She was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Orlando. She'd later attend Dr. Phillips High School before graduating from SUNY Purchase with her bachelor's degree. She later got a master's degree in African-American studies with a concentration in hip-hop from Columbia University.
She started her acting career in Nickelodeon's "My Brother And Me" in 1994 before landing various roles. She appeared in a couple of "Black-ish" episodes before really making her mark on the HBO hit series, "Insecure." She also owns her own production company, DivaWorks, and used to go by the stage name Amanda Diva.