Jenifer Lewis

For similarly named people, see Jennifer Lewis (disambiguation).

Jenifer Lewis
Lewis in 2008
Born	Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (1957-01-25) January 25, 1957 (age 67) Kinloch, Missouri, U.S.
Education	Webster University
Occupations	Actress singer
Years active	1979–present
Spouse	Arnold Byrd (m. 2012)
Children	1

Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957 ^[1] ) is an American actress and singer. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films Beaches (1988) and Sister Act (1992). Lewis is known for playing roles of mothers in the films What's Love Got to Do With It (1993), Poetic Justice (1993), The Preacher's Wife (1996), The Brothers (2001), The Cookout (2004), Think Like a Man (2012) and in the sequel Think Like a Man Too (2014), Baggage Claim (2013) and The Wedding Ringer (2015), as well as in The Temptations miniseries (1998).

Lewis is known unofficially as "The Mother of Black Hollywood" (also the name of her memoir) given her frequent matriarchal film and television roles. ^{[2] [3]} She also provided the voice for Mama Odie in Disney's animated feature The Princess and the Frog (2009), and Flo in Pixar's Cars series. Additional film roles include Dead Presidents (1995), Cast Away (2000) and Hereafter (2010).

On television, Lewis starred as Lana Hawkins in the Lifetime medical drama Strong Medicine from 2000 to 2006. She also had recurring roles on sitcoms A Different World , The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Girlfriends . In 2014, Lewis began starring as Ruby Johnson in the ABC comedy series Black-ish , for which she received two Critics' Choice Television Award nominations.

Early life

Lewis was born in Kinloch, Missouri, ^[1] a suburb of St. Louis, to a nurse's aide mother, Dorothy, and a factory worker father. Lewis is the youngest of seven children. She sang in her church choir at the age of five. She attended Kinloch High School and then college at Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri. She received an honorary degree from Webster in 2015. ^[4] After college, Lewis moved to New York.

Career

1970s–1980s

Soon after she arrived in New York City, Lewis debuted on Broadway in a small role in Eubie (1979), the musical based on the work of Eubie Blake. ^[5] She next landed the role of Effie White in the workshop of the Michael Bennett–directed musical Dreamgirls , but when the show moved to Broadway, Bennett chose Jennifer Holliday for the role.^{[ citation needed ]}

Lewis became a Harlette, a back-up singer for Bette Midler, which led to Lewis' first TV appearances on Midler's HBO specials. She was cast as a backup singer in the Otto Titsling production number in Midler's film Beaches (1988). At the same time, Lewis was developing her nightclub act, The Diva Is Dismissed, an autobiographical comedy and music show in New York City cabarets. She performed the show off-Broadway at the Public Theater. ^[6]

1990s

After Lewis relocated to Los Angeles, she began appearing in television sitcoms, including Murphy Brown , Dream On , In Living Color , Roc , Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and Friends . From 1992 to 1993, she played Dean Davenport in the sixth and final season of the NBC sitcom A Different World . She also had a recurring role as Will Smith's Aunt Helen in the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1991 to 1996. As a series regular, Lewis starred alongside Patricia Wettig in her short-lived legal drama Courthouse in 1995, playing Judge Rosetta Reide, the first main African American lesbian character on television. ^[7]

In 1992, Lewis was cast as one of the back-up singers to Whoopi Goldberg in the comedy film Sister Act . The following year, Lewis played the mother of Tupac Shakur's character in the film Poetic Justice , and as Zelma Bullock, Tina Turner's mother, in the biopic What's Love Got to Do With It starring Angela Bassett. Lewis has stated that she never auditioned to play Turner, but would have been thrilled to play the iconic singer. Lewis is only one year older than Bassett. For her performance, she received her first NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture nomination. In 1994, she followed with other comedic supporting roles, including Mrs. Coleman, the Unemployment Office lady, in Renaissance Man and as Whoopi Goldberg's sister in Corrina, Corrina . In 1995, she was cast in maternal roles to Kadeem Hardison in Panther and to Larenz Tate in Dead Presidents .^{[ citation needed ]}

In 1996, Lewis appeared as Theresa Randle's telephone sex line boss in the film Girl 6 . Later that year, she played Whitney Houston's character's mother in the film The Preacher's Wife , ^[8] for which she received her second NAACP Image Award nomination. She also had roles in The Mighty (1998), The Temptations miniseries (1998), Mystery Men (1999) and Blast from the Past (1999), and the leading role in the film Jackie's Back (1999). ^[5]

2000s

In 2000, Lewis had a supporting role in the adventure drama film Cast Away , directed by Robert Zemeckis. ^[9] In the same year, she began starring as Lana Hawkins on the Lifetime television medical drama Strong Medicine , for which she also performed the theme song. ^[10] The show ended in February 2006. She also voiced Flo in Pixar's Cars franchise. ^[11] She also had a recurring role as Veretta Childs (Toni's mother) in the UPN sitcom Girlfriends . In film, she appeared as Morris Chestnut's mother in the romantic comedy The Brothers (2001). In 2006, she had a featured role as the wedding planner in Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion , and also appeared in Perry's comedy-drama Meet the Browns (2008) as Vera Brown. She also appeared in Juwanna Mann (2002), The Cookout (2004), Nora's Hair Salon (2004), Dirty Laundry (2006) and Not Easily Broken (2009).

On April 22, 2008, Lewis replaced Darlene Love as Motormouth Maybelle in Broadway's Hairspray . ^[12] On television, she guest-starred on That's So Raven and Boston Legal . Lewis also had a number of voice acting roles, including Walt Disney Animation Studios's animated musical The Princess and the Frog (2009), for which she was nominated for the Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production. ^[13]

2010s

In June 2010, Lewis told the Jazz Joy and Roy syndicated radio show: "I just did a production of Hello Dolly at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle and it had to be one of the greatest productions that I have ever done, because I got to just do a character, Dolly Levi, and it was just great." ^[14] In 2012, Lewis began working with Shangela on the online reality show parody Jenifer Lewis and Shangela, where she acts as herself alongside Shangela, a "drag queen living in her basement." She later appeared in Shangela's music video for "Werqin Girl (Professional)".^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2010, Clint Eastwood cast Lewis in his fantasy film Hereafter . ^[15] The following year, she starred alongside Rosario Dawson and Tracee Ellis Ross in Five , for which she received her third NAACP Image Award nomination. She also co-starred in the short-lived NBC series The Playboy Club . ^[16] She played Terrence J's overbearing mother in box-office hit Think Like a Man (2012) and its sequel Think Like a Man Too (2014). In 2013, she played Paula Patton's mother in the romantic comedy Baggage Claim . In 2015, she starred in the romantic comedy The Wedding Ringer . ^[3]

In 2014, Lewis was cast as Ruby Johnson, Anthony Anderson's character's mother in the ABC comedy series Black-ish . ^[17] She was elevated to series regular status as of the second season. In 2016, she received Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series nomination for her performance. ^[18] She has also been featured in various TV commercials.

In 2017, she published a book about her life and career, entitled The Mother of Black Hollywood, in which she shared her life experiences with Whoopi Goldberg, Loretta Devine, Chris Rock, Bette Midler, Rosie O'Donnell, Liza Minnelli, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. ^[19]

2020s

In 2022, Lewis was honoured with a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ^[20]

In 2024, Lewis competed in season eleven of The Masked Singer as "Miss Cleocatra" who later utilized an Egyptian throne prop. She was eliminated on "Girl Group Night". ^[21]

Personal life

Lewis has revealed that she's been engaged four times but never married. She has an adopted daughter named Charmaine Lewis. ^{[22] [23]}

In 2015, Lewis was defrauded by a romantic con man which was detailed in a 2022 episode of "American Greed." ^[24]

In 1990, Lewis was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. ^[25] She originally hid her diagnosis, as she felt ashamed, but eventually came to embrace it after 17 years of therapy and 10 years of medication. In a 2014 interview, she said: "You have to look in the mirror... and say—before you can go or grow into anything—you have to say you love yourself." ^[26]

In 2022, Lewis sustained life-threatening injuries after falling 10-feet from her hotel balcony in Serengeti. She was then airlifted to Nairobi where she underwent a 9 hour surgery followed by a 6 day ICU stay. ^[27]

Political views

In April 2024, Lewis made remarks about the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, comparing him to Adolf Hitler. ^[28]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Red Heat	Judge Jenifer Lewis	Uncredited
	Beaches	Diva
1992	Sister Act	Michelle
	Frozen Assets	Jomisha
1993	What's Love Got to Do With It	Zelma Bullock	Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
	Poetic Justice	Anne
	The Meteor Man	Mrs. Williams
	Undercover Blues	Cab Driver
	Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit	Michelle
1994	Renaissance Man	Mrs. Coleman
	Corrina, Corrina	Jevina Washington
1995	Panther	Rita
	Dead Presidents	Mrs. Curtis
1996	Girl 6	Boss #1 — Lil
	The Preacher's Wife	Marguerite Coleman	Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
1998	The Mighty	Mrs. Addison
1999	Blast From the Past	Dr. Aron
	Mystery Men	Lucille
	Get Bruce	Herself
2000	Dancing in September	Judge Warner
	Cast Away	Becca Twig
2001	The Brothers	Louise Smith
2002	Juwanna Mann	Aunt Ruby
	Antwone Fisher	Aunt Mary Williams	Uncredited
2004	Nora's Hair Salon	Nora Harper
	The Cookout	Emma "Lady Em" Andersen
	Shark Tale	Motown Turtle (voice)
2006	Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion	Milay Jenay Lori
	Cars	Flo (voice)
	Dirty Laundry	Aunt Lettuce
	The Heart Specialist	Nurse Jackson
2007	Who's Your Caddy?	Mrs. Hawkins
	Redrum	Therapist
2008	Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns	Vera Brown
2009	Not Easily Broken	Mary "Mama" Clark
	The Princess and the Frog	Mama Odie (voice)	Nominated — Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production
2010	Hereafter	Candace
2011	Cars 2	Flo (voice)
2012	Think Like a Man	Loretta Hanover
	Zambezia	Gogo (voice)
2013	Playin' for Love	Alize Gates
	Baggage Claim	Catherine Moore	Nominated — Acapulco Black Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble Cast
2014	Secrets of the Magic City	Aunt Valerie
	Think Like a Man Too	Loretta Hanover
2015	The Wedding Ringer	Doris Jenkins
2017	Cars 3	Flo (voice)	Nominated — Black Reel Award for Outstanding Voice Performance
2019	The Addams Family	Great Auntie Sloom (voice)
2020	Christmas on the Square	Margeline
2024	This Is Me... Now: A Love Story	Gemini
	Spellbound	Minister Nazara Prone (voice)	Voice role, in production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990–91	Murphy Brown	Sales Person	Episodes: "Jingle Hell, Jingle Hell, Jingle All the Way" and "Uh-Oh: Pt. 2"
1990–93	A Different World	Susan Clayton / Dean Dorothy Dandridge Davenport	Recurring role
1991	Stat	Felicia Brown	Episode: "Psychosomatic"
	Sunday in Paris	Taylor Chase	Pilot
1991–96	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Aunt Helen Smith	Recurring role
1992	Dream On	Carolyn	Episode: "To the Moon, Alex!"
1993	In Living Color	Various characters	Recurring role
	Roc	Charlaine	Episode: "Joey the Bartender"
	Moon Over Miami	Aurora Tyler	Episode: "If You Only Knew"
1993–95	Hangin' With Mr. Cooper	Georgia Rodman	Episodes: "Father Fairest", "Double Cheeseburger, Hold the Diploma" and "Here Comes the Groom"
1994	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Mystique	Episode: "All Shook Up"
	Friends	Paula	Episode: "The One With the Thumb"
	Deconstructing Sarah	Betty	Television film
	Shake, Rattle and Rock!	Amanda
	Last Days of Russell	Aunt Yvette
1995	New York Undercover	Medina	Episode: "Private Enemy No. 1"
	Living Single	Delia Deveaux	Episode: "Talk Showdown"
	Courthouse	Judge Rosetta Reide	Main role
1996	Cosby	Bernice	Episode: "Basketball Story"
1997	Touched by an Angel	Queenie	Episode: "Amazing Grace: Part 1"
	Promised Land		Episode: "Amazing Grace: Part 2"
1997–99	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Black Widow Spider (voice) / Hazel (voice)	Episodes: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "The Bremen Town Musicians"
1998	The Parent 'Hood	Linda	Episode: "Hurricane Linda"
	The Temptations	Mama Rose Franklin	Television film
	An Unexpected Life	Camille
1998–00	For Your Love	Sylvia Ellis / Mel and Reggie's Mother	Episodes: "The Brother's Day" and "Father Fixture"
1999	The Jamie Foxx Show	Josie	Episode: "Always Follow Your Heart"
	Moesha	Mrs. Biggs	Episode: "A Den Is a Terrible Thing to Waste"
	Grown Ups	Melissa's mother	Episode: "Family Circus"
	Time of Your Life	Joss's mother	Episode: "The Time They Had Not"
	Jackie's Back	Jackie Washington	Television film Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Actress
1999–01	The PJs	Bebe Ho (voice)	Main role
2000	Bette	Inez	Episode: "The Grammy Pre-Show"
	Little Richard	Muh Penniman	Television film
	Partners	Detective Lancy
2000–06	Strong Medicine	Receptionist Lana Hawkins	Main role Nominated – NAMIC Vision Awards for Best Performance – Drama (2006)
2001	The Ponder Heart	Narcissa Wingfield	Television film
2002	Family Affair	Mrs. Summers	Episode: "Pilot: Part 1"
2002–06	Girlfriends	Veretta Childs	Recurring role
2003	The Proud Family	Aunt Spice (voice)	Episode: "Penny Potter"
2004	That's So Raven	Vivian Baxter	Episode: "To See or Not to See"
2007	Day Break	Elizabeth Hopper	Episode: "What If She's Lying?"
	Shark	Ellie Broussard	Episode: "Backfire"
2007–08	Boston Legal	Judge Isabel Fisher	Episodes: "No Brains Left Behind" & "Mad About You"
2009–10	Meet the Browns	Vera Brown	Recurring role
2011	The Cleveland Show	Various voices	Episodes: "A Short Story and a Tall Tale" and "The Way the Cookie Crumbles"
	American Dad!	Lessie	Episode: "School Lies"
	State of Georgia	Patrice	Episode: "Best Friends For-Never"
	The Playboy Club	Pearl	Main role
	Five	Maggie	Television film Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Actress in a Television Miniseries or Movie Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated – NAMIC Vision Awards for Best Performance – Drama
2014	The Boondocks	Boss Willona / Geraldine (voice)	Episodes: "Breaking Grandad" and "Early Bird Special"
2014–22	Black-ish	Ruby Johnson	Recurring (Season 1), Main role (Season 2-8) Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2017–2019) Nominated – Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series (2016) Nominated – Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2017) Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2017–2018)
2015	The Exes	Caren Dupree	Episode: "Requiem for a Dream"
	Instant Mom	Delois	Episodes: "Not Full House" and "Mysteries of Maggie"
	It Had to Be You	Reggie	Television film
2017–21	Big Hero 6: The Series	Professor Granville (voice)	Main role
2018	Young Justice	Olympia Savage (voice)	Episode: "Evolution"
	RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars	Guest Judge	Episode: "All Star Super Queen Variety Show"
2019	Elena of Avalor	Tornado (voice)	Episodes: "Luna’s Big Leap" & "King Skylar"
2019–22	Tuca & Bertie	Aunt Tallulah Toucan (voice)	Episodes: "Plumage", "Yeast Week", "Nighttime Friend" & "The Pain Garden"
2020	Amphibia	Mama Hasselback (voice)	Episode: "The Ballad of Hopediah Planter"
	Twenties	Herself	Episode: "Redemption Song"
2021	Star Trek: Lower Decks	Bartender (voice)	Episode: "An Embarrassment of Dooplers"
2021–22	Rugrats	Ms. Marjorie (voice)	Episode: "Escape from Preschool/Mr. Chuckie" & "Lucky Smudge/Our Friend Twinkle"
2021–24	The Ghost and Molly McGee	Patty (voice)	Recurring role
2021–present	Mickey Mouse Funhouse	Wheezelene (voice)
2022	Grown-ish	Ruby Johnson	Episodes: "It Was Good Until It Wasn’t" & "Empire State of Mind"
	Central Park	Celeste (voice)	Episode: "Celeste We Forget"
	I Love That for You	Patricia Cochran	Main role
	Cars on the Road	Flo (voice)	Episode: "Dino Park"
2023	The Upshaws	Dr. Pearl Edmunds	Episodes: "Thera Please", "Need Change" & "Forbidden Fruit"
	History of the World, Part II	Grandma / Crimean War nurse	Episode: "IV"
	Princess Power	Hilda (voice)	Episode: "The Princesses Get a Roommate"
2024	Night Court	Erika Ellis	Episode: "A Crime of Fashion"
	Monsters at Work	Virginia Tuskmon (voice)	Recurring role
	So Help Me Todd	Jacqueline Burton [29]	Episode: "End on a High Note"
	The Masked Singer	Miss Cleocatra	Episodes: "Group B Premiere: The Wizard Of Oz Night" and "Girl Group Night"
	Not Dead Yet	Donna	Episodes: "Not the End Yet" and "Not a Ghost Yet"
TBA	Rhona Who Lives by the River	Missy (voice)	Upcoming series

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Cars	Flo (voice)
2007	Cars Mater-National Championship
2009	Cars Race-O-Rama
2013	Disney Infinity

Music videos

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	"On & On"	Erykah's Mother
2018	Forbidden	Nosy neighbor	"What's Going On", "Ring-a-Ling", "Apple Pie"

Theme parks

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Body Wars	Ride Cue Instructional Video Announcer	Disney attraction
2012	Radiator Springs Racers	Flo	Disney attraction
2024	Tiana's Bayou Adventure	Mama Odie	Disney attraction

References

1. McCann, Bob (2009). Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television. McFarland. p. 205. ISBN   9780786458042.
2. Pendleton, Tonya (February 3, 2014). "Jenifer Lewis: 'They Call Me the Black Mother of Hollywood'". Black America Web. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
3. Stephens, Stephanie (January 14, 2015). "Mega Diva Jenifer Lewis on 'The Wedding Ringer' and Seeing Yourself". Parade. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
4. "Honorary Degrees at Webster University" . Retrieved October 15, 2018.
5. "Jenifer Lewis". Hollywood.com. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
6. Holden, Stephen (1994-10-31). "THEATER REVIEW; A Diva in Progress Travels the Road to Fame - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
7. "Lesbians on series TV" . Retrieved January 25, 2016.
8. Lane, Clay (January 7, 2009). "Jenifer Lewis: That's my mama!". BET.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
9. "Cast Away". Rotten Tomatoes. December 22, 2000. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
10. Winston, Oretha (2015-10-20). "Jenifer Lewis Brings Honesty To The Small Screen And Reminds Us To Live In Gratitude". Praise 104.7. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
11. "Jenifer Lewis". IMDb. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
12. The Broadway League. "Jenifer Lewis – IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information" . Retrieved January 25, 2016.
13. "Annie Awards :: 37th Annie Awards" . Retrieved January 25, 2016.
14. "Jenifer Lewis" . Retrieved January 25, 2016.
15. "Jenifer Lewis on "Hereafter"". BET.com. 19 December 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
16. Williams, Brennan (22 September 2011). "Jenifer Lewis Talks: 'Playboy Club,' New Lifetime Film And Broadway Comeback". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
17. Slezak, Michael (September 30, 2014). "ABC's black-ish Casts Jenifer Lewis as Anthony Anderson's Mother". TVLine. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
18. Gray, Tim (14 December 2015). "2016 Critics' Choice Award Nominations: Full List of Nominees – Variety". Variety. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
19. "Can We Talk About...? Divatastic Cult Classic "Jackie's Back ..." Logo TV. July 10, 2019.
20. Pennacchio, George Pennacchio (July 16, 2022). "Jenifer Lewis brings energy, joy, dancing to star unveiling on Hollywood Walk of Fame". KABC-TV.
21. Schneider, Michael (April 24, 2024). "'The Masked Singer' Reveals Identity of Miss Cleocatra: Here Is the Celebrity Under the Costume". Variety. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
22. Pennington, Gail (2 October 2011). "Actress Jenifer Lewis says Kinloch helped shape her". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
23. Stephens, Stephanie (April 1, 2015), "Jenifer Lewis: How a Diva Does Bipolar", bphope.
24. "'It Was Beyond Shocking': 'Black-ish' Star Describes How She Helped Bring Down Fraudster Boyfriend After Discovering His Lies". Oxygen Official Site. 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
25. "Jenifer Lewis Opens Up About Battle With Bipolar Disorder". BET.com. 28 January 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
26. Lane, Derrick (January 25, 2014). "Jenifer Lewis: "You Have To Love Yourself"". BlackDoctor. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
27. "Jenifer Lewis, 67, reveals 10-foot fall from Serengeti balcony: 'Nothing would move'". Los Angeles Times. 2024-03-12. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
28. "Jenifer Lewis Blasts 'F*cking Idiots' Who Don't See Trump Is 'Hitler'". Yahoo News UK. 2024-04-05. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
29. Swift, Andy (March 12, 2024). "So Help Me Todd Casts Jenifer Lewis as Lyle's (Allegedly) Murderous Mother — Exclusive First Look". TVLine. Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.

External links

• Jenifer Lewis at IMDb
• Jenifer Lewis at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jenifer Lewis at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Jenifer Lewis at AllMovie