Childhood & Early Life
Aytes was born on May 17, 1976, in Harlem, New York. Not much is known about her family, except that she is of mixed ethnicity.
She studied at the ‘Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School.’ In 1998, she earned a BFA degree from the ‘State University of New York at Purchase’ in Harrison, New York. Aytes is a trained ballet dancer and has performed with ‘Ballet Hispánico’ in New York City. She has also toured with the ‘Broadway’ cast of ‘Aida.’
Continue Reading Below
Career
In 2000, Aytes began her career with modeling and appeared in commercials for brands such as ‘Mercedes Benz,’ ‘Coca-Cola,’ ‘L’Oreal,’ and ‘McDonald’s.’ In 2001, she made her debut in the entertainment industry with the TV series ‘The Outer Limits.’ She also appeared in episodes of other series, such as ‘Sex and the City,’ ‘My Wife and Kids,’ and ‘ER.’
Aytes made her film debut with the 2004 comedy ‘White Chicks,’ in which she played ‘Denise Porter.’ In Tyler Perry’s 2006 film ‘Madea’s Family Reunion,’ her performance as ‘Lisa Breaux,’ a woman trapped in a complex relationship, was much appreciated. In the anthology horror–comedy indie movie ‘Trick ‘r Treat’ (2007), she appeared as ‘Maria,’ alongside Dylan Baker.
In 2006, Aytes portrayed ‘Nicole Jamieson’ in the test pilot of ‘Tyler Perry's House of Payne.’ She was seen as ‘Felicia Saroyan’ in the ‘Fox’ TV series ‘Bones’ (2007).
In the ‘Fox’ drama series ‘Drive’ (2007), Aytes appeared as ‘Leigh Barnthouse,’ with Nathan Fillion and Emma Stone. In the ‘ABC’ series ‘The Forgotten’ (2009–2010), she appeared opposite Christian Slater, as series regular ‘Detective Grace Russell,’ a character working with volunteer groups to unravel unsolved homicide cases. She has guest-starred in series such as ‘White Collar,’ ‘CSI: NY,’ and ‘Las Vegas.’
The ‘CBS’ TV show ‘NCIS’ (2009) featured Aytes as ‘Tara Cole.’ She appeared as ‘Eva’ in the ‘TNT’ drama series ‘Dark Blue’ (2010). She essayed the recurring role of ‘Prosecutor Alice Williams,’ who later gets murdered, in the ‘ABC’ TV series ‘Detroit 1-8-7’ (2010–2011).
Aytes lent her voice to the character ‘Rochelle’ in the video game ‘Left 4 Dead 2’ (2009). She also lent her voice to another video game, ‘Resident Evil 6’ (2013).
In 2011, Aytes made a guest appearance as ‘Amber James,’ former girlfriend of ‘Keith Watson,’ in three episodes of ‘ABC’s ‘Desperate Housewives.’ She appeared as ‘Vanessa Warner’ in the 2012 sitcom ‘Work It.’ In 2013, she entered the ‘CBS’ series ‘Criminal Minds’ in its ninth season and played the role of ‘Savannah,’ girlfriend of ‘SSA Derek Morgan,’ in 10 episodes.
In ‘ABC’s ‘Mistresses’ (2013), a series about four female friends and their involvement in complex relationships, she received accolades for her portrayal of a single mother named ‘April Malloy’. In the biographical TV movie ‘CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story’ (2013), which was based on the hip-hop trio ‘TLC,’ Aytes essayed the role of singer-songwriter Perri “Pebbles” Reid.
Of late, Aytes has been seen as ‘Senator Cali’ in an episode of the political drama ‘Designated Survivor’ (2017) and as ‘Agent Greer’ in the TV series ‘Hawaii Five-0’ (2018–2019).
Her most recent movie appearances were as ‘Hailey Colburn’ in ‘My Favorite Five’ (2015) and as ‘Zoe’ in the comedy film ‘Magic Camp’ (2018).
Family & Personal Life
Her longtime boyfriend, actor CJ Lindsey, proposed to her in front of the Proposal Rock, on the Oregon Coast, and the two got engaged in July 2015. They got married on August 28, 2016, at the ‘Tappan Hill Mansion’ in Tarrytown, New York.
She is part of the charity donation platform ‘DonorSee,’ where donors can offer help for a specific cause and receive videos showing how their donation has helped in making a change. Aytes has helped in constructing a well in Malawi, Africa.
