to entertain everyone at a very young age. As a child he's always told peers how badly he wanted to be in Disney or Action movies. He found his true love for acting in his high school drama class and participated in any activity that allowed him to showcase his creativity and allow him to pretend to be someone else. He has always been considered the Movie buff of the family being able to compare any real life scenario to a movie he had seen is one of many talents he has. Many would call him the human film index. While attending Bethune Cookman University in (2014) he juggled football, and academics, all while majoring in Criminal Justice. Denzell said his first day on campus he went into his lecture hall feeling like he wanted to be like one of the Swat team members he seen in movies like (Swat) or (Black Hawk Down), but the moment he looked around he realized that he just wanted to play one in a movie, and on that same day he ran back to the registrars office and changed his major to theater. Many would label him as ambitious, determined and hardworking. He is simply a jack of all trades. Denzell caught the "acting bug'' early on in life but ignored it because of his love for football. He noticed that the love for acting grew right before his football career ended (2017) due to tuition issues, so he decided that if football was in fact over he would finally put his passion for the art as his #1 and make it his main focus. In just his 4 years of Acting, he has been in over 20 movies. Honorable mentions may include: Street Code Broken (2022), Absence of Innocence (2022) , #LoveGoals (2022) and Coming of Age 2 (2021). He has also done many music videos and is being featured in well known magazines. Unknowingly to him, Denzell was always destined for the big screen, just like everyone else If you're thinking that a talent like this has to be inherited, then you are correct. There is a long line of talent in his family but none who would come close to understanding his natural knack, and somewhat unexpected love for acting better than his Great Aunt the late great Dorothy Dandridge. Denzell said, he had no idea who his aunt was until, peers found out what his dads last name was, and then stirred up speculation that the two had to be related. Not really taking into consideration what they were implying, Denzell began his career, destined to be the one that would start his family's legacy, it wasn't until his great grandmother Dorothy Tankersley confirmed that everything that his friends had been telling him was true, and that he in fact was the great nephew of the beautiful Dorothy Dandridge. It wasn't too much longer after that, Denzell's biological father (Dezvon) raised issues that as his first born son, he felt like Denzell should have possessed his last name Dandridge, and not Manning which was that the last name of a man thought to be his dad. So as a gift to his father, and a tribute to his great aunt Denzell legally filed to change his last name to Dandridge. This change brought about a positive affect. It opened eyes, ears, and a few doors whenever people would see the last name on their callback sheets, starting what would become his most asked question "Are you related to Dorothy Dandridge by chance?". Denzell has said that he has made it his mission to live up to his Great Aunt's Legacy, and carry it on as she would have liked him to. He says he plans to continue to build on the foundation that his aunt started for the Dandridge family, but at the same time create his own identity, and perfect his craft so that everything he receives is earned, and not given off of the strength of who his aunt was.