Clemons' Time

Kiersey Clemons goes from the girl in Dope to the girl in everything by CHRISTINE WHITNEY

- Christine Whitney

Kiersey Clemons is eating steak at a restaurant on the dusty Sierra Highway outside Los Angeles. She’s just wrapped her shoot, which took place at a nearby ranch in 95-degree temps. She was modeling coats, of all things, but it clearly takes a lot more than punishing heat to stop this 23-year-old.

“I’m from Florida,” she says. “That’s what it is.”

Clemons is best known for her career-launching role as Diggy, a lesbian teen growing up in a rough Southern California neighborhood, in the 2015 Pharrell Williams– produced indie comedy Dope. (A musician, she also collaborated with Williams on the soundtrack.)

The film, Clemons’s first, was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for the Grand Jury Prize. Clemons was surprised by the response, which later included a BET nomination for best movie. “It was that feeling of ‘What is happening?’” she says. “I’m not sure I’ll ever feel that again, because now I know what can possibly happen even with a small movie.”

One happy result: Clemons has a whopping five feature films scheduled, with more in the pipeline.