Woman Crush Wednesday: Ilfenesh Hadera

The exotically beautiful Ilfenesh Hadera can currently be seen as Detective Kay Daniels on ABC’s Deception. She was born and raised in New York City and studied acting at Harlem School for the Arts. She graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Her studies have paid off well as Ilfenesh is a multi-talented actress who has played a wide variety of parts on television and the big screen.

Her first role was Hazel in 2010’s iconic rock and roll film 1/20, which takes place on Barack Obama’s election day. From there she scored roles in The Blacklist, the miniseries Show Me A Hero, Chicago Med, Conviction, a recurring role on Billions, the Netflix series The Punisher, and She’s Gotta Have It. Ilfenesh is equally at ease with comedy as well as drama and she played Dwayne Johnson’s love interest in the 2017 feature film Baywatch.

Ilfenesh gets her good looks from her Ethiopian father and European-American mother. In her spare time, she works with the African Services Committee to improve the quality of life of impoverished African citizens. Her father, Asfaha Hadera, founded the organization. Prior to becoming an actress, Ilfenesh worked as a waitress for 10 years and lived with her parents until she was 30. She remains very close to both of them and now resides in her childhood home.

Ilfenesh is a strong intelligent woman, whose exquisite beauty is only the icing on the cake. I admire her work, both in her private life and on TV.

You can follow Ilfenesh on Twitter and Instagram, and feel free to learn more about, or donate to, the African Services Committee.