Jenifer Lewis

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

Jenifer Lewis
File:Jenifer Lewis.jpg Lewis in November 2008
Born	Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (1957-01-25) January 25, 1957 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Kinloch High School Webster University
Occupation	Actress, Comedian, Singer
Years active	1979–present
Spouse(s)	Arnold Byrd (m. 2012)
Children	1

Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American film, theater, and television actress, comedian, and singer. Jenifer Lewis was born and raised in Kinloch, Missouri. She holds a bachelor's degree in theater arts from Webster University in St. Louis. Lewis has over 60 films and 200 TV appearances to her credit. Lewis's uniquely recognizable voice is adored by fans, worldwide, in such animated roles as "Flo" in Cars (2006) and in the sequel 'Cars 2' (2011) and as "Mama Odie" in the Walt Disney Pictures' animated film The Princess and the Frog (2009).

Lewis earned the title, "Black Mother of Hollywood", thanks to such memorable performances as the mother of Tina Turner, alongside Angela Bassett, in What's Love Got to Do With It (1993); alongside Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston, in The Preacher's Wife (1996); in Think Like a Man (2012) and in the sequel Think Like a Man Too (2014).

Lewis is highly respected in the theatre world with five Broadway shows to her credit, including "Hairspray", as "Motormouth Maybelle". In 2006, Lewis co-starred opposite Meryl Streep in the Shakespeare in the Park presentation of "Mother Courage and Her Children", in New York City. Lewis has performed her acclaimed one-woman show, "The Diva is Dismissed", worldwide. Lewis portrayed the distraught mother, "Candace", opposite Matt Damon, in Clint Eastwood's Hereafter (2010).

From 2014, Lewis has a recurring cast role, as Ruby, in the American television sitcom series Black-ish alongside Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross on ABC.

Early Life

Lewis was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to a nurse's aide mother and a factory worker father. She attended Kinloch High School and then college at Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri. 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. 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.

Lewis accepted a position as a Harlette, a back-up singer for Bette Midler which led to Lewis' first TV appearances on Midler's HBO specials. She also landed her first screen role as a result, appearing as one of the buxom chorines in the 'Otto Titsling' production number in the Midler vehicle 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.

Career

In 1987, Lewis was hired as the Pre-Show announcer on the Star Tours ride at Disneyland. In 1988, Lewis relocated to Los Angeles. In 1992, she was cast as one of the back-up singers to Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act. Goldberg sponsored several performances of The Diva Is Dismissed as a possible HBO series. In 1992 to 1993, she played Dean Davenport in the sixth and final season of A Different World. She also had a recurring role as Will Smith's Aunt Helen on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, as well as stints on a few episodes of In Living Color, reprising several of her characters from her nightclub act. Also in 1993, she played the mother of Tupac Shakur's character in Poetic Justice.

In 1993, she played the role of Tina Turner’s mother in the biopic What's Love Got to Do With It. In 1994, she followed with other 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 before she accepted the role of a lesbian judge on the short-lived CBS series Courthouse. Lewis returned to the big screen as Theresa Randle's telephone sex line boss in Spike Lee's Girl 6. She then played Whitney Houston's character's mother in Penny Marshall's The Preacher's Wife.

In 1999, she starred in the made-for-TV film Jackie's Back, a mockumentary about the struggling comeback of a diva in turmoil. She recently appeared in The Cookout, Nora's Hair Salon, Shark Tale and Cars. She was in a few episodes of Friends as Monica Geller's co-worker. Beginning in 2000, she played Lana Hawkins on the Lifetime television medical drama Strong Medicine, until the show ended in February 2006. She also had a recurring role as Veretta Childs (Toni's mother) in the sitcom Girlfriends. In 2006, she had a featured role as the wedding planner in Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, and also appeared in the film Meet the Browns.

In one episode of That's So Raven she played the titular character's maternal grandmother, who has psychic powers. She recently starred as a judge in Boston Legal and appeared in the 2008 film Meet the Browns. On April 22, 2008, Lewis replaced Darlene Love as Motormouth Maybelle in Broadway's Hairspray, a role that was originally written for her.

In June 2010, Lewis' distinctive voice was in fine form as she 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."

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)."

Singing

Lewis has performed for many years on Broadway and has lent her vocals to many of the television and film projects that she has been a part of including performing the theme song and costarring in her most recognizable role as Lana Hawkins on the cable TV series, Strong Medicine.

Lewis' most recent singing role came with her role in the movie musical The Princess and the Frog.

Filmography

Film

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1988	Beaches	Diva
	Red Heat	Judge Jenifer Lewis
1992	Sister Act	Michelle
	Frozen Assets	Jomisha
1993	Poetic Justice	Anne
	Meteor Man	Mrs. Williams
	What's Love Got to Do With It	Zelma Bullock
	Undercover Blues	Cab Driver
	Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit	Michelle
1994	Renaissance Man	Mrs. Coleman
	Corrina, Corrina	Jevina Washington
	Deconstructing Sarah	Betty	TV movie
	Shake, Rattle and Rock!	Amanda
1995	Panther	Rita
	Dead Presidents	Mrs. Curtis
1996	The Preacher's Wife	Marguerite Coleman
	Girl 6	Boss #1 — Lil
1998	The Temptations	Mama Rose Franklin	Miniseries
	The Mighty	Mrs. Addison
	An Unexpected Life	Camille	TV movie
1999	Mystery Men	Lucille
	Get Bruce	Herself
	Blast From the Past	Dr. Aron
	Jackie's Back	Jackie Washington
2000	Cast Away	Becca Twig
	Dancing in September	Judge Warner
	Partners	Detective Lancy	TV movie
	Little Richard	Muh Penniman	Miniseries
2001	The Brothers	Louise Smith
	The Ponder Heart	Narcissa Wingfield	TV movie
2002	Antwone Fisher	Aunt	Uncredited
	Juwanna Mann	Aunt Ruby
2004	The Cookout	Emma "Lady Em" Andersen
	Shark Tale	Motown Turtle	Voice
	Nora's Hair Salon	Nora Harper
2006	Dirty Laundry	Aunt Lettuce
	Cars	Flo	Voice
	Madea's Family Reunion	Milay Jenay Lori
	The Heart Specialist	Nurse Jackson
2007	Who's Your Caddy?	Mrs. Hawkins
	Redrum	Therapist
2008	Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns	Vera Brown
2009	The Princess and the Frog	Mama Odie	Voice
	Not Easily Broken	Mary 'Mama' Clark
2010	Hereafter	Candace
2011	Cars 2	Flo	Voice
	Five	Maggie	Nominated — Black Reel Awards 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
2012	Think Like a Man	Loretta Hanover
	Zambezia	Gogo	Voice
2013	Baggage Claim	Catherine Moore
	Playin' for Love	Alize Gates
2014	Think Like a Man Too	Loretta Hanover
	The Magic City	Aunt Valerie
2015	The Wedding Ringer	Doris Jenkins
TV Shows
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990-91	Murphy Brown	Sales person	"Jingle Hell, Jingle Hell, Jingle All the Way" (Season 3, Episode 11) "Uh-Oh: Pt. 2" (Season 4, Episode 1)
1990-93	A Different World	Dean Dorothy Dandridge Davenport	Recurring role (9 episodes)
1991	Stat	Felicia Brown	"Psychosomatic" (Season 1, Episode 1)
1991-96	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Aunt Helen Smith	Recurring role (8 episodes)
1992	Dream On	Carolyn	"To the Moon, Alex!" (Season 3, Episode 23)
1993	In Living Color	Various characters	"Bunny Clive" (Season 4, Episode 25) "Calhoun Tubbs" (Season 4, Episode 30)
	Roc	Charlaine	"Joey the Bartender" (Season 3, Episode 4)
	Moon Over Miami	Aurora Tyler	"If You Only Knew" (Season 1, Episode 7)
1993-94	Hangin' With Mr. Cooper	Georgia Rodman	"Father Fairest" (Season 2, Episode 6) "Double Cheeseburger, Hold the Diploma" (Season 2, Episode 20)
1994	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Mystique	"All Shook Up" (Season 1, Episode 12)
	Friends	Paula	"The One With the Thumb" (Season 1, Episode 3)
1995	New York Undercover	Medina	"Private Enemy No. 1" (Season 1, Episode 14)
	Living Single	Delia Deveaux	"Talk Showdown" (Season 2, Episode 26)
	Courthouse	Judge Rosetta Reide	Main role
1996	Cosby	Bernice	"Basketball Story" (Season 1, Episode 10)
1997	Touched by an Angel	Queenie	"Amazing Grace: Part 1" (Season 3, Episode 20)
	Promised Land		"Amazing Grace: Part 2" (Season 1, Episode 17)
1997-99	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Hazel / Black Widow Spider	"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (Season 2, Episode 8) "The Bremen Town Musicians" (Season 3, Episode 3)
1998	The Parent 'Hood	Linda	"Hurricane Linda" (Season 4, Episode 20)
1998-00	For Your Love	Sylvia Ellis / Mel and Reggie's Mother	"The Brother's Day" (Season 1, Episode 8) "Father Fixture" (Season 3, Episode 11)
1999	The Jamie Foxx Show	Josie	"Always Follow Your Heart" (Season 3, Episode 20)
	Moesha	Mrs. Biggs	"A Den Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" (Season 5, Episode 7)
	Grown Ups	Melissa's mother	"Family Circus" (Season 1, Episode 7)
	Time of Your Life	Joss's mother	"The Time They Had Not" (Season 1, Episode 7)
1999-08	The PJs	Bebe Ho	Main role
2000	Bette	Inez	"The Grammy Pre-Show" (Season 1, Episode 17)
2000-06	Strong Medicine	Receptionist Lana Hawkins	Main role
2002	Family Affair	Mrs. Summers	"Pilot: Part 1" (Season 1, Episode 1)
2002-06	Girlfriends	Veretta Childs	"My Mother, Myself" (Season 2, Episode 20) "Blood Is Thicker Than Liquor" (Season 3, Episode 22) "The Wedding" (Season 3, Episode 24) "On the Couch" (Season 4, Episode 16) "The Bridges of Fresno County" (Season 5, Episode 20) "All God's Children" (Season 6, Episode 11) "...Ain't Nothing Over There" (Season 6, Episode 22)
2003	The Proud Family	Aunt Spice	"Penny Potter" (Season 2, Episode 19)
2004	That's So Raven	Vivian Baxter	"To See or Not to See" (Season 1, Episode 21)
2007	Day Break	Elizabeth Hopper	"What If She's Lying?" (Season 1, Episode 8)
	Shark	Ellie Broussard	"Backfire" (Season 1, Episode 17)
2007-08	Boston Legal	Judge Isabel Fisher	"No Brains Left Behind" (Season 4, Episode 9) "Mad About You" (Season 4, Episode 11)
2009-10	Meet the Browns	Vera Brown	"Meet the Mom" (Season 3, Episode 4) "Meet the Mom Again" (Season 3, Episode 10) "Meet the Anniversary" (Season 3, Episode 25) "Meet the Baby" (Season 3, Episode 36) "Meet the Confession" (Season 4, Episode 25)
2011	The Cleveland Show	Woman / Kevin Garnett's Mom / Receptionist / Middle-Aged Woman	"A Short Story and a Tall Tale" (Season 2, Episode 13) "The Way the Cookie Crumbles" (Season 2, Episode 16)
	American Dad!	Lessie	"School Lies" (Season 6, Episode 14)
	State of Georgia	Patrice	"Best Friends For-Never" (Season 1, Episode 3)
	The Playboy Club	Pearl	Recurring role
2014	The Boondocks	Boss Willona / Geraldine	"Breaking Grandad" (Season 4, Episode 3) "Early Bird Special" (Season 4, Episode 4)
2014-present	Black-ish	Ruby Johnson	Recurring (Season 1), Main role (Season 2-)
2015	The Exes	Caren Dupree	"Requiem for a Dream" (Season 4, Episode 8)
	Instant Mom	Delois	"Not Full House" (Season 2, Episode 9)
Video Games
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Cars	Flo	Voice
2007	Cars Mater-National Championship

External links

• Jenifer Lewis at the Internet Movie Database
• Jenifer Lewis at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jenifer Lewis at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Jenifer Lewis at AllMovie
• May 05 A&U interview: Jenifer discusses AIDS Affecting Her and her psychotherapy since being diagnosed as bipolar in 1997