Lynn Whitfield
From Harpo's Juke Joint
| Lynn Whitfield | ||
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| Born: | May 5, 1963 Baton Rouge, Louisiana | |
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| Website: | n/a | |
| Fanlisting: | n/a | |
| Lynn's community thread | ||
Lynn Whitfield is an award winning actress most noted for her critically acclaimed work in the films "The Josephine Baker Story" as well as the 1997 film "Eve's Bayou". To the younger generation, she is most likely known for her candid role in the film "A Thin Line Between Love & Hate" starring Martin Lawrence.
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Early life & career
Lynn Butler-Smith, the eldest of her two sisters and brother, was born in the spring of 1953. Her father, Valerian Smith, was a dentist for over forty years and was an instrumental figure in the formation of the community theatre in Baton Rouge, sparking Whitfield's interest in acting. Evidence of her southern aristocratic roots, Whitfield is a third generation Howard University graduate.
Lynn began her professional career through studying and performance with the Black Repertory Company in Washington D.C. where she met and married company co-founder Van Whitfield in 1974. She moved from Washington D.C. to New York where she performed in several off-broadway plays before ganering attention with her performance alongside Alfre Woodard in the 1977 production of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide...When the Rainbow Is Enuf. Whitfield's career continued to flourish under the auspices of the 1979 Columbia Pictures talent development program. She appeared on several established television shows including Hill Street Blues before making her 1983 film debut in Doctor Detroit. Although she played supporting roles in numerous films thereafter, it was her television acting that propelled her to the top of her league drawing from her prominent family background to play in the television films The George McKenna Story and The Women of Brewster Place. The peak of her critically acclaimed career came with her portrayal of jazz great Josephine Baker where she vividly renacted the life of the singer from the age of eighteen until her death at sixty-eight. She followed with highly popular films such as A Thin Line Between Love and Hate and Gone Fishin' which co-starred her former Silverado actor Danny Glover. In 1997 she starred in the film Eve's Bayou which placed her back at home, drawing from her Louisiana heritage and aristocracy. In latter years Whitfield has appeared in films such as 2004's Redemption with Jamie Foxx. More recently, Whitfield co-starred in Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion.
Whitfield later divorced Van Whitfield. Whitfield remarried Brian Gibson in 1990 and later divorced him in 1992. They produced a daughter, Grace, from their union. Grace is the namesake of Whitfield's cousin's daughter. Whitfield currently resides in New York and has completed the filming of her new movie Confessions.
Awards, Nominations and Special Honors
1991
- Won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special
for The Josephine Baker Story
1992
- Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV for The Josephine Baker Story
1993
- Won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie for The Josephine Baker Story
1994
- Won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie for "I'll Fly Away"
1998
- Won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for "Touched by an Angel"
- Nominated NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture for Eve's Bayou
1999
- Nominated for NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie or Mini-Series for The Wedding
2005
- Won NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004) (TV)
Trivia
-Whitfield holds membership in The Links, Incorporated as well as being a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
