10 Things you Didn’t Know about Danai Gurira

Danai Gurira

If we were to take an informal poll of precisely how many people do not watch The Walking Dead, how many hands would we see? To be frank, I have never seen the show. My husband and I simply don’t have time to watch anything else, as we hardly have time to watch anything with four kids, careers, and social activities that take up 110%of our lives. However, we have heard that it’s a show to definitely keep on our list of things to Netflix over the summer when real television is gone for a few months. It’s on our radar, we just haven’t had the time. Nor have we seen OITNB or anything of that nature – I know, we are television failures in the eyes of everyone we know.

Either way, if you watch TWD, you know the name Danai Gurira; more accurately, you know the name Michonne. Danai Gurira is the real name of the character in everyone’s favorite show. She’s good, too. She’s really good at her role, and she’s also gorgeous, talented, and she is certainly a fan favorite. The problem is that we have yet to get to know her as a person, only as her character. I think it’s time we change that, don’t you?

She’s a Valentine’s Day baby

Dania Gurira is a woman who has a very special birthday. She was born on the day of love, Valentine’s Day. She was born February 14, 1978. Having a daughter of my own with a holiday birthday, I can say that it has its ups and downs. For one, our daughter was born on St. Patrick’s Day, which means we never get to celebrate that holiday since we aren’t leaving our daughter with a sitter or a grandparent on her birthday. Dania Gurira’s parents probably felt that they couldn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, either, for the same reason; but we don’t know that for certain.

She modeled

When she was a little younger, she would make ends meet by modeling when she had work to do. She didn’t mind the work, though it was never what she really wanted to do with her life. She wanted to write, act and be known for something else. However, she will model for a great cause, and she should; she’s absolutely lovely.

She’s a Midwesterner

Dania Gurira was born and raised in the Midwest. She was born in a small town in Iowa, and she spent many years of her childhood there. Her father worked for the Department of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. When the family was a bit older, they moved back to Zimbabwe when the country was free. Her parents are both from the country, but they left when things got crazy over there.

She speaks four languages

Not only is she just the most adorable, but she’s also multi-lingual. Dania Gurira speaks not only one language, but four. She’s fluent in all of them, too. She speaks English, French, Shona and Xhosa. We aren’t entirely sure where those last two hail from, but we are impressed nonetheless.

She’s smart

She’s a woman with a brain, and she likes to use it. Not only is she a college graduate with a Bachelor’s degree, she’s also a woman who went back to school for a few more years following that. She has a Master’s Degree, too, and she’s not afraid to use it. She’s a smart woman. Even though she knew she wanted to act, she also wanted to write and she decided a good education was a great start for her.

She’s a playwright

You know her primarily as an actress, but Danai Gurira is so much more than that. She’s a writer. She began writing plays to help her hone her acting skills, and she is good. Did you know that she is the writer of a play called “Eclipse,” that is not only good, but also one that has taken home an Emmy Award? Well, she is.

She loves strong women

One thing that Danai Gurira loves is a strong woman. She identifies as one herself, so she has a particular affinity for other women who are also strong. She loves women with big personalities, with strong hearts, with strong souls and who get what they want in life because they are strong enough to survive what life throws their way and makes of them. She’s been known to focus her writing around strong women because she just adores them so much. We love that about her.

She’s an activist

Most all of her life, Danai Gurira has been an activist. She loves to help, to give back and to put her money where her mouth is. She’s always open to helping whomever it is that needs her voice and her power at any moment in time, whether it is the victims of Hurricane Katrina or the continuing education of young men and women in her home country of Zimbabwe.

She’s a Christian woman

She grew up Christian, and she has not lost her faith. Danai Gurira is a woman who loves God, and she’s not afraid to say it, either. She is not ashamed of who she is, what people think of her or how they view her faith. She’s faithful, and we love that she’s unashamed of that; we also love that she doesn’t keep her faith to herself and that she shares it so willingly with the rest of the world.

She loves fitness

If there is one thing that Danai Gurira loves, it’s fitness. She spends much of her time in New York City, and she loves it because she gets so much walking in. She loves to spend her time out walking around, exercising and being as active as possible. She knows that this is what keeps her healthy and that it is good for her in so many different ways. We love that about her, and we are always impressed by people who feel that way.

Photo by Getty Images

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