Danai Jekesai Gurira (/dəˈnaɪ ɡʊˈrɪərə/; born February 14, 1978) is a Zimbabwean-American actress, playwright, and activist. She is best known for her starring roles as Michonne on the AMC horror drama series The Walking Dead (2012–2020, 2022) and The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (2024), and as Okoye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films, including Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). Gurira is the writer of the Broadway play Eclipsed, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. Gurira received two nominations for The People's Choice Awards in 2019 and 2020 for her role on The Walking Dead, and she was also nominated for a 2024 Black Reel Television award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series for her work on The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.