Samira Wiley currently stars on the hit show The Handmaid’s Tale, but she really broke into Hollywood thanks to her role on Orange Is the New Black. Regardless of the show you know her from, there’s no denying Wiley is incredibly watchable!
From her religious upbringing to how she met her wife, here are five fast facts you need to know about The Handmaid’s Tale actress, Samira Wiley (Moira).
Religious Upbringing
Wiley was born in Washington D.C. into a religious home. In fact, both of her parents are co-pastors of Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ. Wiley, who is openly gay, revealed her parents have always supported her and have even been performing same-sex marriages since 2007.
Kept Her Day Job
Wiley got her big break when she landed the role of Pouseey on Orange Is The New Black back in 2013. At the time she was working at a bar to help pay her bills, and she actually kept that job while she was filming the show. She only quit once customers started to recognize her too much.
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On-Set Romance
Wiley met wife Lauren Morelli while filming Orange Is The New Black. Morelli was a writer on the show and the pair started dating around 2014. They announced their engagement in October 2016 and officially tied the knot in March 2017.
Bring Your BFF To Work
Wiley was best friends with Danielle Brooks, who played her Orange Is The New Black best friend, Taystee, before they started filming the show. In fact, both Wiley and Brooks attended Juilliard together and they even worked on their lines before auditioning for the show together.
Going Off Book
Wiley landed her role on The Handmaid’s Tale back in 2017, but the creators of the show had to make some big changes from the book in order to cast her. In the book, all of Gilead is white and in fact, all the non-white people are banished. But they didn’t want to have an all-white cast and decided to change the character of Moira for Wiley.
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