Vernika is an American actress from Atlanta, GA. She's best known for Black Lightning (2018-2021), and Dolly Parton's Heartstrings (2019). Vernika began performing at an early age at 11 years old with Georgia's Youth on Parade, GYOP Association. There she learned to perform in front of many large audiences training in showmanship, baton twirling, dance, and pageant modeling. She is an alumna of Tri Cities High Magnet School of Visual & Performing Arts located in East Point, GA. She was an active all around student involved in various school activities; National Beta Club and National Honor Society. She also served as a member of the Tri Cities High School marching band as their first feature majorette twirling fire batons and served as majorette captain. As a student of the Visual & Performing Arts Magnet program, Vernika was a dance major under the direction of Dawn Axam of Axam Theatre Experience studying dance repertoire, musical theatre performance, and contemporary movement. She participated in the Tri-Cities High Musical Theatre ensemble tour show during her sophomore year, and competed in A.R.T.S., Arts Recognition Talent Search. Twice selected to perform for the National Black ARTS Festival Gala opening & celebration for Atlanta. She also became one of many arts students selected to travel to New York City for an arts studies tour of various repertoire theatre, film, dance conservatories and universities. During her college studies, she initially attended Valdosta State University studying Sports Medicine and double majored with Theatre/ Dance & Communication studies. Eventually later she dropped the sports medicine major and focused on theatre studies where she also was chosen as a PA, Professor's Assistant during her freshman year. After performing with the VSU musical tour show, she competed in SETC, South Eastern Theatre Conference and Ga Theatre Conference, GTC. Vernika later participated in the Summer Intensive Dance Program Training at Howard University in collaboration with IABD, International Assoc. of Blacks in Dance. After taking up various dance and actor workshop studies in New York City, she later obtained her degree from Brenau University Womens College with BFA in Performance and a Minor in Production. There she performed with the Brenau Dance Ensemble and performed in choreography works presented at ACDF, American College Dance Festival, held at North Carolina University. Later, she began mostly freelancing appearing in videos, guest teaching, and had the pleasure to work alongside Grammy Award winning music artists such as Fantasia Barrino, Usher, T-pain, and with other artists in various productions. Vernika began focusing solely on acting to inquire about the world of TV & Film and began training with seasoned Emmy Award Winning Actor/Writer GregAlan Williams. She's best known for Black Lightning (2018-2021), Dolly Parton's Heartstrings (2019), Vernika made her first co-starring television appearance in Powers (2016) - IMDb mini biography by: Vernika
