Jennifer Lanier is an American actor, writer, director, and theatre maker known for her work on stage and screen. A classically trained performer who studied at the University of North Carolina and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Lanier has appeared in film and TV (credits include Chapter Perfect, The Water Man, Thin Skin, and the upcoming Night Always Comes) and is active in regional theatre and festival work. She is co-artistic director of the Original Practice Shakespeare Festival (OPS Fest) and is notable for creating work that centres queer and mixed-race perspectives, described in interviews and profiles as Two-Spirit/queer and as a person of Native American and African American heritage. Lanier’s career spans classical theatre training, solo performance, comedy, independent film, and directing; she also writes and develops original pieces for young audiences and adult theatre.