Alisha Wainwright: Who Is Justin Timberlake’s ‘Palmer’ Co-Star

Shadowhunters star Alisha Wainwright was seen getting cozy with married singer Justin Timberlake, her co-star in the upcoming movie Palmer. The 30-year-old Wainwright is a Hollywood veteran already, having appeared in a handful of films and television shows. She now stars in Netflix’s Raising Dion.

On Saturday, the U.K. tabloid The Sun published photos taken Friday night in New Orleans, appearing to show the two holding hands at one point. Sources told the tabloid Timberlake, 38, appeared to have been “drinking heavily and was unsteady on his feet.”

The photos were troubling for fans of the singer, who has been married to actress Jessica Biel, 37, for seven years. The couple are also parents to son Silas, 4.

Scroll on to meet Wainwright.

Photo credit: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

She Plays the Main Role in Netflix’s ‘Raising Dion’

Wainwright’s biggest role to date is Nicole Reese, the lead part in Raising Dion, a Netflix series based on Dennis Liu’s comic book and short film. In the series, she plays a widowed mother whose son begins showing superhero-like powers. She teams up with her late husband’s friend (Jason Ritter) to understand Dion’s powers and help keep him out of harm’s way. 

All nine episodes were released on Netflix on Oct. 9.

She Starred as Maia Roberts on ‘Shadowhunters’

From 2017 to 2019, she starred on Freeform’s Shadowhunters, which was based on Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments books. She played Maia Roberts, a recurring role in Season 2. In Season 3, she was promoted to the main cast. However, the series was cancelled after three seasons, with the two-part finale airing in May 2019.

‘Palmer’ Started Filming This Month in New Orleans

Timberlake joined the cast of Palmer in Septmber, Deadline reported at the time. Timberlake plays the title role, a former college football star who returns home after time in prison. He suddenly finds himself in charge of a young boy whose mother abandoned him. Wainwright’s role is Maggie Hayes.

The cast also includes Ryder Allen, Jesse C. Boyd, J.D. Evermore and Lance E. Nichols. Filming started this month in New Orleans and is expected to wrap in December. 

Wainright’s Parents are from Caribbean Countries

Wainwright was born in Florida. Her mother is from Jamaica, while her father was born in Haiti. She celebrated her 30th birthday on July 14.

Wainwright Got her First Acting Jobs in Commercials

In an interview with Backstage, Wainwright revealed that she got her Screen Actors Guild card after appearing in commercials. She also appeared on the YouTube channel Smosh in 2012.

“I feel like a commercial set teaches you how to be a good listener — how, often, it’s not really about your skills, it’s about how you look and how you look doing something with the product,” she explained. “This is kind of how I think about acting: The end goal is to convey a story. You would hope, as an actor, that your character development and your skill is what will help transcend the story, but sometimes it’s not about you. Sometimes it’s about something else and you’re supporting that. With commercials, it’s even more extreme. You’re in service to the story, which is to sell a product. You’re a vehicle to make sure that people see something or experience something.”

She’s Taken Boxing Lessons

Wainwright’s Instagram page includes plenty of photos from her travels. She also has videos from her workouts. In July, she shared an intense video showing her taking boxing lessons. “Boxing and twerk lessons brought to you by @hitmonjohn,” she wrote.

She Got the ‘Raising Dion’ Gig Almost Immediately After ‘Shadowhunters’ Was Canceled

After Shadowhunters was canceled, Wainwright did not have to wait long to get her next job. She told Collider the offer to star in Raising Dion came almost immediately after the Freeform show was canceled.

“It was immediate. It was crazy,” she said. “I got the news on a Monday that Shadowhunters was being cancelled, and I had my chemistry read for Raising Dion on a Wednesday. And then, I found out that the part was mine on a Friday. So, that Thursday was just crazy because in my mind, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, is this gonna be an amazing transfer of one great show to another, or is it gonna be doubly terrible that my show got cancelled, and then I didn’t book this part?’”

She added, “That Thursday was really crazy. I ate a lot of cake.”