Today, I did a Skype interview with actress Kyanna Simone Simpson who played the younger version of Oprah Winfrey's character in the biopic surrounding Henrietta Lacks life called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks on HBO. The film tells the true story of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks (Oprah Winfrey), the film chronicles her search to learn about the mother she never knew and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks’ cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever.

I had so much fun talking to Kyanna about her career, her mentor Latanya Richardson Jackson and what it was like to meet and work with Oprah Winfrey, which was a dream come true for her.  This budding actress who is known for her recurring role on HBO’s miniseries Show Me a Hero is currently working on the film, White Boy Rick starring Matthew McConaughey.  

Check out our fun conversation below.