Nakia was raised in Stockton, California, where her passion for the performing arts began early. While in high school, she auditioned for UCLA's prestigious theater department and was the only African American female freshman accepted out of 50 applicants that year. She landed her first major role as Tanya Sloan, the Yellow Power Ranger, on the hit kids’ TV show "Power Rangers Zeo," appearing in 75 episodes and a feature film. Over her 25+ year career, she has starred in numerous commercials, print ads, movies and television series.
In 2015, she created, co-wrote, and produced 2 seasons of the single camera comedy, Life After Saving the World which was loosely based on her life. This series won the Empire Award in the New York Screenplay Contest and placed in the LAIFFA television and film festival.
In 2020, she co-created and continues to produce content for her YouTube channel, "Power Rangers Playback," which has over 2 million views, 50K subscribers, and more than 100 paid members.
In 2023, Nakia's web series "Class Dismissed" was adapted into a feature film and is now available on Peacock, Amazon, and Tubi.
​
In 2023, Nakia co-wrote, produced and starred in the inspirational comedy feature, Back to Bridgewood. Back to Bridgewood has received multiple award nominations, including at the Beaufort International Film Festival, Sunscreen International Film Festival, and Burbank International Film Festival. The film has won Best Feature Film at the Beaufort International Film Festival and Best Faith-Based Film at the Burbank International Film Festival. It will premiere across streaming platforms March 2024.
​
​
Recently, Nakia partnered with JD Sutphin to create Von-Burrise Productions, a fully operational film production company focused on family-friendly content with character-driven stories. They just finished their first project together, “Heavy Metal Rescue” comic, debuting within the Power Rangers’ Anthology book titled, “Across the Morphin Grid #1” released in November 2024.
Everything is possible for him who believes.” Mark 9:23
