Netflix's new series 13 Reasons Why gives fans countless reasons to be intrigued by Sheri, a popular cheerleader who is one small piece of a much bigger puzzle to figuring out why her classmate Hannah decided to end her own life. But one of those reasons may be the actress who plays her, Ajiona Alexus.
Fans of Empire may have thought Alexus looked familiar but couldn't quite place her. Maybe it's because her new character's wardrobe is seriously lacking in leopard print.
As Romper points out, before heading to Netflix, Alexus appeared as a young Cookie on season 3 of the series. In her multi-episode arc she took us back to that moment, way back in the '80s, when teenage Cookie first met Lucious. Alexus gives fans a sense of who Loretha was before she became the Cookie Lyons, played by Taraji P. Henson, a force to be reckoned with.
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Before Alexus joined Empire, she sat down with Fox to talk about her role, which she said she got to add her "own spice" to, seizing the chance to play around with a role that has quickly become iconic. Alexus showed that there's more than one side of Cookie, including being both fierce and studious. The flashback once again hammers home the point that Cookie is a natural born leader.
Alexus is putting her own stamp on her role in 13 Reasons Why, but she also has some great source material to work from. The series, which looks at how small moments in your life can have a big impact on someone else's, is based on the book of the same name by Jay Asher.
Though, the show didn't keep everything in Asher's book. In fact, they made some changes when it came to Alexus' role. No spoilers here, but according to Romper, Alexus' Sheri is actually named Jenny in the book. There's no word on why the creators of the show changed Jenny to Sheri, but fans of the book should rest assured that while the name is different, her story stays the same.
13 Reasons Why is streaming now on Netflix.
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