Markina DeShawn Brown is an American actress and former TV News meteorologist. As a child, she spent more than 15 years heavily training and competing in acrobatic gymnastics. She worked in several cities including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta as a TV news meteorologist, but in 2013 decided that her heart was in acting. She has starred in various projects including American Skin (2019) alongside Nate Parker, Omari Harwick, and Beau Knapp., which won Best Film in the Sconfini Section at the Venice International Film Festival in 2019. She had a recurring guest star roles on seasons 7 and 8 in Tyler Perry's The Haves and The Have Nots (2020). She's had roles in the film Peppermint (2018) starring Jennifer Garner, the hit TV series Mr. Mercedes (2017) and the Ang Lee directed film Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016).