Deborah White discovered there was something special about her daughter Diamond as she watched her imitate performances from PBS’ beloved purple dinosaur Barney before her first birthday. Today, the 24-year-old has been acting professionally for over a decade, most recently taking on the dream role of providing the voice for the character Lunella in Disney’s newest series, “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,” which is slated for release on the Disney channel on Friday, Feb. 10.
Diamond White’s career actually began with those days of mimicking Barney as a toddler. Backed by a supportive mother, White tried out for Oprah Winfrey’s production of The Color Purple and nabbed a role intended for a more mature child actor. That first experience was enough to spark a passion for entertaining in the starstruck youngster and she never looked back. White parlayed her success in the The Color Purple with a subsequent role in The Lion King before transitioning to television, taking on both acting and voice-over work.
White acknowledges that her love for music made the opportunity with “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur” even more attractive. She had auditioned and placed in the top five in the 2012 edition of “The X Factor,” providing her an opportunity to work with the legendary talent Raphael Saadiq, who serves as the show’s executive music producer. The starlet found her name listed alongside other musical icons and she was frequently in the company of A-listers, something she has become accustomed to, working on projects with Tyler Perry (Boo! A Madea Halloween and Boo 2! A Madea Halloween); Anthony Alexander (“black-ish”), Taraji P. Henson (“Empire”) and many more. “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur” also boasts a heavy hitting cast featuring Alfre Woodard and Sasheer Zamata. Veteran actor Laurence Fishburne serves as the executive producer.
White says she was excited to book the role of Lunella for several reasons, mainly because of the character’s commitment to making a difference in the world.
“Honestly what got me super excited about the role is that I get to go in the booth and pretend that I’m nine to twelve years old every time I record, so it’s a little therapy for me. … It’s important to have characters like this for younger Black and Brown girls to see and say, ‘Hey I’m smart and it’s cool and I like it,’ ” White explains. “Lunella’s superpower is her brain. She is one of the smartest superheroes in the Marvel Universe and she can solve any problem, any equation. She’s really big on quantum physics, so she’s got a big brain.”
Although Hollywood continues making slow progression toward diversity and representation, White says she remembers there weren’t many other Black and Brown children on television when she was growing up. With the exception of Raven-Symoné (“That’s So Raven”) and Kenan and Kel (“All That”) the opportunities to see Black or Brown leads on family or youth-driven shows were few and far between. Being cast as Lunella was personally a dream role for White, but she believes it’s even more important for the families tuning in to Disney and Disney+ channels.
“What I want young people to get from this series is that one person can make a difference and that’s basically what the show’s about. Lunella is just one girl with a big brain protecting the universe and anyone can be small and Brown or Black and they can look up to this character and say, ‘Hey, [if] Lunella is making a difference in her town, then I can make a difference in my community too,’ ” she says.
When asked about similarities between she and the character, White says she likes Lunella’s boldness and commitment to being a positive light. She jokingly clarifies that she won’t be attacking any physics after the series wraps.
“I’ve learned a lot of stuff about quantum physics that I would never have learned. Don’t ask me what I know because I didn’t retain it. I don’t have the brain capacity for all that,” she says.
They may not have quantum physics in common, but White’s self-proclaimed superpower, her voice, is another of Lunella’s strengths.
“My superpower, I would say is my voice. From voice-over work to singing, my voice is my superpower because I can be loud and proud and all those things,” White says.
“Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur” premieres Feb. 10 on Disney Channel and Feb. 15 on Disney+.
Art direction and words by Christal Jordan
Photography/videography: Andrew Thomas Clifton
Makeup artist: Nimai Marsden
Hair: Marjorie Lightford
Wardrobe: Melvin Sanders
