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Lynn Whitfield

Acting Born Feb 15, 1953 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA 24 credits

Biography

Lynn Whitfield (née Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her breakout performance as Josephine Baker in the HBO biographical film The Josephine Baker Story (1991).

In the 1990s, Whitfield played leading roles in a number of made-for-television movies and had several starring roles in theatrical films, including A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996), Gone Fishin' (1997), Eve's Bayou (1997), Stepmom (1998), Head of State (2003), Madea's Family Reunion (2006), and The Women (2008). Whitfield also starred in a number of movies in the 2000s and 2010s. From 2016 to 2020, she starred as Lady Mae Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network dramatic series Greenleaf, for which she won critical acclaim and garnered two NAACP Image Awards and a Gracie Award. She later appeared in the films Nappily Ever After (2018), Vacation Friends (2021), and The Retirement Plan (2023). Whitfield has won a total of seven NAACP Image Awards.

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Known for

Without a Trace

as Paula Van Doren

The Resident

as Josephine Okeke

Steve

as Self

Hill Street Blues

1981

Hill Street Blues

as Jill Thomas

Miami Vice

as Odette Ribaud

The Chi

as Alicia

Golden Globe Awards

as Self - Nominee

How to Get Away with Murder

as Mary Walker

Sherri

as Self - Guest

Tamron Hall

as Self - Guest

Greenleaf

as Lady Mae Greenleaf

Full filmography

  • Without a Trace (2002) as Paula Van Doren
  • The Resident (2018) as Josephine Okeke
  • Steve (2017) as Self
  • Hill Street Blues (1981)
  • Hill Street Blues (1981) as Jill Thomas
  • Miami Vice (1984) as Odette Ribaud
  • The Chi (2018) as Alicia
  • Strong Medicine (2000) as Dr. Marshall
  • Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Nominee
  • How to Get Away with Murder (2014) as Mary Walker
  • Cagney & Lacey (1982)
  • Sherri (2022) as Self - Guest
  • Matlock (1986) as Angela Page
  • Touched by an Angel (1994) as Dr. Serena Hall
  • Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) as Self - Guest
  • St. Elsewhere (1982) as Annie Callan
  • Tamron Hall (2019) as Self - Guest
  • Boston Public (2000) as Louanna Harper
  • Martin (1992) as Ellen
  • The Tyra Banks Show (2005)
  • Shark (2006) as Anita Astin
  • Greenleaf (2016) as Lady Mae Greenleaf
  • Matt Houston (1982) as Val
  • FlashForward (2009) as Anastasia Markham