“Beauty in Black” isn’t just a show—it’s a whirlwind of secrets, sibling rivalries, heartbreak, and hidden motives wrapped in Tyler Perry’s signature mix of slow-burn drama and jaw-dropping twists. But beyond the addictive plotlines, it’s the breakout stars and seasoned actors who truly bring this emotional storm to life. Curious who’s playing who? Here’s your ultimate guide to the faces behind the fire in Netflix’s Beauty in Black.

Running down the veteran actors and fresh faces in Netflix’s new, positively bonkers series.

Tyler Perry knows drama. There’s no one better at capturing the zaniest highs and darkest lows of the soap opera genre, and Beauty in Black, his new Netflix series, is no exception.

Starring Taylor Polidore as Kimmie, a broke sex worker who wins a scholarship with the eponymous, ritzy cosmetology university run by the shadowy, uber-wealthy Bellaire clan, Beauty in Black takes that rather generic premise and spices it up with the type of ludicrous twists one can expect from one of Perry’s soaps: botched Brazilian butt lifts, torrid love affairs, assassination attempts, and, of course, characters rising from the dead (well, sort of).

Because the first part of Perry’s beautifully bonkers thriller is currently topping Netflix’s charts, we wanted to familiarize ourselves with the series’ cast. (Part two hits the streamer next spring, which seems like an eternity after part one’s mind-boggling cliffhanger.) Though many of the actors are part of Perry’s repertory ensemble, there are also a few new faces making their breakout in the series.

Ahead, learn all about the cast of Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black, including where you’ve seen the stars before.

Taylor Polidore as Kimmie

Taylor Polidore stars as the debt-strapped Kimmie, who, in a bid to escape her life as an exotic dancer, applies to a prestigious cosmetology school founded by the Bellaire family.

Polidore got her start acting in crime recreation shows such as Fatal Attraction and Snapped. She appeared opposite Martin Lawrence as “Homely Girl” in Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008) and was a series regular on Wicked and FX’s Snowfall. Earlier this year, she starred in Perry’s well-received Prime Video thriller Divorce in the Black (2024).

Crystle Stewart as Mallory

Crystle Stewart plays Mallory, a self-built entrepreneur who has found success (and riches) running the Bellaire company after marrying into the fortune.

A former Miss USA 2008, Stewart is one of Perry’s most frequently recurring repertory players. She rose to fame on Perry’s TBS sitcoms House of Payne and For Better or Worse, and later played a secretary in his 2012 feature Good Deeds. She also starred opposite Taraji P. Henson in Perry’s batty marital thriller Acrimony (2018).

Amber Reign Smith as Rain

Relative newcomer Amber Reign Smith plays Rain, one of Kimmie’s close friends who works with her at the club. After undergoing a disastrously botched BBL surgery in the second episode, Rain enters a dark downward spiral.

Smith has appeared in HBO’s Rap Sh!t and Hulu’sThe Other Black Girl in addition to Wu-Tang: An American Saga, and Kold x Windy. She most recently played Queenie in the 2024 action-western Outlaw Posse, directed by Mario Van Peebles.

Ricco Ross as Horace

Veteran actor Ricco Ross plays patriarch Horace Bellaire, who meets Kimmie as a frequent patron of her club.

Arguably the most experienced actor in Beauty in Black’s cast, Ross starred as Private Frost in James Cameron’s Aliens (1986) and as Lieutenant Nathanson in ‘90s horror classic Wishmaster. He also had smaller roles in Death Wish 3 and the original Mission: Impossible (1996). Recently, he appeared on General Hospital, Starz’s P-Valley, and in the children’s adventure film The Legend of Catclaws Mountain (2024).

Debbi Morgan as Olivia

Though Debbi Morgan’s character Olivia begins the series as one of the few (seemingly) stable forces in the Bellaire family, it’s later revealed that the Bellaire matriarch has her fair share of secrets.

Morgan is a screen veteran, having appeared in the films Eve’s Bayou (1997), The Hurricane, and She’s All That (both 1999). She starred as Angie Baxter–Hubbard in over 500 episodes of All My Children, and also appeared on several of Power. Like leading lady Polidore, Morgan also had a role in Perry’s Divorce in the Black (2024).

Richard Lawson as Norman

Richard Lawson plays Norman, one of the Bellaire’s chief competitors and Olivia’s primary nemesis.

The actor made his film debut as one of Scorpio’s victims in Dirty Harry (1971) and had a key role in the cult classic Scream Blacula Scream (1973). He also appeared in Poltergeist (1982), Wag the Dog (1997), and Guess Who (2005). He previously worked with Perry on For Colored Girls (2010).

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Steven G. Norfleet as Charles

Steven G. Norfleet stars as Charles, Mallory’s brother-in-law and son to Horace and Olivia. Like the other characters, he’s hiding some secret desires of his own.

Norfleet previously starred in the limited series Genius (2017), HBO’s Watchmen (2019), and AMC’s Interview with a Vampire (2022). Beauty in Black is also not his first Perry role — he previously played Lewis on Perry’s BET series Ruthless.

Julian Horton as Roy

Julian Horton plays Roy, Mallory’s coked-up husband who has some surprising ties to Kimmie.

Horton has previously appeared in National Champions (2021), Ruined, and On the Run with Love (both 2023).

Terrell Carter as Varney

Terrell Carter, who plays Varney in the series, has worked with Perry several times in the past, first on-stage in Madea’s Class Reunion and Meet the Browns before graduating to film with Perry’s directorial debut Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005). Carter is also a singer, having been featured on the Empire soundtrack (he also played Warren Hall on 20 episodes) and worked with such names as Quincy Jones and Patti LaBelle.