Edwina Findley Dickerson doesn’t seem like the type to raise her voice often—but when she speaks, you lean in. Maybe it’s the quiet conviction she carries or the lyrical cadence honed from years onscreen. So that’s why, instead of allowing me to launch straight into my interview questions, she prophesied over me first. 

“There's such a presence on you,” she begins. “Obviously, we've never met each other before, but I'm actually feeling a little emotional because I feel like you have such a calling on your life. Yeah. You are special, and you are called, and God has made your plans for you.” 

So, yes—that’s the kind of person she is. 

No wonder that after more than two decades of playing the soulful sister, the long-suffering wife, the complicated best friend, Findley Dickerson has never not worked. Now, she is a breakout star—and the moment feels nothing short of divine.

In Netflix’s The Residence, Shondaland’s latest murder-mystery drama, Findley Dickerson plays Sheila Cannon, the White House butler with secrets layered deeper than the building’s foundation. It’s a meaty, career-shifting role that has already set the internet ablaze. But for the actress, it’s just the fruit of years of consistent, often unsung labor.

“This role didn’t just fall into my lap,” Findley Dickerson told BET. “I came with 100 pages of character research, breakdowns, timelines—I even attended open AA meetings to better understand Sheila’s emotional reality. I wanted to embody her fully.” 

Although the role didn’t fall into her lap, it did magically appear on her desk. It all started when she created a social media post for April Fool’s Day in 2022 with an image of her superimposed on a poster of Bridgerton. 

She didn’t realize it at that time, but she was manifesting her next big step. 

“A few months later, The Residence script came across my desk, specifically for the role Sheila. And I'm like, ‘wait a minute, who wrote this? What is this? I must play her.’” 

It was like kismet, because Findley Dickerson had been working on a series called Chocolate City that centered Washington DC’s Black voices. Sheila, one of the most multidimensional depicted on The Residence, was written to be an inner-city Washington DC-native that dreamt of a bigger life–one that she eventually manifested. For Findley Dickerson, art truly imitated life.

Destiny, Delayed But Never Denied

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Findley Dickerson knew early on that storytelling was her ministry. After studying musical theater at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and graduating from NYU’s Tisch School, she roomed with none other than Viola Davis—proof that the path was ordained from the start.

Her breakout role as Tosha Mitchell in The Wire introduced audiences to her raw talent, but even then, Hollywood didn’t quite know what to do with someone like Edwina. Too soulful for sitcoms. Too nuanced for typecasting.

“I always felt like I was being seen, but not fully recognized,” she says. “But I knew my purpose wasn’t about fame. It was about impact.”

Roles in Treme, If Loving You Is Wrong, and Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere followed, each one showcasing her emotional range and quiet intensity. But it wasn’t until The Residence that the machine finally caught up to her magic. 

Since the show’s premiere, viewers have gravitated toward the character, citing Sheila’s funny quips for TikTok memes and driving movie reviews, heralding her as the comedic relief in the whodunnit. 

Off-screen, Findley Dickerson is just as intentional. She and her husband Kelvin Dickerson run AbundantLifeU, a nonprofit coaching program for aspiring creatives navigating the chaos of the entertainment industry. It’s not a side project—it’s a calling.

“So many people come to L.A. chasing the dream, but don’t know how to sustain it,” she explains. “We teach them how to show up with excellence—and how to protect their spirit in the process.” 

She also penned a book, The World Is Waiting for You: Embrace Your Calling and Manifest the God Dream Over Your Life, which is slated to be released this year. 

That sense of purpose runs through every conversation, every role, every red carpet look. For Findley Dickerson, her artistry and her faith are inextricably linked. “I believe we’re all born with a divine assignment. Mine just happens to be through storytelling.”

As Hollywood continues to reckon with the need for richer, more expansive portrayals of Black women, Edwina Findley Dickerson stands as a North Star—proof that slow-burning brilliance still matters. That good people can win. That purpose and power can coexist.

And while the industry may now be labeling her a “breakout star,” the truth is: she’s been ready. We’re just catching up.

“This is the season of manifestation,” she says, smiling. “Not just for me—but for every woman who’s stayed the course, even when nobody was watching.”

A prophecy fulfilled, indeed.