Dominique Thorne ’19 didn’t spend fall break of her junior year lazing on her parents’ couch. Instead, she was on a film set embodying the role of Sheila Hunt in James Baldwin’s “If Beale Street Could Talk,” a breakout role for the young actress.

“I didn’t miss a single day of class,” said Thorne, who’s gone on to play other key roles including Ironheart in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Thorne will visit campus Sept. 9-10 for film screenings, discussions and meetings with students. She’s the 2026 Heermans-McCalmon Distinguished Guest Artist, a program of the Department of Performing and Media Arts (PMA) in the College of Arts & Sciences.

During her time at Cornell, a typical week for Thorne included working at her campus job, studying, being on the executive board of Wari House and creating four to five audition tapes for acting roles. Coming from the Professional Performing Arts School in New York City, Thorne was used to the audition cycle. But she chose Cornell instead of a conservatory for college so she could pursue other fields she was curious about, including policy and human development.

Read the full story on The College of Arts & Sciences website.