Parris was born and raised in Hopkins, South Carolina. She was accepted into the prestigious South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities where she finished 11th and 12th grade, before attending and graduating from the Juilliard School. She made her television debut in 2010, with guest starring role on The Good Wife. In 2012, she was cast in a recurring role as Dawn Chambers in the AMC drama series, Mad Men. She played the first major African American character on Mad Men.
In 2014, Parris had her breakthrough role in the independent film Dear White People. Later in that year, Parris began starring in the Starz comedy series, Survivor's Remorse. In 2015, Parris went to star in the satirical drama film Chi-Raq directed by Spike Lee. She received her first NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture nomination for this film. She played the leading role in Where Children Play directed by Leila Djansi, and starred alongside David Oyelowo in Five Nights in Maine. Later in 2015, she played R&B/Jazz singer Miki Howard in the biopic The Miki Howard Story.
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