Brittany Daniel

Brittany Daniel
Daniel in 2007
Born	Brittany Ann Daniel (1976-03-17) March 17, 1976 Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Education	Gainesville High School
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Adam Touni ​ (m. 2017)​
Partner	Keenen Ivory Wayans (2007–2014)
Children	1
Relatives	Cynthia Daniel (twin sister) Cole Hauser (brother-in-law)

Brittany Ann Daniel (born March 17, 1976) is an American actress. Daniel is best known for her roles as Jessica Wakefield in the teen drama series Sweet Valley High (1994–1997) and as Kelly Pitts in the CW/BET comedy-drama series The Game (2006–2011; 2014–2015). Her film credits include Brandy in Joe Dirt (2001) and its sequel Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser, White Chicks (2004), and Skyline (2010).

Daniel is the twin sister of photographer and former actress Cynthia Daniel.

Early life

On March 17, 1976, Brittany and her twin sister, Cynthia, were born in Gainesville, Florida, to Carolyn and Charlton Bradford "C.B." Daniel Jr. They have an older brother, Brad. By age 11, both girls were signed to the Ford Agency and began modeling. They appeared in Seventeen and YM. They also appeared in ads for Doublemint gum as the Doublemint Twins.

Career

Both girls began acting in the 1989 with an appearance in the sitcom The New Leave It to Beaver. In 1992, when she was sixteen, Brittany won the role of Mila Rosnovsky on the short-lived syndicated teen drama Swan's Crossing. She then moved to New York to film the series.

After high school, she landed the role of Jessica Wakefield in the television series Sweet Valley High (twin sister Cynthia portrayed Jessica's twin, Elizabeth). During the run of Sweet Valley High, they made their film debut in the drama The Basketball Diaries (1995) alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.

After Sweet Valley High was canceled in 1997, Daniel continued acting in films and television series including a stint on Dawson's Creek in 1999 and a role in the TBS television movie On Hostile Ground the following year. In 2001, she appeared as David Spade's love interest, Brandy, in Joe Dirt. In 2002, Daniel played one of the lead characters in the short-lived Fox series That '80s Show.

In 2002, she played Eric Forman's cousin Penny on That '70s Show. Daniel appeared on the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as a transgender woman named Carmen. She teamed with the Wayans Brothers for their films White Chicks (2004) and Little Man (2006). That same year, she appeared in the VH1 television movie Totally Awesome before landing a lead role in The CW's half-hour comedy The Game, which she starred in until 2011. However, she would return to the show in 2014. In February 2010, she was cast in the Brothers Strause thriller Skyline; the film was released on November 12, 2010.

Personal life

In March 2014, Daniel revealed her reason for her departure leaving The Game in 2011 was due to her being diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma, for which she underwent chemotherapy. As of 2014, she was cancer-free.

She dated actor Keenen Ivory Wayans from 2007 to 2014. In 2017, she married Adam Touni. On October 24, 2021, Brittany welcomed a daughter, after her sister, Cynthia, donated her egg.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
1995	The Basketball Diaries	Blinkie
1999	Sonic Impact	Rachel
2001	Joe Dirt	Brandy
2004	Club Dread	Jenny
2004	White Chicks	Megan Vandergeld
2005	Dirty	Tatiana
2006	Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders	Samantha Stone
2006	Little Man	Brittany
2006	The Hamiltons	Dani Cummings
2007	Last of the Romantics	Sarah Xavier
2007	Loveless in Los Angeles	Kelly Liffen
2010	Skyline	Candice
2015	Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser	Brandy
2022	Cheaper by the Dozen	Melanie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	The New Leave It to Beaver	Zorigna #1	Episode: "Man's Greatest Achievements"
1992	Swans Crossing	Mila Rosnovsky	Regular role (54 episodes)
1994	Burke's Law	Ginny	Episode: "Who Killed the Legal Eagle?"
1994–1997	Sweet Valley High	Jessica "Jess" Wakefield	Main role (88 episodes)
1999	Dawson's Creek	Eve Whitman	Recurring role (4 episodes)
2000	Fortunate Son	N/A	Television film
2000	On Hostile Ground	Cindy Evers	Television film
2002	That '70s Show	Penny	Episode: "Eric's Hot Cousin"
2002	That '80s Show	Sophia	Main role (13 episodes)
2003	Just Shoot Me!	Sarah	Episode: "The Goodbye Girl"
2003	111 Gramercy Park	Brynn Martin	Television film
2004	North Shore	Cari Layne	Episode: "Pilot"
2005; 2007; 2010	It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia	Carmen	4 episodes
2006	Totally Awesome	Kimberly	Television film
2006	Community Service	Carly Phillips	Television film
2006–2011; 2014–2015	The Game	Kelly Pitts	Main role: Seasons 1–3; Recurring role: Seasons 4, 7–9 (80 episodes)
2008	Ruby	Herself	Episode: "Meet Ruby"
2016–2019	Black-ish	Blair	4 episodes
2020	BlackAF	Dr. Peterson	Episode: "hard to believe, but still because of slavery"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film or series
1993	Young Artist Award	Nominated	Best Young Actress in an Off-Primetime Series	Swans Crossing
1995	Young Artist Award	Won	Best Performance: Young Actress in a TV Comedy Series (shared with Cynthia Daniel)	Sweet Valley High
2007	New York International Independent Film & Video Festival	Won	Best Actress	Last of the Romantics
2007	MTV Movie Awards	Nominated	Best Kiss (shared with Marlon Wayans)	Little Man
2010	Daytime Emmy Awards	Nominated	Outstanding Special Class Series (shared with the cast)	Ruby

External links

• Brittany Daniel at IMDb