Her mother is Hungarian and German and her father is African-American and Native-American with some European-American ancestry.

http://youtu.be/x2oIKMa3EN4

Among her studies, Tawny Cypress has done stints at Boston University; Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey; and Mason Gross at Rutgers University. She is also a former student of Barbara Marchant and The William Esper Studio in New York City.

Source: IMDB