Lynn Whitfield

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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Lynn Whitfield, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Without a Trace

The Resident

Steve

Golden Globe Awards

Miami Vice

The Chi

How to Get Away with Murder

Hill Street Blues

All Movies (70)

• Strung2026 · as Audra
• Albany Road2024 · as Paula Henderson
• The Retirement Plan2023 · as Drisdale
• We Need a Little Christmas2022 · as Irene
• Vacation Friends2021 · as Suzanne
• Woman in Motion2021 · as Self
• Tales from the Hood 32020 · as Marie Benoît
• Solace2018 · as Irene
• Nappily Ever After2018 · as Paulette Jones
• Espionage Tonight2017 · as Sydney Greenstreet
• Prayer Never Fails2016 · as Loral Brown
• Lap Dance2014 · as Momma Pearl
• 30 Days in Atlanta2014 · as Clara
• The Fright Night Files2014 · as Madame Mabry
• My Other Mother2014 · as Mary Jo
• The Ugly Duckling2014 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Last Letter2013 · as Lorraine
• The Dempsey Sisters2013 · as Olivia Norman
• And Then There Was You2013 · as Sophia Brent
• Act Like You Love Me2013 · as Harriett Lofton
• King's Faith2013 · as Vanessa
• 24 Hour Love2013 · as Cynthia
• Lonely Boy2013 · as Dr. Christine Nolan
• The Redemption of a Dog2012 · as Francine
• Somebody's Child2012 · as Constance
• Battlefield America2012 · as Ms. Parker
• All Things Fall Apart2011 · as Bee
• Mama, I Want to Sing!2011 · as Lillian Winter
• The Rebound2009 · as Laura Reilly
• PoliWood2009 · as Self
• The Women2008 · as Glenda Hill
• Kings of the Evening2008 · as Gracie
• The Cheetah Girls 22006 · as Dorothea Garibaldi
• Confessions2006 · as Dr. Page
• Madea's Family Reunion2006 · as Victoria
• Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story2004 · as Barbara Becnel
• The Cheetah Girls2003 · as Dorothea Garibaldi
• Head of State2003 · as Debra Lassiter
• A Time for Dancing2002 · as Linda Derricks, the Dance Teacher
• Intimate Portrait: Josephine Baker1999 · as Herself
• Love Songs1999 · as Jean Simpson
• Dangerous Evidence: The Lori Jackson Story1999 · as Lori Jackson
• Deep in My Heart1999 · as Corrine Burrell
• The Color of Courage1999 · as Minnie McGhee
• Stepmom1998 · as Dr. P. Sweikert
• The Wedding1998 · as Corinne Coles
• Eve's Bayou1997 · as Roz Batiste
• The Planet of Junior Brown1997 · as Mrs. Brown
• Gone Fishin'1997 · as Angie
• A Thin Line Between Love and Hate1996 · as Brandi
• Sophie and the Moonhanger1996 · as Sophie
• In the Army Now1994 · as Sgt. Ladd
• Thicker Than Blood: The Larry McLinden Story1994 · as Bobbie Mallory
• State of Emergency1994 · as Dehlia Johnson
• Taking the Heat1993 · as Carolyn Hunter
• Stompin' at the Savoy1992 · as Esther
• A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story1991
• The Josephine Baker Story1991 · as Josephine Baker
• Zora is My Name!1990
• The Women of Brewster Place1989 · as Ciel
• The George McKenna Story1988 · as Bobbie Maxwell
• Jaws: The Revenge1987 · as Louisa
• The Making of Jaws The Revenge1987 · as Self
• Dead Aim1987 · as Sheila Freeman
• John Henry1986 · as Pollie Ann
• Johnnie Mae Gibson: FBI1986 · as Johnnie Mae Gibson
• Silverado1985 · as Rae
• The Slugger's Wife1985 · as Tina Alvarado
• Doctor Detroit1983 · as Thelma Cleland
• For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf1982 · as Woman in bath

All TV Shows (37)

• Eyes of Wakanda2025 · as Older Noni (voice)
• St. Denis Medical2024 · as Barb
• Sherri2022 · as Self - Guest
• Tamron Hall2019 · as Self - Guest
• The Resident2018 · as Josephine Okeke
• The Chi2018 · as Alicia
• Steve2017 · as Self
• Greenleaf2016 · as Lady Mae Greenleaf
• How to Get Away with Murder2014 · as Mary Walker
• Chasing Life2014 · as Karen Callahan
• Fatal Attraction2013 · as Narrator (voice)
• FlashForward2009 · as Anastasia Markham
• Shark2006 · as Anita Astin
• The Tyra Banks Show2005
• Without a Trace2002 · as Paula Van Doren
• A Girl Thing2001 · as Nia Morgan
• Boston Public2000 · as Louanna Harper
• Strong Medicine2000 · as Dr. Marshall
• Promised Land1996 · as Dr. Serena Hall
• Saturday Night Special1996
• The Cosby Mysteries1994
• Touched by an Angel1994 · as Dr. Serena Hall
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien1993 · as Self - Guest
• Martin1992 · as Ellen
• Snoops1989 · as Denise Kendall
• The Women of Brewster Place1989 · as Ciel
• HeartBeat1988 · as Dr. Cory Banks
• Matlock1986 · as Angela Page
• Tall Tales & Legends1985 · as Pollie Ann
• Miami Vice1984 · as Odette Ribaud
• Trauma Center1983
• St. Elsewhere1982 · as Annie Callan
• Matt Houston1982 · as Val
• Cagney & Lacey1982
• Hill Street Blues1981
• Hill Street Blues1981 · as Jill Thomas
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Nominee