Fox's newest hit Empire follows the ALS-diagnosed hip-hop mogul Lucious Lyon as he tries to figure out which of his three sons he'll leave his titular empire to — very much like the Shakespeare classic King Lear. But when it comes to the eldest son, played by Trai Byers, he seems to be in his own rendition of Macbeth, thanks to Andre's wife Rhonda, played by Kaitlin Doubleday. As his Lady Macbeth, Rhonda is his vicious partner-in-crime and she's always prepared — you caught her blow job bib last week, right? Who knows what Rhonda and Andre will be up to this week, when Empire 's third episode airs Wednesday night. If you think you recognize Rhonda and portrayer Doubleday from somewhere, you probably do, since the actress has had small roles in big movies and grew up in a showbiz family.
The 30-year-old actress is the daughter of actors Frank Doubleday (Assault on Precinct 13, Escape From New York) and Christina Hart (The Stewardesses, The Mad Bomber, Charley Varrick, Three's Company), who is also a playwright. Doubleday made her on-screen debut in 2002 in an episode of Without a Trace, followed by a small role in the Steven Spielberg-helmed hit film Catch Me If You Can as Joanna, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. Throughout the aughts and the 2010s, she's made guest appearances in lots of TV shows.
Here are some of the projects you might recognize Empire's own Lady Macbeth from.
Feature Films
After Catch Me If You Can, Doubleday went on to have roles in the features Waiting... starring Ryan Reynolds in 2005 and 2006's Accepted, starring Justin Long, Jonah Hill, and Blake Lively. Also in 2006, she played Jesse Filmore in The TV Set, in a cast led by David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, and Judy Greer.
Doubleday also had parts in the TV movie The March Sisters at Christmas, as well as the short films Famous and The Magic Bracelet.
Crime TV Shows
Doubleday has also played a lot of different characters on TV crime procedurals. She played a murdered college student on Cold Case, a businessman's daughter on CSI: Miami, a piano student on Bones, and a missing dead girl on Criminal Minds.
Cavemen & Other Sitcoms
Remember those GEICO Caveman commercials? In 2007, ABC decided to make a TV sitcom based on them — called Cavemen, naturally — but sadly it only lasted a month. Doubleday played the girlfriend of Joel, one of the cavemen. He initially worries that she's only dating him because she has a fetish for cavemen. Seriously. The series also starred Nick Kroll, before his Kroll Show fame and coupling with Amy Poehler.
Last year, Doubleday appeared in two episodes of another canceled ABC sitcom, Mixology. She's also had guest roles on Hung, Children's Hospital, Drop Dead Diva, and Brothers & Sisters.
From what we've of Rhonda so far, I think Empire has brought Doubleday her most memorable role so far.
