Written by Michael Thervil
We had the opportunity to meet Tiffany Toney on set for an upcoming film entitled: “COMPLEXX” directed and produced by Joseph Elmore. When we arrived on set, it took nothing short of a second to take notice of Tiffany Toney because she stood out from all the rest of the Actors and Actresses on set. This is not to say that the other Actors and Actresses were lame ducks, because they were talented indeed. But when it comes to Tiffany Toney there was just something about her that made heads turn; and that’s when we knew when we had to capture some images of her immediately.
When we first spoke with Tiffany, she was very open as she had this air of confidence about her that made us want to know more about her background as an actress. What we were able to take away from our conversation with her is that she is both proactive and highly motivated when it comes to her acting career. She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but she also lived in Texas for some time. According to her bio on IMDB she was a “former NCAA All-American and pro-softball player (Switzerland) is the niece of former heavyweight boxer, James (Lights-Out) Toney. Tiffany studied Film & Tv Production at The University of Oklahoma and later earned a Master of Fine Arts from Bowie State University in Maryland. Soon after, she worked as a Writer/Producer for NBC News 4, WUSA 9 News, and America's Most Wanted.”
That says a lot, but not nearly as much as her overcoming being overlooked by Hollywood because she didn’t quite look Latino enough or she didn’t look Black enough. When Hollywood requested that she be casted in roles that perpetuated stereotypes of American Black women – she had the strength to turn them down. Again, that says a lot about her. With over 27 film credits to her name, it's easy to see why and more importantly how Tiffany Toney is making her mark as an actress on the big screen.
But there’s more to Tiffany Toney. She has not only obtained roles in films, but she has also written, directed , and starred in her own film entitled “BORA” which features Queen Ajima and Omar Gooding. BORA was not only a hit within the independent film community, but it was featured at the Essence Festival and Sundance film festival. Additionally, she was awarded “Best Director” at the C2TV AWARDS and at HAAPA AWARDS for her film entitled “Jade Rising”. From acting, directing, writing and fight choreography Tiffany Toney has done it all. But if you ask her, there’s a lot more that needs to be done. I guess we can be chalked up to her highly ambitious nature.
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