Jaylene Clark Owens
Winner of the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia
Theatre Artist at the 2019 Theatre Philadelphia Barrymore Awards
Jaylene Clark Owens is a vibrant and imaginative soul hailing from Harlem, NY and currently living in the Greater Philadelphia Region. She is a highly acclaimed, award-winning poet, as well as an AUDELCO and Barrymore award-winning actress. Jaylene’s magnetic presence has graced the stage, film, and television. She is a company member at the Tony Award-Winning Wilma Theater where she hosts poetry Open Mics based on the productions. Currently, you can catch Jaylene in the role of Rosie, on the Emmy award-winning PBS Kids TV show, “Albie’s Elevator,” as well as in the recurring role of the Clerk on “Law & Order. Jaylene’s poetry is powerful, engaging, and her performance combines elements of her background as a professional actress. She is the visionary behind the viral sensation, “A Black Girl and Her Braids,” a captivating poetic celebration of beauty, identity, and empowerment. This poem has been adapted as a children’s book and will be published by Penguin Random House in 2026. Her spoken word poetry EP, “A Black Girl and Her Hair,” has received over 6.2 million streams across social media. Jaylene aims to captivate, motivate, and educate her audience with her spoken word poetry.