First Impressions: Grace DUAH
New Girl on the industry block, Grace Duah is here, and here to stay.
Words by Dio Anthony
Like a thief in the night, 24-year-old Grace Duah arrived in this world with intention. Intention to soar and climb every mountain possible–and any rough terrain along the way–if it meant getting to where she knew she was meant to be. But what was that place exactly? At first–she thought this place was a hospital, as a doctor, helping everyday people. It wouldn’t take her much time to realize that that place she was destined for was the stage. Whether that was a soundstage on a backlot or in one of New York City’ famed theaters. One consolation is that she arrived and didn’t keep us waiting for long. Duah sat down with American Studies over zoom a week after her photo-shoot for a conversation about all the things that matter to her, and the lessons she’s learned in what seems to be a significant and lively 24 years of life.
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DIO ANTHONY: I’m hyped to do this interview today. I’ve never been more at ease before an interview..
GRACE DUAH: Oh, of course! I’m wearing a sweatshirt. [Laughs].
DIO ANTHONY: I figured you’d be super comfortable.
DIO ANTHONY: To begin, I’m so curious about your early life in Virginia. Paint a little picture of your upbringing for me. Were your parents first generation immigrants?
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GRACE DUAH: My whole family's first generation, actually. I'm the only one who was born here in the states. Everybody else was born in Ghana. They immigrated when my mom was about five to six months pregnant in ’97. My parents had won the immigration lottery.
DIO ANTHONY: Wow!
GRACE DUAH: Yes! My dad would say that, had they not won the immigration lottery, they would’ve likely tried to migrate into the UK. I always joke around with him. I say dad, if we had done that—I could’ve been married to Daniel Kaluuya right now. It’s really funny, anytime I say that—because he has no idea who Daniel Kaluuya is. [laughs]
DIO ANTHONY: Not to mention, you would’ve had a killer UK accent.
GRACE DUAH: I know right? Which is amazing. I think there’s no clearer combination—than the African UK accent. It’s stunning. Because with the African accent, they’re speaking British English, so it is slightly similar to it already. Oh, it’s delightful. I could have been great. I think I’m doing pretty well for myself, but I could have been fantastic.
DIO ANTHONY: It’s giving Michaela Coel in I May Destroy You.
GRACE DUAH: Yes! And Chewing Gum. I love them. Like, I love them so bad. But yes, my whole family is Pentecostal, my parents were very conservative christians. So the idea of me wanting to be an actor, to them it was like—okay, but what does that mean? [Laughs] Respectfully, it just didn’t mean anything to them. It didn’t feel like it was an actual job.
DIO ANTHONY: Right..it wasn’t something by the book.
“ You have to build community along the way, so that there are more of us.”
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GRACE DUAH: It wasn’t a lawyer, engineer, or doctor. The older I got, the more I realized it was really rooted in the idea that those were the three jobs. They knew a pathway that allowed them to help their children if we were lost. My parents were both nurses and we grew up middle class in Virginia. Just your standard middle class. Which would sometimes fluctuate depending on what the economy was doing. For example, during the housing crisis, we also went through a crisis. I’m so proud of my parents for literally coming from two village kids to middle class—and now upper middle class. It’s insane how hard they work. When I was growing up, they both worked at two to three hospitals at once—both of them. I like to think I got my drive from them—which I’ll take with me to the grave. As I got older, I realized part of the reason they were so scared of me being an actor was because they just didn’t have any foot in the game. They were basically like—listen, we have very little games, to be honest. We don’t really have a foot in any game. But we really don’t have anything over there. So if you fail, it’s over.
DIO ANTHONY: They wanted to be able to help.
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GRACE DUAH: Yeah, they did. Now that I’m in the position I’m in, it’s fun to see their relief. Now they can enjoy it. Now they can tell people their daughter’s on TV, woo woo woo! Nobody wants to see their child fail. This industry’s tough. This world is tough. I’m a black girl and I wasn’t expecting the industry to be very kind to me, and there would be nothing my parent’s could do about it. It’s really nice now that they don’t have to feel that pressure because I figured it out on my own.
DIO ANTHONY: You've talked a little bit about how they wanted you to be an engineer and all these things, but what was it actually like approaching them about this dream? Being like, no, you guys, I'm going to school for this. How’d that land?
GRACE DUAH: Well, at first I had kind of just accepted that I’d probably become a doctor. But my fear of blood quickly changed that. So, early on, it was just something I just didn’t tell them. I didn’t want to stress them out. I figured they’d say no anyway. I had been an obedient straight A student all my life, and was not going to fight them over it. But then I went to high school, where my theater teacher told me I could be a star. You’re going to be one, he’d say.
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DIO ANTHONY: Teachers that push you and guide you towards your potential are so important.
GRACE DUAH: Oh my god. My middle school and high school theater teachers were so phenomenal, both of them. My high school theater teacher literally invited my parents over Because I knew they’d say no. I remember him saying—but have you asked? Vaguely, I told him. But it’s not like my parents were super strict or anything. Which I was grateful for and still am. I was also so nerdy that it’s not like I was going to break any rules anyway. [Laughs]. They were strict in a semi-casual way.
DIO ANTHONY: A semi-casual way. That’s hilarious.
GRACE DUAH: Yes, like they weren’t letting me sleep over anyone’s houses. But it wasn’t intense like Miss Trunchbull. Anyway, my parents came in after school one day for 3.5 hours, where he sat them down and proceeded to show them, through a PowerPoint presentation, all the roads to being an actor. By the end of that, once we were home, I remember my mom saying— if this is God's plan, who am I to go against it? If somebody sees all of that in you, then it's there. It was never a thing about them not thinking I wasn’t good. But so many people fail. Nobody wants that for their kid. Sometimes you have to let parents know that they don't always know best because you can't know everything. But, they handed the reins over to my theater teacher and understood that I was going to do this, and he was going to help me. As the years went on, my dad would drive me to auditions and stuff like that. So to finally answer your question [laughs], it was never a super aggressive conversation. Funnily enough, I think my dad opened up originally—he’s always been the chiller one. My mom was tougher to crack.
DIO ANTHONY: How’d she crack?
GRACE DUAH: For her, I think the moment that I cracked her was when Lupita Nyong’o won her Oscar for 12 Years A Slave. We were watching The Oscars, which was definitely planned on my part. I didn't know she was winning, but I knew she was nominated. I knew I could be like, mom, she's African. You see how she's African and pretty? And dark-skinned? And if you squint, she kind of looks like me [Laughs]. When she won and gave her speech, my mom was enthralled. She looked over at me and said—are you going to do that? I said, if you let me.
DIO ANTHONY: Oh My God. I'm literally getting goosebumps. Actually! I love that.
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GRACE DUAH: I asked them recently if they were ever truly worried. They told me that towards the beginning they were. But also, out of all my siblings, I was the one that if I wanted something, I was doing it. I was the type of kid that complained about getting bad marks on my assignments in Kindergarten. My dad said that once he saw that energy, he knew at that moment he saw that energy coming from me—he let the reins go. Because Africans always just want a successful kid they can brag about [Laughs]. That's really what it comes down to.
DIO ANTHONY: So you eventually audition for an acting school, you get in, and move to New York. Was it your first time in the city?
GRACE DUAH: No. I had come for theater and school. You know, when you take the theater trip to go see a Broadway play?
DIO ANTHONY: I do! I did that too. Although I can’t remember what we saw.
GRACE DUAH: The first play I saw on Broadway was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. It blew up around 2014. My fellow theater kids will know! I’m really grateful for high school. I'm grateful for any public school that really invests in arts programs because trips like that would've never happened to me. And I didn't grow up going on vacation ever. I recently had my first vacation in 2020. That was the first time I went on a trip, that wasn't to visit family in Ghana.
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GRACE DUAH: I’m so grateful that my public school had arts programs and that they had teachers who were really invested in taking us on these trips. And fundraising so that we could afford to go on these trips. Because the moment I stepped in New York, I was like– this is my place. Ironically enough when I thought I was going to be a doctor, albeit a bad one– but, you know, a doctor. I wanted to go to Columbia. Something about New York has always pulled me towards the city.
DIO ANTHONY: It has that effect on so many of us, doesn’t it?
GRACE DUAH: Yes! I love the community that can be built. I love theater and I love the idea that art can be something you build with people, VS it being a competition. I feel like in New York especially, there's a grassroots community. I’ve gained so many mentors here and throughout college. I’d attend seminars where black actresses would come in and give tips and tricks on what to do with your hair and stuff like that. I started going to those when I was just a sophomore in college, because I knew I didn’t want to leave without a community, or without feeling connected to the industry that I want to be a part of.
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DIO ANTHONY: In other words, you were not messing around.
GRACE DUAH: I wasn’t, no. Especially in terms of people of color, and especially in terms of black women. I wanted to be a part of it all, which I think stemmed from my community in public school, in my theater program. It was a family that I tried to recreate once I arrived at college. The moment I came here I was like– I don't think I'll raise kids in New York City, but I'll probably raise 'em really close, in Connecticut [laughs].
DIO ANTHONY: It feels like college was really formative for you. Talk to me more about your particular experiences at Pace University. Was it everything you wanted?
GRACE DUAH: I think truthfully every theater program could do better with inclusion in terms of their student body because I think that really does impact your experience, you know what I mean? Sometimes you can be literally one of one–and not in the way you feel you’re unique. But in a way of like–ain’t nobody around here that looks like me. I think that impacted me, just because of the type of person I am. I saw that I was one of one or one of three in my program. But also, three in another, and three in another. And if we combine, we have 9. You have to build community along the way, so that there are more of us. I think the best thing Pace gave me was location.
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DIO ANTHONY: What are some positive takeaways from your experience there?
GRACE DUAH: I think it taught me that when it comes to your career, there are certain aspects that are out of your control. But a lot of it can be what you make of it. Also, there’s not one person or one interaction that doesn’t have value. I learned to value, really, meeting anybody. There’s something to be gained from every person. Not in a transactional way. Every person matters regardless of their title. That feels easy to say but it can be difficult. There was a time in 2020, when things were particularly tough there. There was a lot of tension because you look around and you get tired of being misunderstood by your classmates and most importantly you get tired of being put into a box by your classmates, too. I knew that I could play any character I put my mind to. But sometimes it felt like my peers would only see me one way. Slave number 2. Or a struggling mom in the hood. Whereas I saw myself a plethora. A mosaic because I am a mosaic. The thing was that that feeling wasn't just within me, it was within all of us. I'm really, really proud of myself but also my classmates for vocalizing our feelings. I was an RA, I did all that kind of stuff, so I had all these leadership positions.
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DIO ANTHONY: You would've been an RA! That tracks! [Laughs]
GRACE DUAH: I was also an orientation leader. [Laughs] But being in those leadership positions also means you kind of get to see the nitty gritty of the things that you don't particularly like. It also means you do have a responsibility to speak up. Speaking up is scary. It's scary to be like, Hey, I do want a career in this industry. Please book me, but you can't do X, Y, and Z. It was great practice in exercising boundaries. Vocalizing that I cannot accept this behavior, but keeping it respectful.
DIO ANTHONY: I love that maybe even unknowingly your presence there would change things for the better. Better than the way things were when you arrived at least.
GRACE DUAH: There were just too many times that we were being dismissed. I thought– I'm not going to let you dismiss us because you think this tone of voice that we're speaking in is whatever. I'm not going to let you get away with doing that. So what am I going to do? I'm going to hit you with the tone of voice that you think I can't use. And then you're gonna have to listen. I was really proud of my peers for creating that change because what we’re doing is changing things for those who come after us. I recently visited my acting program a few months ago and spoke at a panel they hosted. Where I got to meet some students and I could not believe that there were 12 black kids in the program. Mine had three. They told me so much had changed since me and my crew started demanding things change. I almost cried, because—this is why we do it. To see all those faces of various backgrounds smiling back was such an exciting relief. It warmed my heart beyond measure to see that, and made up for a lot of the things that I had to go through in college. I thought ok—it was worth it. [Laughs]
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DIO ANTHONY: I grew up in Philly and one of the reasons why your “arrival” excited me was because you reminded me of a lot of the girls I went to school with. Strong, talented, black women with lots to say.
GRACE DUAH: Thank you! It’s funny because God bless Issa Rae and Quinta Brunson. Because of them, you get to see these great depictions of older and established black women. But you never really see them in this age where they’re teenagers coming of age. Making mistakes and floundering and kind of vulnerable and all that stuff. That's kind of where we disappear. Don’t get me wrong—there was a time that we were on TV all the time, shout out to Moesha. But that age is not now. [Laughs] Oftentimes what happens is, they will have the one single black girl who now has to represent all of blackness and all of its nuances in this one role. Their blackness is just an aspect of who they are. We’re going to be black till the day we die. It’s unchangeable, right? But that doesn't define any black character.
DIO ANTHONY: I couldn’t agree more. People that looked like me just started coming into the mainstream a little over a decade ago. But I was relating to characters of all colors and gender way before that.
GRACE DUAH: It's the same thing that I used to do. The idea that people of color can only relate characters that look like them is limiting. The more those stories are pushed, rather than it being black television or white television–what have you. We’re just connecting to the story, not the face or the person playing it. I think once you get there, then we can say we've done this diversity and inclusion thing.
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DIO ANTHONY: I read somewhere that you love John Hughes movies, which is funny because I'm obsessed with Sixteen Candles. I watch it every year on my birthday as a tradition. Weirdest movie for me to love. But for some odd reason I identified with the character of Sam. With all the times that I’ve seen it, I couldn’t count on my finger the amount of minorities in the film. Besides Long Duk Dong portrayed by Gedde Watanabe—who actually grew up in Utah. Yet he was playing this comical, almost embarrassing asian character. Very much a stereotype, accent and all. I think about what that must’ve been like for him as an actor, and coming home from that everyday. Aside from him, there may be a latino student in the background of a highschool hallway scene—just maybe. A black student sprinkled in for good measure too.
“I think growing up, I got so attached to John Hughes because he put so much validity on all those emotions. The awkwardness, the intensity, the dramatics. All these things that my parents didn’t think mattered. ”
GRACE DUAH: Those movies were so revolutionary for teen representation, but I think in reality they did forget that people of color can be teenagers too. One of my favorite John Hughes movies is less known, but it's called Some Kind of Wonderful. I adore that movie down! and I think there was such nuance in those characters. It’s a stunning blueprint—now let's add the mosaic of what people look like, you know what I mean? Also let's understand that yes, certain aspects of my childhood were entirely different because I was an immigrant kid in a bilingual home. In a foreign country to my parents. There were aspects of my childhood that were different. But for the most part, middle school was still awkward. I still could not get a date to any dance. I still had the awkward realization that I had my period.I get so attached to teen media.
DIO ANTHONY: Me too…
GRACE DUAH: I think growing up, I got so attached to John Hughes because he put so much validity on all those emotions. The awkwardness, the intensity, the dramatics. All these things that my parents didn’t think mattered. But John thinks it matters. As progressive as he was in that way, he was not representative of any of us. We were side characters, we were the boosters to the story. The comedic relief, yes. But often inappropriately. I think the media will progress in one way and then regress in another. So that's kind of what that was. It's like they were progressing in this representation…
DIO ANTHONY: But regressing in the specifics of that representation…
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GRACE DUAH: Right. It’s nice to be in a time where we have those conversations where it can be like— listen, I loved this, but it still wasn't enough.
DIO ANTHONY: When we initially met, you mentioned to me that you wanted to be a showrunner one day. So I have to ask—what’s a classic interaction with Josh Safran, your current showrunner.
GRACE DUAH: I really enjoy Josh and seeing things through his process, because he leaves so much room to breathe.
DIO ANTHONY: How so?
GRACE DUAH: Some people cannot be convinced away from their ideas no matter what. Josh will have an idea—but he has an eye for the moments in between. Like a—hey, what was that? What’d you just do? A willingness to converse. It’s so nice to be able to speak to Josh like this because this back and forth leads to a really beautiful and symbiotic relationship.
DIO ANTHONY: My final question, which I first heard on a Gossip Girl episode actually. If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
GRACE DUAH: Anyone?
DIO ANTHONY: Anyone!
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GRACE DUAH: Etta James and Maya Angelou. Those are my two heroes in life. I wept out of my mind when they both died. Those two women, I’ve wanted to meet them my whole life.
DIO ANTHONY: That would be an amazing dinner, and I’m sure they’d enjoy you very much. Grace, thank you for talking to me. You're epic. You literally embody your given name and I’m so excited for your career.
GRACE DUAH: Thank you so much! It was so fun seeing you again.
DIO ANTHONY: You’re the best.
GRACE DUAH: You’re the best.
The call ends, and screen fades to black.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Photography by Lawrence De Leon, Styling by Raz Martinez, Hair by Niko Weddle, Make-Up by Magdalena Major, Direction and words by Dio Anthony, Market Assistant: Grace Connington Styling Assistant: Celine Azena