About

trey anthony

Trey Anthony is a visionary creator who uses the unique blend of comedy, theater, motivational talk, and her own life experiences to inspire and lift up others. 

She is a professional speaker, lifestyle coach, producer, author, and award-winning playwright, but she’s also “your girl” who tells it how it is. Through art, humour, and the power of a clear message, she’s here to give Black women the no-nonsense tools to take control of their lives and thrive!

As a sought-after speaker, Trey has delivered keynote speeches around the world including Harvard University, New York University, and numerous other colleges and organizations.

Drawing from her own life with a talent for sharing valuable life lessons combining comedy and vulnerability, Trey guarantees an invigorating, life-affirming experience as featured in her popular viral TEDx Talk, Coming Out Of Your Box that continues to inspire people everywhere.

Trey’s book, Black Girl In Love (With Herself), is released January 2021 by Hay House Publishing. It details Trey’s inner struggles to meet the demands of her family and the societal pressures of living up to the image of a “strong” black woman. Black Girl In Love (With Herself) will have you laughing and crying! Black girls around the world will be reimaging and reinventing their lives in order to push past these demands and truly come into their own on their own terms.

Trey’s sold-out hit play, ‘da Kink in My Hair, grossed millions and broke box office records across Canada, the United States, and England after it premiered in 2001. It was named one of the top ten plays in Canadian theatrical history and received 4 NAACP Theatre awards, including Best Playwright. It continues to be produced on stages throughout North America.

In 2007, Trey adapted ‘da Kink in My Hair for the small screen, making her the first African Canadian woman to create, write, and produce a primetime television show on a major Canadian network. Since then she has written for the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), Lionsgate, Will Packer Media, The Comedy Network, and CTV.

Trey’s daring and thought-provoking play, How Black Mothers Say I Love You, premiered in 2017. It was the first play to be featured on The Globe and Mail’s Bestsellers list. It has now been optioned as a feature film by Conquering Lion Productions with critically acclaimed director, Clement Virgo (Empire, The Book of Negroes, The Wire) attached to direct. The screenplay was also shortlisted for the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters Lab and is in development with CBC to be adapted into a television series.

Trey is a regular contributor to HuffPost and has been a featured writer at Toronto Star. She has given numerous interviews nationally and internationally on television and radio, appearing on City TV, Global Television, CTV, Rogers Television, and more. She is also a former television producer for the Women’s Television Network (now W Network).

Trey is a recipient of an Eve Ensler Vagina Warrior Award for her work with women. She has also received a Harry Jerome Award for her work in entertainment and a Queering Black History Award from Egale Canada. In 2016, Trey was inducted into the Brampton Arts Walk of Fame for her valuable contributions to the arts in Canada.

Trey is based in Atlanta where she lives with her newborn son, Kai. She makes an amazing curry chicken. And dreams of rapping on stage with Drake some day!

Praise

The best thing about ‘da Kink is that it gives these women and these stories a rare outing in public life, and rarer still on our stages. […] Ms. Anthony knows how to structure each monologue economically and how to give each woman a language and a character of her own.

Kamal Al-Solaylee, The Globe and Mail, Canada

Playwright Trey Anthony’s love letter written to those women in her family that had to leave their children behind has both a whimsical and a hard edge to it. [...] This play is good. Standing ovation good. Sweet, touching and funny, ample in its raw emotion, How Black Mothers Say I Love You can’t help but work its way into your heart.

Allyson Domanski, Ottawa Tonight

She's especially adept at switching from the serious to the comic in a few lines, and the audience reacts audibly to certain revelations as well as to the play's moments of intensity and humour. 

Jon Kaplan, NOW Magazine (How Black Mothers Say I Love You)

Anthony plumbs this generational trauma to create a story of poignant truth about racism, colonialism, and their effect on the family… Trey Anthony is a national treasure.

Dorianne Emmerton, Mooney on Theatre (How Black Mothers Say I Love You)

As a speaker, Trey is determined to get audiences motivated and inspired.

With her infectious humour and personal insights, Trey’s vulnerability makes it easy for audiences to connect to her message. Trey has spoken all around the world covering topics related to: work-life balance, diversity, unconscious bias training, stress, body image — creating the life that you want! A natural storyteller, Trey’s relatable approach makes her talks and keynotes suitable for events of all sizes. She educates and empowers audiences to be their best selves.

I write for Black women and I’m unapologetic about it and I think that’s why my audience comes out—because they know there’s a true love affair that happens between us. They love me and I love them because I’m like, “We’re in this together girl. You come out and I’m going to give you that experience.” We want that experience.

- Trey Anthony

Highlight Reel

Trey’s Projects

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‘Da Kink in My Hair (Play & TV Series)

Set in a Caribbean hair salon in Toronto, ‘da Kink in My Hair is a testament to the challenges and triumphs in the lives of contemporary black women. Mixing laughter and tears, revelation and inspiration, the unapologetically intense stories of 8 black women are woven together in this powerful piece.

Playwrights Canada Press 

Amazon

Watch the TV show at CBC Gem

How Black Mothers Say I Love You

Stemming from Trey’s real life conversations with her mother and grandmother, How Black Mothers Say I Love You looks at the ripple effects on a West Indian family when mothers are geographically separated from their children out of economic necessity.

Concord Theatricals

Playwrights Canada Press

Amazon

I AM NOT A DINNER MINT… The Crap Women Swallow to Stay in a Relationship

A dinner mint is a small refreshing afterthought one enjoys following a really good meal — and many women become dinner mints in their relationships. I AM NOT A DINNER MINT… is an honest and hilarious journey of five women and five hearts with one universal story.

Dat Gyal Funny! 

Trey is the Executive Producer and Host of Dat Gyal Funny!, a show that sells out every year and features the best Women-of-Colour comedians.

order now:

A guide to self-love, healing, and creating the life you truly deserve.

girl, get my new book!

(with herself)

Black Girl in Love

© 2020 Trey Anthony

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