American actress Tawny Cypress was born on August 8, 1976 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. She is of multiple descents – her mother has Hungarian and German blood, while her father traces his ancestry to Native Americans, African Americans and European Americans. She took her studied in several schools, including Boston University, Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and Mason Gross as Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. She also trained in acting under Barbara Marchant and the William Esper Studio in New York City.
She began her acting career in 1999, when she played a bit role in the comedic short film Stalker Guilt Syndrome. After a guest role in the police drama NYPD Blue, she took on a minor supporting role in the 2000 romantic drama Autumn of New York, which starred Winona Ryder and Richard Gere. She was also given a recurring role in the short-lived legal drama 100 Centre Street, and a guest role in the daytime soap All My Children. She also had a recurring role in the drama Third Watch before being cast in the short-lived action series Jonny Zero.
After appearances in films such as World Trade Center and Bella, she was included in the cast of the television series Heroes. She took on the role of Simone Deveaux, an art dealer living in New York City who is in a relationship with Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera). Increasing disturbed by his heroin addiction and his claims to be able to predict the future through his paintings, she splits up with him. She is killed off at the end of the first season.
As she left Heroes, Cypress took on a major role in the short-lived drama K-Ville. She plays police officer Ginger LeBeau, who copes with the effects of hurricane Katrina to her hometown, New Orleans. The show was taken off production after the writer’s strike, and never returned to Fox’s midseason schedule. She decided to move on to other projects, and has filmed Brooklyn’s Finest for 2009.