Just months after helping unveil the 2026 Golden Globe nominees alongside Marlon Wayans, Skye P. Marshall is opening up about the long road that led her to that stage. The actress, who now stars opposite Kathy Bates on CBS’s Matlock, said she decided during last year’s awards season that she was done waiting for Hollywood to decide when her story was worth hearing.
Marshall said she made that decision while walking the Golden Globes red carpet, where she chose to speak candidly about her path to success rather than save it for a later opportunity.
“I’m not going to wait for ‘them’ to know my name,” she told ESSENCE. “I’m not going to wait for them to invite me to the party or the table.”
For Marshall, who did not land her breakout role until her 30s, the moment carried extra weight because she rarely saw women with backgrounds like hers reflected in the entertainment industry.
Before becoming one of the breakout stars of Matlock, Marshall spent years moving between careers and side jobs. Growing up in Chicago, she was immersed in dance and theater from an early age.
But after financial challenges forced her to leave Hampton University, she joined the United States Air Force. When her military service ended, she earned her degree, moved to New York City, and built a successful corporate life working in pharmaceutical marketing.
That version of success eventually stopped feeling right. Marshall recalled sitting at her desk one day and imagining “eight-year-old Skye” staring back at her in frustration. Soon after, she left her job, moved to Los Angeles in 2009, and pieced together a living through background acting, catering jobs, and driving for Uber.
Rather than seeing those jobs as setbacks, she said they became part of her education. “I didn’t look at them as survival jobs,” Marshall said. “I looked at them as the path.”
That journey has now led Marshall to Olympia Lawrence, the ambitious junior partner at the center of Matlock. Her performance has earned a Supporting Actress win at the Celebration of Black Cinema & Television, along with nominations from the Critics’ Choice, Gotham TV, Astra, and Black Reel awards.
Marshall said she built the character with Black women in mind, noting that most of the people who stop her in public to talk about the show are Black women. “They are the receipts of my work,” she said.
Marshall’s rise has unfolded alongside one of the busiest periods of her career. In December, she and Wayans announced all 28 categories for the 83rd Annual Golden Globes, including the new Best Podcast category, ahead of the January ceremony hosted by Nikki Glaser.
The appearance placed Marshall in front of one of television’s biggest audiences, but by then, she said she already knew exactly where she belonged.
“I know exactly why I’m here,” Marshall said. “I belong.”
