More big named stars are joining the "Empire" cast as the groundbreaking hip hop musical drama prepares for its return to FOX for its second season.
Deadline exclusively revealed that Oscar-winning star Marisa Tomei will be joining the stellar roster of actors. She will play a recurring role as Mimi Whiteman, a tough venture capitalist and Forbes-listed billionaire who will get herself involved in Lucious Lyon's (Terrence Howard) Empire Entertainment company as well as its controversial family drama.
Mimi is also reportedly interested in hip hop, high fashion, as well as beautiful women.
Tomei nabbed the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film "My Cousin Vinny" back in 1992. She also received critical acclaim for several other films like 2001's "In the Bedroom" and "The Wrestler" back in 2008.
Meanwhile, E! News first reported that R&B singer Kelly Rowland also landed a role in "Empire" season 2. The entertainment website learned about the casting news from a source during the 2015 Essence Festival in New Orleans. According to the source, Rowland will appear in Lucious' flashbacks as his mother.
Rumors about the former Destiny's Child member's guest appearance in "Empire" started when the singer hung out with the writer's pool of the show last month. However, the confirmation about her involvement in the popular hip hop musical drama was only reported during the Fourth of July weekend.
Hey, @KELLYROWLAND! Thank you for spending some time with the #Empire writers! pic.twitter.com/9bRLzFLS0V
— Empire Writers (@EmpireWriters) June 3, 2015 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">Other popular guest stars are also confirmed to be appearing in the sophomore season of Lee Daniels and Danny Strong's high-rated series, including comedian Chris Rock, R&B and soul superstar Alicia Keys, and Grammy Awarded funk and soul icon Lenny Kravitz.
The show will also add "Magic Mike XXL" star Adam Rodriguez in a recurring role as Laz Delgado, the new love interest of Taraji P. Henson's character Cookie Lyon, as well as actress Tyra Ferrell in a still undisclosed role.
The premiere episode of "Empire" season 2 titled "The Devils Are Here" will air on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
