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6. Danai Gurira
If you’re a big fan of The Walking Dead, you have definitely witnessed Michonne’s stunning transformation from a lone-wolf survivor of a zombie apocalypse to an invaluable asset of Rick’s group. Also, who would’ve thought that the badass, katana-wielding zombie hunter was from Iowa? Well, she is! She was born in Grinnell, and that’s the place where she lived during her early years before moving to Zimbabwe with her family.
Gurira studied social psychology at Macalester College and received an MFA from New York Univeristy’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has made minor appearances on shows such as Treme, Law & Order, Lie to Me, American Experience, and Life on Mars. After that, she made her breakthrough roles in movies such as My Soul to Take, Restless City, and The Visitor, for which she won the Best Supporting Actress award at the Method Fest in 2008.