SHE has appeared in a number of American television shows and commercials, done Broadway and was in a top-rated reality show.

This evening, actress Sundra Oakley makes her debut on the popular new TNT series, Legends.

Oakley portrays Nisco Rice, wife of Tony Rice, played by American actor Morris Chestnut (The Best Man, G I Jane).

“The Legends job came like all the others, an appointment through my manager. Legends is a great show and I felt very honoured to be a part of it,” Oakley told the Jamaica Observer at the weekend.

Among her television credits are Girlfriends, House of Lies, Parenthood, Sex in The City, Survivor: Cook Islands; CSI: Miami and Strong Medicine.

She spoke about the challenges of making the jump from journeyman to established actress.

“What I’ve come to learn after being in this business for almost two decades is that there is always some proverbial mountain to climb. It’s definitely not the easiest career path to take, and my path has sometimes felt like hiking through rugged, dry terrain with bare feet,” she said.

“However, I’ve always maintained a steadfast optimism that I feel has brought me to the successes that I’ve had.”

Oakley, who is now in her

late-30s, was born in Queens, New York to Jamaican parents and attended Georgetown University and New York University’s Tish School of the Arts.

She was a finalist in the Miss Jamaica World and Miss Jamaica Universe beauty pageants, placing in the top five of both.

She points to Survivor as her most challenging project to date.

“Hands down, Survivor one of THE hardest things I’ve ever done! There are absolutely no behind-the-scenes accommodations or perks. Besides being away from my son for that length of time with no communication, the hardest thing to deal with was the hunger,” Oakley said of her reality show experience.

Legends airs at 8:00 pm local time.