Crystle Paynther was born on February 4, 1975 in Akron, Ohio, to Beverly Paynther and Elbert Motley. When she was one, her mother moved to Los Angeles, California, where she began studying ballet at the age of 3 and continued dancing through her teen age years. Within grade school and high school, Paynther was a drill-team & dance team captain, and studied Kajukembo martial arts. She attended Hawthorne High School for 3 years and graduated from Inglewood High School (Class of 1993). Two years after high school, Crystle followed her mother back to Ohio and enrolled in college at University of Akron, where she studied computer information technology and theater. She enrolled in theater courses at the Karamu House in Cleveland, Ohio as well as The Cleveland Playhouse Theater. She began her acting career on the Jelliffe stage of The Karamu House in an ensemble production of Langston Hughes' Black Navity as a dancer and an actress. During that time she also landed a supporting role in an independent film which prepared her for the star role in the Karamu House's Black Girl,. Since then, she has landed many independent film & theater roles and looks to produce and act in many more. Crystle is a 2015 Best Female Actress Award recipient for her stellar performance in the short horror film Smile (2015), which was presented by the 48 Hour Film Competition in Cleveland, Ohio. Crystle is known for her recent supporting role in Hey, Mr. Postman! (2018), and her lead role in Sterling (2018). Show less «