Olu Evans: One Source Describes This Black Man As Having “Blonde Hair.”
MarriedBiography’s profile of Olu Evans describes him as having “blonde hair.” Olu Evans is a mixed-race Black man. His photographs, available through years of public appearances alongside his wife Misty Copeland, show closely cropped Black hair or a shaved head. No photograph — not one — shows anything resembling blonde hair.
The same MarriedBiography article calls him “a popular corporate attorney” while simultaneously listing his profession in the biography as “Media Face.”
These errors sit in a profile that has been indexed and circulated. They represent how little actual research went into some of the most-read biographical content about a man whose story — divorced from the fabrications — is genuinely interesting. He is a corporate attorney, an entrepreneur, the cousin of a well-known actor, and the husband of the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre’s 75-year history. He has a documented career, a documented business, a named son, and a specific origin story for his relationship. Most sources get at least one fact wrong.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full birth name | Olubayo Evans |
| Born | 1979, United States (exact date not public) |
| Birthplace | New York City (one source); unconfirmed by others |
| Parents | Jon Twichell (African-American) and Linda Twichell (Jewish) |
| Surname discrepancy | Parents’ surname is Twichell; he uses Evans — no source explains this |
| Ethnicity | Mixed — African-American (father) and Jewish (mother) |
| Education | Emory University School of Law (JD) |
| New York Bar admission | 2007 |
| Former employer | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (trial lawyers) |
| Current role | Corporate attorney; reportedly at New York State Office of Court Administration (one source) |
| Business | Muse Dancewear — founded 2010, sold ballet accessories from Upper West Side apartment |
| Famous cousin | Taye Diggs (actor) — introduced Olu to Misty Copeland |
| Wife | Misty Copeland (born September 10, 1982) — ballet dancer, American Ballet Theatre |
| How they met | At a New York City nightclub in Chelsea; introduced by Taye Diggs |
| Meeting year | 2004 (one source), 2005 (one source), 2006 (most sources) |
| Engaged | August 2015 |
| Married | July 31, 2016, Montage Hotel, Laguna Beach, California |
| Son | Jackson Evans, born April 2022 |
| Current residence | Upper West Side, New York City (three-bedroom condo purchased 2018) |
| Net worth | $500,000 (one source); $3 million (one source); $4–5 million (two sources) |
The Surname Nobody Explains
This is the most quietly unaddressed detail in the entire Olu Evans record.
Multiple sources confirm his parents are Jon Twichell and Linda Twichell. Jon is African-American; Linda is Jewish. This is cited in BuzzSouthAfrica, EntertainmentNow, and BiographyPedia, among others.
His surname is Evans.
If his parents are both Twichell, where does Evans come from? Possible explanations include: an adoption that was not the family’s biological parents, a name change at some point in his life, a maternal surname from a previous marriage or a different family branch, or simply an error in how “Jon and Linda Twichell” have been identified as his parents. None of these possibilities is addressed by any source.
Nobody has written the sentence: “Olu Evans’ parents are Jon and Linda Twichell — his surname Evans comes from [reason].” That sentence does not exist in any article. The two facts — Twichell parents, Evans surname — sit unconnected in the record, mentioned in the same sources without acknowledgment of the discrepancy.
It may have a simple, unremarkable explanation. It may be a research error, and Jon or Linda may actually carry the Evans surname. But as documented, it is the most structurally unexplained biographical detail about him.
When He Met Misty Copeland — Three Years, One Timeline
This is the sharpest factual conflict in the secondary sources, and it is particularly revealing because one source manages to contradict itself within the same article.
EntertainmentNow states: “The couple has been together since 2005.” It then also states: “The couple was introduced by Evans’ cousin Taye Diggs in 2006 in a New York City nightclub.”
If they met in 2006, they cannot have been together since 2005. The same article provides both dates without addressing the conflict.
ComingSoon.net says the meeting was in 2004 — “Misty Copeland and Olu Evans’s first meeting took place at a club in Chelsea, New York in 2004.”
Most other sources — FamousBirthdays, BiographyPedia, BuzzSouthAfrica — say 2006.
The most specifically sourced version is: Taye Diggs (Olu’s cousin) introduced them at a nightclub in New York City in 2006. This is the version that appears in the most reputable accounts, and it has the additional detail of a named introducer, which makes it more traceable to a primary source (presumably Misty Copeland’s own statements in interviews).
Misty Copeland told Elle magazine in May 2014 how Evans approached her on the dance floor — a reference cited by ComingSoon. If that interview exists, it is potentially the primary source for the meeting details. Whether that interview says 2004, 2005, or 2006 would resolve the conflict. No source quotes that specific date from that specific interview.
The engagement in August 2015 and the marriage on July 31, 2016, are consistent across all sources and can be treated as confirmed.
The Taye Diggs Connection

This detail — that Olu Evans is the cousin of actor Taye Diggs — is confirmed by multiple solid independent sources: EntertainmentNow, FamousBirthdays, and BiographyPedia all cite it.
Taye Diggs is a documented American actor known for his roles in How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), Rent (2005), the television series Private Practice, and extensive Broadway work. He appeared on Broadway in Hamilton.
The connection matters beyond trivia. Taye Diggs is the person who introduced Olu Evans and Misty Copeland. He is, in the documented origin story, the reason this marriage exists. His presence in their story is confirmed, named, and specific — unlike many of the details in this record.
Misty Copeland has referred to Taye Diggs as her “cousin-in-law” in at least one publicly cited photograph. This informal reference is consistent with the cousin relationship between Taye and Olu.
The Wedding — One of the More Solidly Documented Events
July 31, 2016, at the Montage Hotel in Laguna Beach, California. Approximately 100 guests. Misty Copeland wore an Inbal Dror gown with Christian Louboutin shoes.
These details are consistent across multiple sources including US Weekly’s contemporaneous coverage, EntertainmentNow, and MarriedBiography. The specific hotel name, location, and designer details give this the look of coverage drawn from actual wedding reports rather than generated after the fact.
The couple had dated for approximately 10 years before marrying — from 2006 (the best-sourced meeting year) to 2016 is exactly ten years. Some sources say “over 10 years” and some say “over a decade” — both are consistent with a 2005 or 2006 start date and a 2016 wedding.
Olu proposed in August 2015, one year before the wedding. Misty told Essence magazine about the engagement, saying: “I can’t believe my life right now.”
Jackson — Born April 2022, Announced July 2022
In July 2022, Misty Copeland announced in an interview with People magazine that she and Olu Evans had become parents. Their son, Jackson Evans, was born in April 2022.
The couple had kept the birth and the pregnancy private. Misty did not announce the pregnancy publicly while she was pregnant. The announcement came after Jackson was already three months old.
This is consistent with how the couple handles private information generally — minimal disclosure, on their own timeline.
Older sources — some from before 2022 — state “the couple is yet to welcome their children.” Those sources are simply outdated. Jackson exists. He was born in April 2022.
FamousBirthdays specifically notes the birth year (2022) and the name (Jackson). This is consistent with Misty Copeland’s People interview announcement.
Quinn Emanuel, Muse Dancewear, and the Career Trajectory
Olu Evans attended Emory University School of Law and was admitted to the New York Bar in 2007. He worked at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan — a prominent American litigation law firm known for high-stakes corporate and commercial disputes. EntertainmentNow, citing a Wall Street Journal feature on Misty Copeland, confirms his Quinn Emanuel connection but notes he “is no longer listed as an attorney on their website.”
After leaving Quinn Emanuel, he moved into corporate law. GudStory specifically identifies his employer as the New York State Office of Court Administration — a state government body overseeing the New York court system. No other source identifies this specific employer.
Alongside his legal career, he founded Muse Dancewear in 2010. The company sold ballet accessories — slippers, foot gloves, tights — and operated out of their Upper West Side apartment. Multiple sources confirm both the founding year (2010) and the product categories. Whether the company still operates, has scaled beyond the apartment, or has been wound down is not confirmed in any current source.
“Blonde Hair” and Other Physical Description Errors
MarriedBiography publishes the following physical description: “The handsome attorney Olu Evans stands at the height of 5 feet 7 inches and weighs around 67 Kg. Likewise, Olu has a brown complexion along with a pair of dark brown eyes and blonde hair. But, at the moment, he has a bald head and an ash-grey mustache.”
“Brown complexion” and “blonde hair” are not a combination found in photographs of Olu Evans. His available photographs show a Black man with either a closely cropped natural hair or a shaved head — not blonde hair. The “ash-grey mustache” is plausible for a man in his mid-forties. The “5 feet 7 inches” height is plausible but not independently verified.
The “blonde hair” description appears to be a template error — an auto-generated physical description that did not draw from actual photographs of the subject. It is one of the more visually obvious fabrications in this article series.
The Net Worth Spread — $500,000 to $5 Million
Four sources give four different net worth estimates. The range is tenfold.
BiographyPedia: “over $500,000.”
MarriedBiography: “about 3 million USD as of 2024.”
St. Augustines University and BuzzSouthAfrica: “$4 million–$5 million.”
These are not rounding differences. They represent fundamentally different assessments of the same person’s financial situation. No source cites a financial filing, court document, property record, or any verifiable asset.
A practicing attorney at a New York firm combined with an entrepreneurial dancewear business and a decade of law practice could plausibly produce a net worth in the low-to-mid millions. The tenfold spread from $500K to $5M reflects nothing more than different sites making different unverifiable guesses.
What Misty Copeland Has Said About Him
This is the best primary-source window into who Olu Evans is as a person, because Misty Copeland has spoken about him in documented interviews.
To Elle magazine (2014), she said Evans was “the first to make her feel like she truly had a future in ballet.” This is a significant statement from a principal ballerina — she credits her husband with the encouragement that helped her believe in her own career trajectory.
To Essence magazine (August 2015), on the engagement: “I can’t believe my life right now.”
These are brief but specific. They tell you something about the dynamic: he was supportive of her career before she was the most famous name in American ballet. He is described as someone who believed in her potential. The Elle statement, in particular, suggests that their relationship began in a period when her career was not yet at its 2015 peak — which is consistent with a 2006 meeting when she was a corps de ballet dancer, years before her principal promotion in 2015.
What Is Actually Known vs. What Is Not

Confirmed from primary-adjacent sources:
- Born 1979, United States; birth name Olubayo Evans
- Parents: Jon and Linda Twichell (surname discrepancy with Evans — unexplained)
- Mixed African-American and Jewish heritage
- Emory University School of Law; New York Bar admitted 2007
- Former attorney, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
- Founded Muse Dancewear (2010) — ballet accessories
- Cousin of actor Taye Diggs; Taye introduced him to Misty Copeland
- Met Misty Copeland at NYC nightclub — 2006 (most sourced); 2004 or 2005 in some sources
- Engaged August 2015; married July 31, 2016, Montage Hotel, Laguna Beach
- Son Jackson, born April 2022; announced July 2022
- Purchased three-bedroom Upper West Side condo in 2018
- Misty credited him as “the first to make her feel like she truly had a future in ballet”
Contradicted:
- Meeting year: 2004 (ComingSoon), 2005 (EntertainmentNow first mention), 2006 (most sources)
- Net worth: $500K–$5M depending on source
- Current employer: “corporate attorney” (most) vs. “New York State Office of Court Administration” (one source)
Wrong in at least one source:
- “Blonde hair” (MarriedBiography) — incorrect; Olu Evans is a Black man with no visible blonde hair in any photograph
- Parents’ surname “Twichell” combined with subject’s surname “Evans” — discrepancy never addressed in any source
You may also like Kathleen Cain
FAQ — 12 Real Questions
1. Who is Olu Evans?
A corporate attorney, entrepreneur, and the husband of ballet dancer Misty Copeland — the first African American woman promoted to principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre’s 75-year history. He was born in 1979, attended Emory University School of Law, was admitted to the New York Bar in 2007, and co-founded the dancewear company Muse Dancewear in 2010.
2. Is he connected to Mindy Kaling?
No. Olu Evans is married to Misty Copeland, a ballet dancer, not to Mindy Kaling. Mindy Kaling is a comedian, actress, and writer with no documented connection to Olu Evans.
3. What is his birth name?
Olubayo Evans. He goes by Olu.
4. What is the Twichell surname issue?
Multiple sources identify his parents as Jon Twichell (African-American) and Linda Twichell (Jewish). His surname is Evans, not Twichell. No source explains why his surname differs from his parents’ documented surname. It remains unaddressed across all available profiles.
5. Is he related to Taye Diggs?
Yes. Taye Diggs — the actor known for How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Private Practice — is his cousin. Taye Diggs introduced Olu Evans and Misty Copeland at a New York City nightclub, which is how they met.
6. When did he meet Misty Copeland?
Disputed across sources: 2004 (ComingSoon), 2005 (“together since 2005” per EntertainmentNow), and 2006 (most sources, including FamousBirthdays and BiographyPedia). The most specifically sourced version is 2006, at a Chelsea nightclub, introduced by Taye Diggs.
7. When did they marry?
July 31, 2016, at the Montage Hotel in Laguna Beach, California. They had dated for approximately ten years before marrying. Olu proposed in August 2015.
8. Do they have children?
Yes — a son named Jackson, born in April 2022. Misty announced his birth in a July 2022 People magazine interview. The couple kept both the pregnancy and the birth private until three months after Jackson was born.
9. What is Muse Dancewear?
A dancewear company Olu founded in 2010, selling ballet accessories including slippers, foot gloves, and tights. It operated out of the couple’s apartment on the Upper West Side. Whether it is currently active or has expanded is not confirmed in recent sources.
10. What does Misty Copeland say about him?
She told Elle magazine in 2014 that Evans was “the first to make her feel like she truly had a future in ballet.” She told Essence magazine in 2015, on their engagement: “I can’t believe my life right now.”
11. Is the “blonde hair” description accurate?
No. MarriedBiography describes him as having “blonde hair.” Olu Evans is a mixed-race Black man whose photographs show no blonde hair. This is a template error in a single source and should be disregarded.
12. What is his net worth?
Unknown with certainty. Estimates range from $500,000 (BiographyPedia) to $4–5 million (two other sources), with one source placing it at $3 million. None cite a verifiable financial record. The tenfold spread reflects guessing, not research.