Nashville native Tiffany Burgess stars in 2023 adaptation of 'The Color Purple'

Years before Nashville native Tiffany Burgess made her big screen debut in "The Color Purple" — the 2023 film adaptation of the stage musical — she retreated to her creative space.

Underneath the dining room table. Her little world.

The 6-year-old scribbled away as her mother, a high school English teacher, graded papers above or prepared dinner nearby in the kitchen. Her three older brothers laughed. Called her strange.

"Momma! She's under the table again!"

"Leave her alone. She's not bothering anybody."

Days before The Color Purple opens in theaters on Christmas Day, Burgess laughed when recalling her former workspace, part of a journey which has allowed her to balance science and the spotlight.

"Oh, God, just the journey and just how good God is, and how you never know what your path is going to be," said Burgess, a graduate of MLK Magnet and Hampton University.

"But if you are open to that journey — and for me, from a religious standpoint — trusting God and stepping out on faith, then it's just no telling where it can lead you."

She's now an actress, producer and screenwriter; a public health consultant; the author of three children's books — she's also written for Huffington Post and Blavity; and co-owner of a film production company.

Oh, and she can sing.

But you know that if you grew up at 15th Avenue Baptist Church, where as a kid, she joined her mother in the choir.

And now, her family across Tennessee, including in Nashville, is poised on Christmas Day to watch her movie acting debut.

"She'll be home, and her brothers, and my grandchildren and the in-laws," said her mother, Bettye Burgess, who taught at Maplewood and Hume-Fogg high schools before retiring.

"We're going to see it together. That's gonna be quite a treat."

Her role as Olivia, her movie momma and being surrounded by R&B divas

In the movie, Tiffany Burgess stars in the role of Olivia — the daughter of Celie, played Fantasia Barrino, the Season 3 winner of American Idol who has sold more than three million albums in the U.S. The rest of the leading cast reads like a modern-day Who's Who of Black entertainment excellence — from Halle Bailey, Colman Domingo and Danielle Brooks to Taraji P. Henson, Corey Hawkins, Ciara and H.E.R.

It's a musical, so just about everybody is going to carry a note at some point.So how did Burgess ("I can hold a note with the choir; [but] I am no soloist") pull this off while being surrounded by R&B divas and Tony-nominated artists?

She took the advice of someone on the production team during a rehearsal. Tap into your choir days in Nashville.

"They just made me feel like a professional," Burgess said. "And we're all here to do our jobs. They were just very giving of their time."

On-set hugs from Oprah: 'It was just surreal'

Of course, Burgess isn't the lone Nashville product with ties to the iconic franchise.

Back in 1985, Oprah Winfrey, who attended East Nashville High School and Tennessee State University, made her acting debut as Sofia in an adaptation of Alice Walker's award-winning novel, earning an Academy Award nomination.

Winfrey, now a business mogul and media executive, co-produced the 2023 movie, helping to select the cast.

Winfrey starred in the 1985 classic with Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, Akosua Busia, Memphis-born actor Willard E. Pugh and others — no easy cast to follow. After all, the film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Goldberg) and Best Supporting Actress (Winfrey and Avery).

The Nashville products shared a moment during the filming of the 2023 film.

"Oprah was just, man, amazing," Burgess said, her voice giddy with excitement as she shared her story. "She was just, like so down to Earth, like, sit down beside you in the casting tent and start talking.

"When we wrapped on set, they yelled cut; I was still emotional. And I walked off, and she came and gave me a hug and told me 'good job.' It was just surreal."

No more writing on the floor; health equity, future projects

As an author, Burgess has written three children's books: "Skin Like Mine" (2016), "The Adventures of Junior and Baby Brother: Spencer’s Special Gift" (2019) and "Decisions, Decisions" (2023). She’s also one-third of Tyler Street Films. Her film production company with business partners and fellow Hampton alums Jack Manning, III and Lawrence “LAW” Watford collaborated to create a short film, "FLIPPED." The trio has also released "Catharsis" and "Skin Like Mine," an animated short film.

In 2022, Burgess appeared on Season 1 (Episode 12) of ABC's "The Wonder Years."

And on routine days, Burgess, a proponent of health equity, works as a public health consultant in Atlanta — she earned her master's in public health at Emory. She partners with federal agencies and state health departments to evaluate the work they complete to achieve disease prevention. Her expertise is chronic disease prevention, specifically hypertension and diabetes.

Expect to hear more from Burgess, from series pitches and short films in movies festivals to acting.

"I would love to have more acting roles, and larger roles, and really, really continue to grow as an actress," she said.

"Auditions are ongoing. I have two that are due this week. So I'm just hoping that I'll continue to get roles and just grow, grow in this craft."

Gary Estwick, a New Orleans native, is the Business, Race and Culture editor at The Tennessean. He edits more than he writes. Reach him at gestwick@tennessean.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @garyestwick.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 'The Color Purple': Nashville native Tiffany Burgess debuts