Nicco Annan is openly gay and is not married. Born May 7, 1989, the 34-year-old American model, dancer, director, choreographer, and actor is known for his excellent portrayal of Uncle Clifford, the non-binary owner of the Mississippi-based strip club, The Pynk in the Starz TV series P-Valley.
Annan’s interpretation of his role has received lots of critical acclaim but it also raised questions about his sexual orientation, questions the actor has provided answers to and effectively put to bed. Read on to find out more.
Nicco Annan Is Openly Gay
Following the positive reviews from the Starz TV series P-Valley, Nicco Annan, who had the responsibility of portraying one of the show’s main characters in Uncle Clifford, sat down to answer some questions about what makes the show such a successful one. During the Q&A session with several publications including, Vanity Fair, the question of his sexual orientation came up once again.
The actor unequivocally responded in the affirmative when he was directly asked if he was gay, while also stating that he had been gay all his life. While noting how much of a challenge it is to add being gay to the challenge of being a black man in America, Nicco Annan went on to salute the unalloyed love and support he has received from his family ever since they found out he was gay years ago.
Born May 7, 1989, in Detroit, Michigan United States, Nicco Annan was born to an as-yet-unidentified Ghanaian father and an African American mother named Sandra Nicco Annan. He grew up alongside an older sister named Kellee Stewart née Annan. The actor’s sister has also gone on to make a name for herself in the movie industry as a filmmaker.
His Role In P-Valley Is His Biggest Acting Role Yet
Auditioning for and earning the opportunity to play the role of the non-binary Uncle Raymond in the Starz TV series was a rare opportunity Nicco Annan did everything in his power not to let slip by him. The first two seasons of the show left very few people in doubt as to what the actor alongside the creators of the show was hoping to achieve.
Just to confirm those assumptions, Nicco, who has never been ashamed of his gayness or freely expressing himself, revealed that together with the creators of the show, he was hoping to show people that love is simple and that it could be expressed in a variety of ways. He also revealed to Essence that he was keen to take on a project that resonated not just with him personally but also with the members of the LGBTQ community.
His mindset regarding the importance of the work he did on P-Valley did not change when he spoke to Vanity Fair, telling them that his motivation for embarking on the project was so he could show the LGBTQ community how to embrace all the things people have said were going to hold them back in life and in relationships.
He went on to tell Xtra Magazine that his role as Uncle Clifford presented an opportunity for people to alter their perspectives on black people in the LGBTQ community in a more intimate manner.
Nicco Annan Is Not Married
As of 2022, Nicco Annan is not married, and the star of Valley has never been married either. At 34 years old, one could argue that the actor is well and truly ripe for marriage.
Given his sexual orientation though, the possibility of getting a wife has evaporated, but there is every chance that he will find himself a husband someday. Nicco Annan’s relationship history has also revealed that he has never been married and the actor’s reluctance to divulge intimate details of his personal life has also made it quite challenging to say who he has dated in the past or who he is in a relationship with at the moment.
He Is Rumoured To Be Dating Co-actor, J. Alphonse Nicholson
Annan has invariably exposed himself to rumors about whom he may be in a relationship with at present. One of the more prevalent rumors revolves around the fact that he is dating his P-Valley co-star, J. Alphonse Nicholson.
These rumors began making the rounds in 2020 following the pair’s on-screen romance as Uncle Clifford and rapper Lil Murda respectively. In the series, Annan and Nicholson’s characters are portrayed as being in love with each other but Lil Murda’s unwillingness to introduce Uncle Clifford to his friends and family ultimately leads to the breakup of their relationship.
In the series, we learn that both still harbor and nurture deep-seated feelings of love toward each other but the roadblock posed by Lil Murda’s disinclination to come out of the closet has made their situation as lovers untenable. Season 3 will reveal more of what goes on between the on-screen former lovers but the lives of the actors who portray those characters are as different as night and day.
Alphonse Nicholson, despite his portrayal as the bisexual Lil Murda, is a straight man who has been married to his longtime girlfriend, Nafeesha Nicholson for quite a while now. Their marriage has so far produced a son.
On the other hand, Nicco Annan appears to be primarily focused on his career as an actor, a career that officially kicked off in 1998.
Nicco Annan Has Always Been Interested In Performing Arts
Even though Nicco Annan began portraying arguably his biggest TV role to date in 2020 when he starred in P-Valley, the Detroit-born actor’s performance abilities and skill has never been in doubt. He developed an active interest in the performing arts from a very young age and backed up that interest by studying improv theater from a very young age and then joining a dance troupe when he was 17 years old.
After receiving his high school diploma from Cass Technical High School, Nicco Annan enrolled at the State University of New York-Purchase where he bagged a degree in Fine Arts. Fresh out of college, the young actor was employed as the choreographer in residence at the Yale School of Drama.
From there he made his way to acting in several theater productions including the 2009 play Pussy Valley which was written by Katori Hall and centered around the character Uncle Clifford. He developed a perfect and well-detailed backstory for the non-binary owner of the strip club and played the role for years before moving to Los Angeles in 2014 to begin a career in TV acting.
He has appeared in several shows including Shameless, Claws, Snowfall, and This Is Us, among others while also working as the choreographer for the hit TV series, All American. When Starz wanted to produce the TV adaptation of Pussy Valley, this time calling it P-Valley, Annan saw it as his opportunity to shine and promptly auditioned for the role of Uncle Clifford. He got it and we all know what has happened and what that has done for his career since 2020.
He Is Not A Cross-dresser
Despite making it clear to the world and anyone who has bothered to reach out to him for confirmation that he is gay, Nicco Annan is not a cross-dresser. Several off-screen pictures of the actor have depicted him in normal male clothes to drive this point home.
However, his character in the P-Valley series is a cross-dresser whose non-binary status ensures that he sometimes dons the attires of both the male and the female gender.
