Lynn Whitfield
- Actress
- Producer
With roots leading back to Louisiana southern aristocracy, lovely
leading lady Lynn Whitfield was born in 1953, the eldest of four
children and a third-generation BFA graduate from Howard University.
Her dentist father was instrumental in developing Lynn's initial
interest in acting as he was a prime figure in forming community
theater in her native Baton Rouge. She is of African American and
Native American descent, specifically Cherokee.
First garnering attention on the stage by studying and performing with
the Black Repertory Company in Washington, D.C, she married one of the
company's co-founders and pioneers of black theatre,
playwright/director/actor
Vantile Whitfield in 1974. She
eventually moved to New York and appeared off-Broadway in such shows as
"The Great Macdaddy" and "Showdown" before earning acclaim in the 1977
Los Angeles production of the landmark black play "For Colored Girls
Who Have Considered Suicide...When the Rainbow Is Enuf" co-starring
Alfre Woodard. Lynn eventually became a
force to be reckoned with intelligent and principled roles on quality
film and TV as well
Lynn's Hollywood career unfolded under a talent development program at
Columbia Pictures in 1979. Appearing on such established TV shows as
"Hill Street Blues" and in a 1982 PBS version of her "For Colored
Girls..." stage hit, she made her film debut with
Doctor Detroit (1983) and doled
out a number of support roles in other popular films as well such as
Silverado (1985),
The Slugger's Wife (1985),
Jaws: The Revenge (1987), and
Dead Aim (1987). It was TV, however,
that garnered her the most attention, working her way into top lead and
co-star roles. The topical social dramas
The George McKenna Story (1986)
co-starring Denzel Washington,
Johnnie Mae Gibson: FBI (1986)
opposite Howard E. Rollins Jr. and
Oprah Winfrey's historical miniseries
The Women of Brewster Place (1989)
were her early highlights. In addition, she found some steadier work on
series TV playing classy professionals, including two for ABC (a doctor
in Heartbeat (1988) and a news
anchorwoman in
Equal Justice (1990).)
The peak of her acclaimed career arguably came in the form of highly
popular but deeply troubled Follies Bergere headliner-turned civil
rights activist Josephine Baker. In the HBO biopic
The Josephine Baker Story (1991),
Lynn played the legendary entertainer with Emmy-winning gusto, a role
that stretched her to the limits as she played the role from age 18 to
68. Earning an NAACP Image Award in 1992 for her role in the miniseries
Stompin' at the Savoy (1992),
she later appeared in Pauly Shore's comedy
In the Army Now (1994) and went
back to series TV alongside Bill Cosby in the
short-lived
The Cosby Mysteries (1994).
Lynn had an upsurge in the late 90s with roles in the films
A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996)
with Martin Lawrence and
Gone Fishin' (1997) with "Silverado"
co-star Danny Glover. She also earned
excellent reviews for her supporting work in
Eve's Bayou (1997), a role that drew
on her Louisiana heritage. More quality TV came her way when she
starred as Sophie in
Sophie & the Moonhanger (1996),
a mini-movie that focused on the relationship of the wife of a Klansman
and her longtime black housekeeper. She kept up the momentum with an
unsympathetic role in the Oprah Winfrey
miniseries
The Wedding (1998), where
she again had to cover a long life span, this time from 19 to 47.
Into the millennium, Lynn has continued to find prolific work both on film and TV. Big screen credits include a co-starring role as a party advisor in the Chris Rock/Bernie Mac political comedy Head of State (2003), written and directed by Rock; star/writer/director Tyler Perry's romantic comedy Madea's Family Reunion (2006); the urban film Redemption (2004) starring Jamie Foxx that chronicles the turbulent life of (now) imprisoned L.A. Crips gang founder Stan "Tookie" Williams; a featured part in an updated version of Clare Boothe Luce's The Women (2008) headed by Meg Ryan and Annette Bening; a co-starring role opposite singer/songwriter Ciara in the family musical drama Mama I Want to Sing (2011); another co-star role opposite another musical artist, rapper/songwriter 50 Cent, in the sports drama All Things Fall Apart (2011); a starring role as a woman who loses her police officer son and takes in a young parolee Crawford Wilson in the social drama King's Faith (2013); and the Sean Astin action comedy Espionage Tonight (2017).
On the TV front, Lynne has made guest appearances in such regular programs as "Boston Public," "Strong Medicine," a recurring role in "Without a Trace," "Shark," "Flash Forward," How to Get Away with Murder," "Hit the Floor," "Mistresses" and, more recently, as Lady Belle Greenleaf, the matriarch of a rich, unscrupulous Southern Baptist, mega-church family in the dramatic series Greenleaf (2016).
Divorced from Vantile Whitfield in the late 70s, Lynn later married British director Brian Gibson in 1990, by whom she has a daughter, Grace. They parted ways in 1992.
leading lady Lynn Whitfield was born in 1953, the eldest of four
children and a third-generation BFA graduate from Howard University.
Her dentist father was instrumental in developing Lynn's initial
interest in acting as he was a prime figure in forming community
theater in her native Baton Rouge. She is of African American and
Native American descent, specifically Cherokee.
First garnering attention on the stage by studying and performing with
the Black Repertory Company in Washington, D.C, she married one of the
company's co-founders and pioneers of black theatre,
playwright/director/actor
Vantile Whitfield in 1974. She
eventually moved to New York and appeared off-Broadway in such shows as
"The Great Macdaddy" and "Showdown" before earning acclaim in the 1977
Los Angeles production of the landmark black play "For Colored Girls
Who Have Considered Suicide...When the Rainbow Is Enuf" co-starring
Alfre Woodard. Lynn eventually became a
force to be reckoned with intelligent and principled roles on quality
film and TV as well
Lynn's Hollywood career unfolded under a talent development program at
Columbia Pictures in 1979. Appearing on such established TV shows as
"Hill Street Blues" and in a 1982 PBS version of her "For Colored
Girls..." stage hit, she made her film debut with
Doctor Detroit (1983) and doled
out a number of support roles in other popular films as well such as
Silverado (1985),
The Slugger's Wife (1985),
Jaws: The Revenge (1987), and
Dead Aim (1987). It was TV, however,
that garnered her the most attention, working her way into top lead and
co-star roles. The topical social dramas
The George McKenna Story (1986)
co-starring Denzel Washington,
Johnnie Mae Gibson: FBI (1986)
opposite Howard E. Rollins Jr. and
Oprah Winfrey's historical miniseries
The Women of Brewster Place (1989)
were her early highlights. In addition, she found some steadier work on
series TV playing classy professionals, including two for ABC (a doctor
in Heartbeat (1988) and a news
anchorwoman in
Equal Justice (1990).)
The peak of her acclaimed career arguably came in the form of highly
popular but deeply troubled Follies Bergere headliner-turned civil
rights activist Josephine Baker. In the HBO biopic
The Josephine Baker Story (1991),
Lynn played the legendary entertainer with Emmy-winning gusto, a role
that stretched her to the limits as she played the role from age 18 to
68. Earning an NAACP Image Award in 1992 for her role in the miniseries
Stompin' at the Savoy (1992),
she later appeared in Pauly Shore's comedy
In the Army Now (1994) and went
back to series TV alongside Bill Cosby in the
short-lived
The Cosby Mysteries (1994).
Lynn had an upsurge in the late 90s with roles in the films
A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996)
with Martin Lawrence and
Gone Fishin' (1997) with "Silverado"
co-star Danny Glover. She also earned
excellent reviews for her supporting work in
Eve's Bayou (1997), a role that drew
on her Louisiana heritage. More quality TV came her way when she
starred as Sophie in
Sophie & the Moonhanger (1996),
a mini-movie that focused on the relationship of the wife of a Klansman
and her longtime black housekeeper. She kept up the momentum with an
unsympathetic role in the Oprah Winfrey
miniseries
The Wedding (1998), where
she again had to cover a long life span, this time from 19 to 47.
Into the millennium, Lynn has continued to find prolific work both on film and TV. Big screen credits include a co-starring role as a party advisor in the Chris Rock/Bernie Mac political comedy Head of State (2003), written and directed by Rock; star/writer/director Tyler Perry's romantic comedy Madea's Family Reunion (2006); the urban film Redemption (2004) starring Jamie Foxx that chronicles the turbulent life of (now) imprisoned L.A. Crips gang founder Stan "Tookie" Williams; a featured part in an updated version of Clare Boothe Luce's The Women (2008) headed by Meg Ryan and Annette Bening; a co-starring role opposite singer/songwriter Ciara in the family musical drama Mama I Want to Sing (2011); another co-star role opposite another musical artist, rapper/songwriter 50 Cent, in the sports drama All Things Fall Apart (2011); a starring role as a woman who loses her police officer son and takes in a young parolee Crawford Wilson in the social drama King's Faith (2013); and the Sean Astin action comedy Espionage Tonight (2017).
On the TV front, Lynne has made guest appearances in such regular programs as "Boston Public," "Strong Medicine," a recurring role in "Without a Trace," "Shark," "Flash Forward," How to Get Away with Murder," "Hit the Floor," "Mistresses" and, more recently, as Lady Belle Greenleaf, the matriarch of a rich, unscrupulous Southern Baptist, mega-church family in the dramatic series Greenleaf (2016).
Divorced from Vantile Whitfield in the late 70s, Lynn later married British director Brian Gibson in 1990, by whom she has a daughter, Grace. They parted ways in 1992.