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Actress, youth advocate, and educator Sandi McCree, recognized for her gritty, street-savvy portrayal of "Delonda Brice" on HBO's The Wire, has dedicated over 21 years to arts education and media literacy.
Growing up in Washington, D.C., McCree began acting at age four, developing a love for storytelling early on. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Radio, Film, and Television from the University of Maryland and a Master’s degree in acting from Case Western Reserve University. Her dramatic training continued at the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York and the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England.
While at Case Western, McCree created her Multimedia Arts Focused Prevention Education approach through founding The Thought Provoking Arts Company (TPAC). Commissioned by Case Western Reserve University, TPAC developed original arts-based programs to promote prevention awareness, especially targeting freshmen residents. TPAC’s mission to deliver comprehensive arts education and prevention programming for children was realized through McCree’s collaborations with various Ohio public school districts, Cuyahoga Community College, the Center for Families and Children in Cleveland, and Pin Points Theatre, a national educational touring company in Washington, DC, where she served as Eastern Regional Director.
McCree’s professional path has blended acting and arts education. She has performed nationwide in productions such as The Exonerated, Fires in the Mirror, and the one-woman show The Gimmick, while also writing and presenting on childhood education topics. She co-authored "Artful Strategies for Prevention Education Group Work with Adolescent African-American Girls" for the 23rd International Symposium on Social Work with Groups and presented "Using a Psychosocial Network to Empower Parents of Children with Sickle Cell Anemia to Maximize Life's Opportunities" for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America in 1999. Her combined work in theater and education led to her role as Media Liaison for the National Black Media Coalition.
Her television credits include The Closer, Cold Case, and Criminal Minds, but her role on HBO’s The Wire epitomizes the fusion of her acting and youth advocacy passions. In a departure from her own character, McCree plays "Delonda Brice," a flawed mother who prefers her son to sell drugs rather than focus on school, highlighting social challenges while using this role as a platform for supporting young people’s development.
McCree produced "BeBop to Hip-Hop," an educational performance at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, where she serves as Special Projects Coordinator. She also appeared in the acclaimed documentary "Keep On Keepin’ On," produced by Quincy Jones.
She performs weekly with various improv groups including Most Humble, appearing regularly at venues such as The Groundlings Theater, Second City, iO West, The Clubhouse, Asylum Lab, Danger Room, and Neon Venus. In November 2013, Most Humble secured its eighth consecutive championship in Second City Hollywood’s Thunderdome Improv Cagematch. In summer 2015, McCree was invited to join the prestigious Sunday Company at The Groundlings.
Sandi McCree has taught and directed at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts and currently teaches theatre arts at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.
