Biography

DezBaa', a citizen of the Diné Nation is of Basque, Spanish, and Mexican descent. She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Writers Guild of America (WGA). She is an actor, screenwriter, director, and indie film producer.

DezBaa' began her career in the New Mexico film industry as a background actor. In 2016 she auditioned for Scott Cooper's period Western, "Hostiles" and landed the heavily featured role but soon booked speaking roles-first in Woman Walks Ahead, a 2017 film directed by Susanna White and starring Jessica Chastain. Other supporting roles have been opposite Julianne Moore, Michael Shannon, Christian Bale, and Ciarán Hinds.

For three seasons, DezBaa' starred opposite Zahn McClarnon as Helen Atcitty in AMC's Dark Winds. She also was a staff writer on Season 2.

A former Division of Natural Resources Navajo Nation employee, DezBaa' has a bachelor's degree in geology from Amherst College and two Master of Fine Arts degrees-one in screenwriting, another in creative nonfiction-from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). She has also taught TV screenwriting and Indigenous Cinema courses at the college level and presented to grade school kids about the various aspects of the film industry.

The late Dr. Fred Begay, family friend and the first Navajo physicist, gave her the name DezBaa' which he told her means: She's Going on a Raid.

Her favorite dinosaur is the ankylosaurus - "the living tank of the late Cretaceous."

DezBaa' is born for the Nooda'í Dine'e (Ute clan) and raised in Española, New Mexico. She was born in Santa Fe, where she currently lives.
- IMDb mini biography by: Jason Ordaz / Sharon