Canadian actress Tamara Taylor was born on September 27, 1970 in Toronto, Ontario. She began acting in 1987, playing a small part in the television movie LBJ: The Early Years. She had a few stints afterwards; only in 1996 did she gain prominence, when she got a recurring role in the drama series Party of Five. She played Grace Wilcox for 16 episodes in the third season. In 1998, she made her film debut, appearing alongside Marlon Wayans in the romantic comedy Senseless. The following year, she starred alongside Halle Berry in the television movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.
Taylor’s next regular television role was in City of Angels, which premiered in 2000. The program held the distinction of being the first predominantly African American medical drama in network television. She played the recurring role of Ana Syphax throughout the two seasons. When it was cancelled despite an unsuccessful campaign from advocates to keep the series running, she took a regular role in the short-lived comedy Hidden Hills. She also appeared as a guest in several television shows, including Six Feet Under, The District, Becker, Everwood, CSI: Miami and Without a Trace. In 2005, she had a supporting role in the film adaptation of Tyler Perry’s novel Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
Taylor’s most recent regular role on television came in 2006, when she joined the cast of the crime drama Bones. She joined the show’s second season as Camille Saroyan, the head of the Jeffersonian Institute’s newly-established forensics division. With her Bronx upbringing and her experience as a coroner in New York, her work ethic and headstrong attitude puts her at odds with her subordinate, Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and the other members of her team. She also had a past relationship with Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), which was rekindled midway through the second season.