Candice Patton made her screen debut in 2004 playing Robin in The Young and the Restless. Over the next few years, she worked in dozens of TV series and shorts including Sorority Forever (2008), One Tree Hill (2010), and Man Up! (2011).

Patton’s acting bio got another significant boost in 2014 after landing the role of Iris West in The Flash. Over the superhero series’ seven seasons, she appeared in over 150 episodes.

Patton also appeared as Iris West in other superhero series, including Supergirl (2017), Arrow (2017), Batwoman (2017), and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (2017). The Flash is her biggest work to date, but before landing the role, she was very close to giving up her dreams of acting.

The actress revealed the string of rejections she faced had made her consider quitting acting. However, her parents supported during those hard times and helped her stick to her path.

After enough rejection, you get disheartened. I was certainly at a point where I was seriously thinking about doing something else. However, my parents were the voice of reason. I also didn’t have a plan B, so maybe that’s also why I didn’t quit.

Patton further added that her parents had always been supportive of her and were vehemently against the idea of her putting her acting career to an end. 

In an interview with Pop Sugar, Patton mentioned her family as one thing that influenced her career. She said she was lucky because she had parents who pushed her to do what she loved and follow her dreams.

My dad has always said that [if] you find something you love to do, you’ll never work a day in your life. They’ve always kind of pushed me to follow my dreams rather than to follow money or to follow something that was easy. I think that’s a part of why I’m successful. I did what I love and I keep doing it.

Candice Patton's Parents and Siblings

Patton was born to parents Paul Patton and Arianna Jackson on June 24, 1988. Her father is of European-American ethnicity while her mother is an African-American. She also has a sibling named Adrian whom they welcomed before their marriage.

Paul and Arianna separated when Patton was five years old and she moved to Plano, Texas, along with her mother and brother. Though her parents were no longer together, Patton grew up being in touch with both of her parents and often went to stay with her father.

Patton had interest in acting since her school days and attended the Southern Methodist University in Dallas where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.F.A in theater. Like Patton, her brother has also followed a similar path and is a theater artist.