Denyce Lawton (born May 2, 1978) is an American actress and model of South Korean and African American descent. Lawton is best known for her recurring role as Dana Carter on the Tyler Perry's House of Payne (2008–2009) and her recurring role as Sheila Willis on The Hot Zone (2021).
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Career
Before becoming an actress, Lawton was Assistant Vice President of Urban Promotions at Warner Brothers Records and part of artists and repertoire for Priority Records. She later worked for Def Jam Recordings and Murder Inc. Records as a personal assistant to producer Irv Gotti. After becoming a publicist for 20th Century Studios, Lawton was a background dancer for various Broadway performances. Around 2001, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting.
Lawton starred in Snoop Dogg's Malice N Wonderland as Love, a short film titled Interception, and the web series Almost Home.
Lawton has appeared on the covers of MAMI Magazine, Black Men, The Source, Today's Black Woman, BQE Magazine, Smooth, Edge Magazine, XXL, J’Adore, Smooth Girl, Daily News, Mass Appeal, and XXL Presents Eye Candy Magazine.
Personal life
Lawton was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in New Jersey, United States, spending her childhood in Belmar and Neptune. Of African-American and Korean descent, Lawton is the middle child of three siblings. She graduated from Largo High School in Largo, Maryland, and studied pre-medical at University of Maryland before dropping out to work in theater.
Her younger brother Gregory Jr. was shot and killed on March 24, 2011, during a dispute with a neighbor in Temple Hills, Maryland.
Lawton married her childhood friend Eban Grasti in Washington, D.C. on June 1, 2024. Actress Kyla Pratt and singer Mya were bridesmaids at the ceremony.