Denée Benton (Instagram), who plays Peggy Scott on HBO’s The Gilded Age, shared her top 10 cultural essentials and must-haves in the “My Ten” column of this past Sunday’s New York Times. Coming in at number eight for Benton is Zora Neale Hurston, and she had this to say about the author:
“I grew up going to church in Eatonville, Fla., which is where Zora was from. My church was right next to the historical landmark that’s her house. As I’ve gotten to know more about her, I’ve become obsessed with the fact that she’s a radical, queer, chaotic, vibrant artist who did not fit the times she was born in at all.”
Benton was born in Eustis on New Year’s Eve in 1991 and grew up there, eventually graduating from Winter Park’s Trinity Preparatory School where she started acting in ninth grade.
The actress and singer made her way to the Broadway stage, appearing in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 opposite Josh Groban in 2016, for which she received a Tony nomination. She returned to the Broadway boards this month as the “queen bee” Paulina in School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play by playwright Jocelyn Bioh. Season four of The Gilded Age is set to premiere November 1.
In her “My Ten,” Benton also shares her love of Japanese food and houseplants as well as a scandalous revelation about her fondness for Birkenstocks. Read the full column HERE.
