Tristin Mays (born June 10, 1990[1]) is an American actress. Mays portrayed Riley Davis in the reboot of the MacGyver series on CBS who works as a covert operative for the Phoenix Foundation.

Tristin Mays
Mays on the show Victorious in 2011
Born (1990-06-10) June 10, 1990 (age 34)
EducationVista del Lago High School
OccupationActress
Years active1996–present

Early life and education

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Mays' parents, Viveca and Michael Mays, worked as an artist and in the military, respectively. She grew up in New York City until 2003 when her family moved to Moreno Valley, California, where she graduated from Vista del Lago High School. Her older brother Jeryn is also an actor.[2]

Career

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While best known for her role as Riley Davis on the 2016 TV series MacGyver, Mays has played in television series including as Shaina in the Nickelodeon series Gullah Gullah Island[2] and as Robin Dixon, the daughter of Marcus Dixon, Carl Lumbly's character in Alias.

Her other television credits include Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Everybody Hates Chris, True Jackson, VP, Zeke and Luther, Big Time Rush, Victorious and The Vampire Diaries.

As a seven-year-old in 1997, she joined the cast of Gullah Gullah Island, replacing Shaina M. Freeman as Shaina. That same year, she was cast as Nala in The Lion King on Broadway.[2][3] She subsequently played Fan in Dickens' A Christmas Carol.[2] In 2009, she was a series regular in the web series Private based on the novels of the same name.[4] In 2011, she starred in the internet sitcom FAIL with fellow Gullah Gullah Island co-star Vanessa Baden. She also appeared in the TV show Impractical Jokers season 8 episode 5.

Filmography

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Film roles
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Hot Dog Water Julia Short film
2012 Thunderstruck Isabela Sanchez
She is Not My Sister Megan
2013 House Party: Tonight's the Night Autumn Rose Direct-to-video film
2015 The Wedding Ringer Cute bridesmaid
2020 The Christmas Sitters Nora Direct-to-TV film
Television roles
Year Title Role Notes
1996 Harambee! Angel Television film
1997 Gullah Gullah Island Shaina Series regular
2001–2004 Alias Robin Dixon 3 episodes
2006 Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide Bernice Episode: "Substitute Teachers and the New Kid"
2008 Everybody Hates Chris Jenise Huckstable Episode: "Everybody Hates Homecoming"
2009 Private Taylor Bell Web series; series regular
2010 True Jackson, VP Hailey Episode: "My Boss Ate My Homework"
2010–2011 Zeke and Luther Monica Lopez 3 episodes
2010 Big Time Rush Stephanie King 2 episodes
Kelly Brook's Cameltoe Shows Herself Funny or Die skit
2011 Victorious Sherry Episode: "Prom Wrecker"
FAIL Alicia Web series; series regular
Kickin' It Vanessa / M.C. Episode: "All the Wrong Moves"
2012 The Newsroom Karaoke Girl Episode: "The 112th Congress"
2015–2016 The Vampire Diaries Sarah Nelson/Salvatore Recurring role (season 6), Guest (season 8) 7 episodes
2015 Supergirl Maxwell Lord's Assistant Episode: "Childish Things"
Night of the Wild Rosalyn Television film[citation needed]
2016–2018 T@gged Brie
2016–2021 MacGyver Riley Davis Main role
2017 Switched at Birth Ally 3 episodes
2019 Impractical Jokers Herself Season 8 Episode 5: "Full Mental Jacket"

References

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  1. ^ "Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 6–12". ABC News.
  2. ^ a b c d Laurie Lucas, "Former Moreno Valley resident stars in the rebooted ‘MacGyver’ TV show", The Press-Enterprise, January 5, 2017.
  3. ^ Tristin Mays at the Internet Broadway Database
  4. ^ "Alloy Entertainment". www.alloyentertainment.com.
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