Janora McDuffie is undoubtedly a star in the making as her acting abilities and talents continue to pave a bright future for a successful career in the media and entertainment industry. Viewers have enjoyed her recurring role as social worker Janet Meyers on the Emmy Award winning Grey’s Anatomy, appearing on her second season in 2011. Earlier this year she also appeared on Cartoon Network’s Eagleheart starring Chris Elliot and produced by Conan O’Brien. She’s appeared on numerous major network shows including The Event on NBC, Terriers on FX, The Forgotten on ABC, and FOX network television favorites, Lie to Meand 24. A natural at marketing campaigns, she appeared alongside actor Boris Kodjoe in a nationally televised advertisement for Ford Motor Company. She is also remembered for her appearance in the Arby’s restaurant commercial promoting their “Good Mood Food” campaign. Many will also recognize her from her role in the Sony Screen Gems film, Obsessed, starring Beyonce Knowles and Idris Elba. Featured on the 2011 “40 Under 40 List” by The Advocate Magazine, Janora McDuffie has made her mark in Hollywood displaying her smart and sexy sophistication and unbridled talent on a variety of projects.
Ever since her initial childhood stage performances, Janora has used her gifts to entertain and engage audiences with her portrayals of diverse characters. As a teen, Janora was awarded the prestigious Morehead Award, which provided a full scholarship and enabled her to study abroad, while a student at the University of North Carolina. During her freshman year, Janora was also selected, out of a number of her peers, as a North Carolina Fellow. At UNC she remained a recognized personality contributing positively to campus life as a member of the Kappa Omicron Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., as an inductee in the Order of the Golden Fleece, an organization considered to be the highest honorary society at the University, and as both Miss Black Student Movement and Miss UNC. Her years of college culminated at graduation where she not only received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Performance Studies and Psychology, but also delivered the commencement speech.
Following college, Janora spent time as a management consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Consulting, a top firm in Atlanta, Georgia. After some time in corporate America, Janora’s passion for acting prompted her relocation to sunny California. Janora jumped in headfirst, scoring appearances on CBS shows The Young & the Restless, Eleventh Hour, Close to Home, The Unit and the CW’s Veronica Mars early in her career. Her most memorable role was as FBI Special Agent Abbot for MyNetworkTV’s dramatic series Desire, a 14 episode show broadcast not only in the United States but in countries around the globe.
No stranger to cinema, Janora has put her stamp on award winning short films and feature length movie projects. She was the Honorary Chair of the 2011 Annual Hayti Heritage Film Festival in her hometown of Durham, North Carolina. She also had two films to screen at the 19th Annual Pan African Film Festival this year. In 2010, she appeared in To Save a Live distributed by Samuel Goldwyn films. Odicie, which tackled the topic of HIV/AIDs, placed Janora in a film alongside veteran actress Sheryl Lee Ralph. She also worked in Be My Baby,with actor/choreographer Cris Judd, and Endangered Species, winner of the Independent Film Festival in Atlanta and Best Dramatic Short Film in the Action-On Film Festival in Long Beach. She brought laughs in the romantic comedy Big Ain’t Bad, which went on to win the audience choice award at the Hollywood Black Film Festival. In 2007, Janora was awarded Best Actress at the Biola Film Festival for the film Be the Man, which aired on BET. She also starred in the lead role of Carla, in The Message, screened at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
Moving from screen to stage is not a stretch for Janora. She brought an attractive energy to the role of Nicole in Don B. Welch’s big hit The Bachelorette Party, co-produced by blockbuster actor Will Smith. She has also graced the stage in performances of The Colored Museum and Cinderella. Janora has also done voiceover work, adding a touch of femininity to the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Saints Row 3 and Call of Juarez 3: The Cartel as the lead character FBI Agent Kim Evans. Her voice acting skills have also been contributed to movie hits Takers and The Soloist and she just completed work on her first audio book The Largest Crow.
Currently Janora McDuffie is focused on her craft and determined to leave a lasting impression on all audiences. She is the co-host of a new award winning show NoMoreDownLowTV also featured in a 2011 edition of Jet magazine and a co-host on Black Hollywood Weekly with the siSTARS. One need only review her resume or reel to see that her acting ability has true range. Janora McDuffie made a choice after college to let her talents take her into her destiny. Today she is living her dream and will be a woman to watch as her career continues to blossom.
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