Nikita calame biography

When Niketa Calame was 5 her mom put a microphone in her hand.

It was, says Calame, as if she had suddenly come alive.

Calame would go on to voice the character of “young Nala” in Disney’s animated film The Lion King, act on stage, sing in choirs, appear in commercials, and make documentary films.

But being an African American woman in Hollywood and suffering from Type 1 diabetes, Calame did not always have a smooth path.

There were times, she says, when she had difficulty keeping her confidence because the entertainment industry did not see the beauty of her dark skin, and the constant vigilance she needs in the face of a disease that makes even small decisions a matter of life and death is wearing.

But Calame, 36, is undaunted.

“I was lucky enough to find my purpose at a young age, and I feel like when you live and walk your purpose, the ups and downs, the triumphs and failures, are not as trying,” she says.

Her purpose took her to the Ac