Born and bred in Memphis, TN, Nora James is a Southern girl at heart, a city girl in spirit, and a couch potato in practice. She is an artist who wears many hats—actor, singer, playwright, songwriter, dramaturg, educator—but when all the layers come off, you’ll find an easy-going goofball who leads with kindness, empathy, and dedication.

Nora James is finishing up her senior year at Northwestern University, where she studies Theatre in the Music Theatre Certificate and the Playwriting Module. While in school, she has gained a deep passion for new and experimental work as a member of Vertigo Productions, NU’s theatre board devoted to producing student-written plays. She also loves Neo-Futurist writing and performance in her student group TBD. 

As the daughter of an English teacher and an actress, Nora James has always been fascinated by the power of words. Whether she’s behind the typewriter or in the spotlight, she loves nothing more than creating characters from scratch and telling stories with depth and humor. Stories she values are queer, feminist, empathetic, and challenging. 

In her nonexistent free time, you can find her stalking the coffee shops of Chicago, listening to her latest Spotify playlist, and making edits on her new play mycelium (staged reading at Rivendell Theatre May 2026).