Mon'Aerie · Singer · Actor · Chicago
Shug Avery at the Goodman. The young Josephine Baker in Black Pearl. Featured voice on Ten City's Grammy-ballot album. Recurring on Showtime's The Chi and FOX's Empire.
Aerie Williams, aka Mon'Aerie, is a Chicago singer and actor. She played Shug Avery in The Color Purple at the Goodman Theatre, originated the young Josephine Baker in Black Pearl, recurs on Showtime's The Chi, and is the featured voice on Ten City's The Next Generation.
Aerie Williams, who performs as Mon'Aerie, is a Chicago-based singer and actor with a voice built for the big room. She made her Goodman Theatre debut as Shug Avery in The Color Purple, a performance that earned a Jeff Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. On screen she recurs on Showtime's The Chi and FOX's Empire. On record she is the featured vocalist on Chicago house legends Ten City's 2025 album The Next Generation (Nervous Records), on the Grammy ballot for Best Dance/Electronic Album. She originated the young Josephine Baker in Black Ensemble Theater's Black Pearl and headlined a Josephine Baker 120th-birthday tribute at Untitled Supper Club in 2026.
Aerie Williams is a singer and actor from Chicago who performs under the name Mon'Aerie. Trained at DePaul University, she has spent the last decade moving between the city's major stages, national television and the dance floor, and she is one of the few artists who can carry all three in the same month.
On stage she made her Goodman Theatre debut as Shug Avery in The Color Purple, earning a Jeff Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, and appeared in the Goodman's Slippin' Through. Her Chicago credits include Memphis (Porchlight), Ain't Misbehavin' (Drury Lane), Dreamgirls (Paramount), Million Dollar Quartet (Center Theatre), Antigone, The Gospel at Colonus and Oedipus Rex (Court Theatre), and Style and Grace, the Lena Horne and Nancy Wilson revue that brought her an earlier Jeff nomination. Off-Broadway she appeared in Trevor: The Musical; on tour she played Squeak in The Color Purple; regionally, Nina Simone: Four Women (Indiana Repertory), Jersey Boys (ACT of Connecticut) and Ain't Misbehavin' (Arizona Theatre Company).
On screen she recurs as Shanté on Showtime's The Chi and has a recurring role on FOX's Empire. On record she is the featured vocalist on Ten City's The Next Generation (Nervous Records, 2025), on the Grammy ballot for Best Dance/Electronic Album, and has released soulful house with producer Anthony Nicholson. She originated the young Josephine Baker in Black Ensemble Theater's Black Pearl, a role she returned to for Josephine's 120th birthday at Untitled Supper Club in June 2026. She is a Black Theater Alliance Award and Black Excellence Award recipient and a four-time Jeff Award nominee.
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Headshot, black and white1988 × 1877 · Courtesy of the artist
Live, Untitled Supper Club, 20262142 × 2856 · Photo: E-Tre Productions
Art Deco poster1792 × 2400 · Art: E-Tre Productions
Josephine Baker tribute, 20261094 × 1363 · Courtesy Untitled Supper Club
Studio, pearls2733 × 1824 · Courtesy of the artist
Studio, headpiece2740 × 1830 · Courtesy of the artist
She is dynamic, dancing and singing up a storm with a smile and personality that will have you falling in love with her from the onset.Around the Town Chicago, on Black Pearl
Faith, fire, and Shug Avery: honoring Black women's legacy in her Goodman Theatre debut.Chicago Defender, headline
Mon'Aerie impresses on her contributions, Unique and Live My Life.Arcana, on Ten City's The Next Generation
Live at Untitled Supper Club, Chicago, Sept 20, 2026. Filmed by E-Tre Productions.
Regular rooms: Untitled Supper Club (River North), VU Rooftop, The Bassment with The Storytellers. Josephine Baker tribute cabaret available as a full evening.
Kreativ Artists · Management: Becky Randazzo