Kasi Lemmons

Biography

Kasi Lemmons (/ˈkeɪsi/; born Karen Diane Lemmons, February 24, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, and actress. She made her directorial debut with Eve's Bayou (1997), followed by The Caveman's Valentine (2001), Talk to Me (2007), Black Nativity (2013), Harriet (2019), and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022). She also directed the Netflix limited series Self Made (2020) and an episode of ABC's Women of the Movement (2022). She is also known as an actress, having started her career with roles in commercials with McDonald's and Levi's. She made her film debut in Spike Lee's School Daze (1988). She continued acting in Vampire's Kiss (1989), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and Candyman (1992). Film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon described her as "an ongoing testament to the creative possibilities of film". Description above from the Wikipedia article Kasi Lemmons, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

ER

Murder, She Wrote

The Cosby Show

Walker, Texas Ranger

The Equalizer

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter

Finding Your Roots

Hard Target

All Movies (26)

• The Projectionist2026 · as Ramona
• Legacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies2025 · as Self - (archive footage)
• Half the Picture2018 · as Self
• Disconnect2013 · as Roberta Washington
• Waist Deep2006 · as Angry Black Woman
• Sweets to the Sweet: The 'Candyman' Mythos2004 · as Self
• Sisters in Cinema2003 · as Self
• Page to Screen: 'The Silence of the Lambs'2002 · as Self
• 'Til There Was You1997 · as Angenelle
• Gridlock'd1997 · as Madonna
• Zooman1995 · as Grace
• Drop Squad1994 · as June Vanderpool
• Override1994 · as Clerk
• Fear of a Black Hat1994 · as Nina Blackburn
• Hard Target1993 · as Det. Marie Mitchell
• Candyman1992 · as Bernadette Walsh
• Afterburn1992 · as Carol North
• Before the Storm1991 · as Alex Robbins
• The Five Heartbeats1991 · as Cookie
• The Silence of the Lambs1991 · as Ardelia Mapp
• The Great Los Angeles Earthquake1990 · as Melanie Bryant
• The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson1990 · as Rachel
• Vampire's Kiss1989 · as Jackie
• School Daze1988 · as Perry
• The Gift of Amazing Grace1986 · as Subaya
• 11th Victim1984 · as Hostage

All TV Shows (12)

• Hollywood Black2024 · as Self
• One Perfect Shot2022 · as Self
• Black Hollywood: 'They've Gotta Have Us'2018 · as Self
• Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter2015 · as Self
• Finding Your Roots2012 · as Self
• ER1994 · as Gamma Knife Tech
• Walker, Texas Ranger1993 · as Diane Warren
• A Man Called Hawk1989
• The Equalizer1985 · as Zandili
• Murder, She Wrote1984 · as Paula Raynor
• The Cosby Show1984 · as Miss McKegney
• Another World1964