Donna Biscoe

Last updated

Donna Biscoe
Born (1955-09-30) September 30, 1955 (age 69)
Alma mater Clark Atlanta University
OccupationActress
Years active1987–present
Website donnabiscoe.com

Donna Biscoe (born September 30, 1955) is an American actress.

Contents

Early years

Biscoe was born in Fort Benning, Georgia, the daughter of Mildred Skillern, a retired Carver High School English teacher. Biscoe attended Carver, then graduated from Kendrick High School in Columbus in 1973 and later graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. [1] Biscoe later went to Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York for six months.

In the 1980s, a casting agent discovered Biscoe while she worked as a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines. [2]

Career

After returning to Atlanta, Biscoe began acting in plays, including playing Martin Luther King Jr.’s mother in A Boy King at the Atlanta Children’s Theater. [1] In late 1980s, Biscoe also began appearing in supporting roles in film and television, including four appearances in In the Heat of the Night , CBS miniseries Mama Flora's Family (1998), as well as films Love Crimes (1992) and Blue Sky (1994).

Biscoe worked mostly in theatre in 1980s and 1990s. Her stage credits including Doubt , To Kill A Mockingbird , Waiting To Be Invited, Holiday Heart , Homebody Kabul, Our Town and Fences . [3] In 2000s, she began appearing in films playing mostly roles of mothers or grandmothers. Her film credits include Motives 2 and Three Can Play That Game (2007) starring Vivica A. Fox, Mississippi Damned (2009), The Sacrament (2013), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014), and Girls Trip (2017). She played Taraji P. Henson's character's mother in the 2016 biographical drama film Hidden Figures , and Kevin Hart's mother in the 2018 comedy Night School . [4]

On television, Biscoe guest-starred in Drop Dead Diva , Nashville and Being Mary Jane . She had recurring roles in the two Oprah Winfrey Network series: drama Greenleaf as Clara Jackson, and prime time soap opera Ambitions as Robin Givens' character's mother. In 2017, she began starring in the Bounce TV prime time soap opera Saints & Sinners playing villainous Lady Leona Byrd. [5] The series ended in 2022 after six seasons. She later had recurring roles in All the Queen's Men , All Rise and Reasonable Doubt . In 2024 she starred alongside Garcelle Beauvais, Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine in the Lifetime television movie Terry McMillan Presents: Tempted By Love. [6] She also appeared in the comedy-drama film The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat and played Emma Derriecott in the war drama film, The Six Triple Eight . [7]

Other activities

In 2008, Biscoe ran a Pilates studio in downtown Atlanta. [2]

Filmography

Film

YearFilmRoleNotes
1987Kids Like TheseParentTelevision film
1987Dead AimDenise Long
1988 Case Closed AllisonTelevision film
1992 Grass Roots Lisa ConroyTelevision film
1992 In the Line of Duty: Street War Mikey's MomTelevision film
1992The Secret Passion of Robert ClaytonHeatherTelevision film
1992 Love Crimes Hannah
1993Silent VictimBeth ThompsonTelevision film
1993 I'll Fly Away: Then and Now Adult AdlaineTelevision film
1994 Blue Sky Officer's Wife
1994 Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All MaynelleTelevision film
1998 Mama Flora's Family JessicaTelevision miniseries
1999 The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn NurseTelevision film
1999The Price of a Broken HeartPhyllisTelevision film
2000 Freedom Song Mrs. SummerTelevision film
2000 Trois Ms. Paul
2002Pandora's BoxDonna Paul
2002Nowhere Road
2004 Trois 3: The Escort Patricia Meyer
2004 Dead Birds Black Woman
2004 Frankenfish Gloria Crankton
2005 The Gospel Reverend Jones
2005A Message from PopsMomShort film
2006 Broken Bridges Dr. McVee
2007 Daddy's Little Girls Social Worker
2007 Motives 2
2007 Three Can Play That Game Mrs. Thompson
2008 One Missed Call Coroner
2008 Conjurer Dr. McKenzie
2009 Mississippi Damned Gloria
2010 Blood Done Sign My Name Elizabeth Chavis
2012The Governor's DaughtersMs. Anderson
2013 The Sacrament Wendy
2014Comeback DadJeannette
2014 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 D8 Old Woman
2014The Productive LieNiecy
2015Red All OverPatricia Wright
2016 The Fundamentals of Caring Caregiving Instructor
2016Girl from ComptonMeme
2016 Confirmation Eleanor Holmes NortonTelevision film
2016 Hidden Figures Mrs. Joylette Coleman
2017 Girls Trip Delores
2017 A Question of Faith Patricia Newman
2018 Along Came the Devil Dr. Liles
2018 The Beach House FloTelevision film
2018 Night School Gladys Walker
2020Black Girl MagicMartha
2022 The In Between Doris
2022 The Visitor Margaret Delacroix
2024Freedom HairG'Mom
2024Terry McMillan Presents: Tempted by LoveAunt Judy
2024 The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat Minnie
2024A Very Merry Beauty SalonGeorgia
2024 The Six Triple Eight Emma Derriecott

Television

YearFilmRoleNotes
1990-1993 In the Heat of the Night Laura Ulmer / Mrs. Johnson / Cora Tyler4 episodes
2008 Army Wives Allison LyallEpisode: "Payback"
2010 One Tree Hill JudgeEpisode: "Weeks Go by Like Days"
2012 Drop Dead Diva Dr. Colette WillisEpisode: "Winning Ugly"
2013 Necessary Roughness Felicia PurnellEpisode: "The Fall Guy"
2013 Nashville ElizabethEpisode: "A Picture from Life's Other Side"
2014 Star-Crossed Gloria's MotherEpisodes: "Dreamers Often Lie" and "Our Toil Shall Strive to Mend"
2014 Rectify Mrs. WhitmanEpisode: "Donald the Normal"
2016-2020 Greenleaf Clara JacksonRecurring role, 10 episodes
2017 Being Mary Jane Episode: "Getting Served"
2017 Shots Fired MabelEpisode: "Hour Four: Truth"
2017–2022 Saints & Sinners Lady Leona ByrdRecurring (season 2), Series regular (season 3-6), 33 episodes
2019 Jack Ryan Yvonne BishopEpisode: "Tertia Optio"
2019 Ambitions Irene CarlisleRecurring role, 9 episodes
2020 Outer Banks BeckEpisode: "Dead Calm"
2021-2022 All the Queen's Men Patrice EllisRecurring role, 7 episodes
2022 Ozark LoriEpisodes: "City on the Make" and "Sanctified"
2022 Sweet Magnolias Winell MartinEpisodes: "The Rules of the Game" and "Fragile Things"
2022 Woke Annie MaloneEpisode: "Black Trauma V"
2022 All Rise Mildred BrewerEpisodes: "It Ain't Over Till It's Over" and "Trouble Man"
2024 Reasonable Doubt Mavis Tucker-JonesEpisodes: "Can I Live?" and "This Can't Be Life"

References

  1. 1 2 James-Johnson, Alva (January 31, 2017). "'Hidden Figures' actress with Columbus roots wonders what other black stories are missing". Ledger-Enquirer. Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Move takes her from flight attendant to stage diva". The Atlanta Constitution. Georgia, Atlanta. July 6, 2008. p. K 1. Retrieved March 25, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Film Biography". donna-biscoe.
  4. Penrice, Ronda Racha (September 26, 2018). "AAFCA REVIEW: 'Night School' Starring Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish". EBONY.
  5. "Saints & Sinners Season Four Finale Airs August 25th". August 25, 2019.
  6. Cordero, Rosy (June 20, 2024). "Lifetime's 'Terry McMillan Presents: Tempted By Love' Rounds Out Cast & Sets Premiere Date".
  7. Dunn, Jack (August 28, 2024). "'Six Triple Eight' Trailer: Kerry Washington Leads All-Black, All-Female Army Corps in Netflix Drama".