Photography by Jessica Chou, Styling by Sara Borgese, Hair styling by Alexander Armand, Makeup by Brandy Allen, Location: The Hollywood Roosevelt
Where You’ve Seen Her: On the most recent seasons of three critically adored TV hits—Killing Eve, Barry, and The Good Place—and in this summer’s Veronica Mars reboot. “It’s kind of surreal,” Howell-Baptiste says of her hot streak.
Origins: The North London native joined the offbeat Anna Scher Theatre at the age of 12, mostly as a way to keep busy after school. “It wasn’t a fancy stage school,” she recalls. “Anna Scher is this wonderful, cool hippie lady. You’d do a dance or learn a peace poem.”
Star Turn: Howell-Baptiste is one of three leads in the CBS All Access dramedy Why Women Kill, which premiered last month. The show, from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, tells the stories of three women from different time periods (Ginnifer Goodwin as a ’60s homemaker, Lucy Liu as an ’80s socialite, and Howell-Baptiste as a present-day lawyer) who have the same problem: infidelity in their marriages. “I think it’s interesting to see what the definition of femininity is throughout the short span of history we explore,” Howell-Baptiste says. “It’ll be interesting to show how far we’ve come and how we still have a very long way to go.”
Dream Role: “I’d like to play an assassin,” she reveals. “I’ve played quite nice characters so far—I think it’d be nice to exercise that muscle.” As for the shows she’d like to join? “Peaky Blinders, Baskets, and Atlanta. I’ll do all three—why not? I’ve done three shows before; I’ll do three shows again.”
Up Next: Returning for the fourth and final season of The Good Place, starting this month. “It’s so hush-hush at this point, because none of us know how it’s gonna end,” she says. “To have the restraint and creative integrity to end the show after four years, even when it’s doing well, is really commendable, so I know it’s going to end incredibly well.”
