From Richmond Heights to Netflix: South Dade actress gets her big break
Actress Alecsys Proctor-Turner’s connection to South Florida runs deep. A native of South Miami-Dade, she can trace her family back to the founding of Richmond Heights, a neighborhood established for Black residents facing housing insecurity after World War II.
“We’re generations deep. We were a part of the creation of Richmond Heights. My great-grandfather was a part of the Bahamian migration that happened,” says Proctor-Turner.
Founded by Pan American Airlines Capt. Frank C. Martin, the community started as 26 residential lots belonging to Black WWII veterans, and became one of the country’s first planned African American communities.
“I’m fortunate that I am Caribbean, but I’m also fortunate because of how many generations have been here,” said Proctor-Turner. “I know I’m my great-grandma, Mary Lynn Cambridge’s, wildest dream. She used to tell me all the time, like, “Girl, you gonna be on TV.”
Proctor-Turner found her big break as Nala, a tech-savvy Gen Z stylist assistant to main character ‘Mavis Beaumont’ played by FIU alumna Michelle Buteau in the final season of Netflix’s comedy-drama ‘Survival of the Thickest.’
Proctor-Turner has been preparing for this moment since she was a second grade student at Perrine Elementary. She immersed herself in all the academic arts programs within her small community, but eventually she started crisscrossing the county to get to New World School of the Arts and to participate in programs like Miami Children’s Theater in Kendall, Area Stage in Coral Gables, the YoungArts campus in North Miami and small church plays at Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church. Her dedication came with tremendous sacrifice, as she would spend hours commuting from Richmond Heights for plays.
The hard work Proctor-Turner put in towards her passion did not just come from her family’s legacy, but the legacy of South Dade artists who came before her. Proctor-Turner still remembers the first time she saw an actress from her community, who looked like her, on stage and gave her the confidence to pursue her dreams,
“She was a senior in high school at Coral Reef. I was in elementary school and I saw her play Aida at Miami Children’s Theater,” said Proctor-Turner. “I was like, I’m doing that. This beautiful black girl’s voice is so big...I think representation is the biggest thing.”
As Proctor-Turner took a step out on faith and perfected her craft in Miami, she often felt herself being type-cast by other’s expectations of what roles plus-size Black women should play.
“There was a comment where someone told me, “Oh, you’re too big to be Belle, but you’re too small to be Effie. So, you have to lose weight or gain weight. I heard that, and I was like, I’m never going to do musical theater again. And then I got to New York and everything changed, and I was like, I’m taking ownership over what’s happening in my career,“ said Proctor-Turner.
‘Survival of the Thickest’, a show that focuses on visibility, but to Proctor-Turner, it represents a new portrayal of main characters, especially ones that look like her. Playing Nala is not only a chance to represent plus-size Black women from Miami, but builds on the show’s theme that people of all body types, gender orientations, race and backgrounds can be seen in leading roles. Proctor - Turner’s mission to take ownership of her career, led her to a show that defied every critique she had ever faced, and showed young people back home how far they can go.
In the same way she was inspired in her community, Proctor-Turner aims to take the confidence instilled in her through her career and time on ‘Survival of the Thickest’ back to Miami and inspire others,
“I don’t think there’s enough of us to expose the possibility to the younger generation,” she said. “ Representation is the biggest thing right now, and we have to show that people that look like us do what we do. And that we can do it and that we’re happy doing it. “
This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 4:30 AM.