Lynn Whitfield

Born: 1953-02-15

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 an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special and a NAACP Image Award for her performance as Josephine Baker in the HBO movie The Josephine Baker Story (1991). She also won NAACP Image awards for her work in Touched by an Angel (1998), The Planet of Junior Brown (2000) and Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004). Her film work includes performances in A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996), Eve's Bayou (1997), Stepmom (1998), Head of State (2003), The Cheetah Girls (2003), The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006), Madea's Family Reunion (2006), The Women (2008), Nappily Ever After (2018), and Vacation Friends (2021). From 2016 to 2020, she starred as Lady Mae Greenleaf on OWN's dramatic series Greenleaf, for which she won critical acclaim and garnered two NAACP Image Awards and a Gracie Award. She has won a total of seven NAACP Image Awards.


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Vacation Friends

as Suzanne
Released: 2021-08-27

When a straight-laced couple that has fun with a rowdy couple on vacation in Mexico return to...

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The Retirement Plan

as Drisdale
Released: 2023-08-24

When Ashley and her young daughter Sarah get caught up in a criminal enterprise that puts their...

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Stepmom

as Dr. P. Sweikert
Released: 1998-12-25

Jackie is a divorced mother of two. Isabel is the career minded girlfriend of Jackie’s...

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Silverado

as Rae
Released: 1985-07-10

Four unwitting heroes cross paths on their journey to the sleepy town of Silverado. Little do...

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The Rebound

as Laura Reilly
Released: 2009-09-16

Upon discovering her husband's infidelity, Sandy leaves the suburbs and moves into the city....

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Jaws: The Revenge

as Louisa
Released: 1987-07-17

After another deadly shark attack, Ellen Brody decides she has had enough of New England's Amity...

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Madea's Family Reunion

as Victoria
Released: 2006-02-24

Based upon Tyler Perry's acclaimed stage production, Madea's Family Reunion continues the...

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The Women

as Glenda Hill
Released: 2008-09-12

The story centers on a group of gossipy, high-society women who spend their days at the beauty...

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Eve's Bayou

as Roz Batiste
Released: 1997-11-07

Summer heats up in rural Louisiana beside Eve’s Bayou, 1962, as the Batiste family tries to...

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Doctor Detroit

as Thelma Cleland
Released: 1983-05-06

A shy but gentle man named Clifford Skridlow is a professor of comparative literature at the...

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The Cheetah Girls 2

as Dorothea Garibaldi
Released: 2006-07-31

Best friends Galleria, Chanel, Dorinda, and Aqua, A.K.A. the girl band "The Cheetahs," get the...

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Nappily Ever After

as Paulette Jones
Released: 2018-09-21

After an accident at the hair salon, Violet realizes she's not living life to the fullest. A...

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Head of State

as Debra Lassiter
Released: 2003-03-28

When a presidential candidate dies unexpectedly in the middle of the campaign, the Democratic...

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The Cheetah Girls

as Dorothea Garibaldi
Released: 2003-08-15

A four-member teen girl group named the Cheetah Girls go to a Manhattan High School for the...

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In the Army Now

as Sgt. Ladd
Released: 1994-08-12

Bones Conway and Jack Kaufman didn't really know what they were in for when they enlisted in the...

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Lap Dance

as Momma Pearl
Released: 2014-12-05

An aspiring actress makes a pact with her fiancé to take a job as an exotic dancer to care for...

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Gone Fishin'

as Angie
Released: 1997-05-30

Two fishing fanatics get in trouble when their fishing boat gets stolen while on a trip.

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Espionage Tonight

as Sydney Greenstreet
Released: 2017-10-24

In a reality TV show created by the U.S. government about spies, audiences go on fake undercover...

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Tales from the Hood 3

as Marie Benoît
Released: 2020-10-06

Following the franchise's cult classic roots, this new anthology featuring Tony Todd and Lynn...

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All Things Fall Apart

as Bee
Released: 2011-03-05

50 Cent stars as gifted college running back Deon in this touching drama. Deon's world turns...

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PoliWood

as Self
Released: 2009-07-03

An in-depth look at the Democratic and Republican national conventions held during the 2008 U.S....

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Confessions

as Dr. Page
Released: 2006-07-23

Confessions of a Call Girl is a revealing story of a women's struggle for balance as she battles...

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Battlefield America

as Ms. Parker
Released: 2012-06-01

A young businessman hires an instructor to turn a group of misfit kids into a team on the...

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The Women of Brewster Place

as Ciel
Released: 1989-03-19

A multigenerational story of the lives of several black women who call an inner-city tenement home.

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A Thin Line Between Love and Hate

as Brandi
Released: 1996-04-04

Nightclub manager Darnell Wright is a perpetual playboy who is almost as devoted to his job as...

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The Slugger's Wife

as Tina Alvarado
Released: 1985-03-29

Darryl Palmer is a major league baseball player who meets and pursues an attractive singer....

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Lonely Boy

as Dr. Christine Nolan
Released: 2013-03-02

While seeking answers to a past he cannot remember, a schizophrenic must find the strength to...

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A Time for Dancing

as Linda Derricks, the Dance Teacher
Released: 2002-09-06

Their love of dance, and their friendship, is challenged for two high school girls when one is...

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John Henry

as Pollie Ann
Released: 1986-12-01

The story follow legendary railroad worker John Henry during the late 19th century.

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Dead Aim

as Sheila Freeman
Released: 1987-01-02

Ed Marinaro is Malcolm "Mace" Douglas, a street-tough detective who's out for justice-no matter...

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Albany Road

as Paula
Released: 2024-04-20

On her way to the most important meeting of her career, severe weather forces a New York...

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A Girl Thing

as Nia Morgan
Released: 2001-01-19

A Girl Thing is a mini-series that revolves around a New York city street, a coffee house and a...

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The Josephine Baker Story

as Josephine Baker
Released: 1991-03-16

Biography of the African-American who became a major performer in the Paris cabarets of the...

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Love Songs

as Jean Simpson
Released: 1999-04-25

Louis Gossett, Jr, Robert Townsend and Andre Braugher come together to each direct a short...

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And Then There Was You

as Sophia Brent
Released: 2013-10-19

Natalie and Joshua appear to be the picture-perfect couple, but looks can be deceiving. When...

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Woman in Motion

as Self
Released: 2021-02-02

Nichelle Nichols' daunting task to launch a national blitz for NASA, recruiting 8,000 of the...

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Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story

as Barbara Becnel
Released: 2004-03-03

Redemption tells the story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, founder of the Crips L.A. street gang....

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The Wedding

as Corinne Coles
Released: 1998-02-22

Shelby Coles (Halle Berry) is engaged to marry talented white jazz musician Meade Howell, but...

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My Other Mother

as Mary Jo
Released: 2014-09-21

When gruff and independent Candy meets her angry and stubborn birth mother, can the two open...

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The George McKenna Story

as Bobbie Maxwell
Released: 1988-08-01

Washington plays a school principal in a tough inner city Los Angeles high school out to rid it...

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Dangerous Evidence

as Lori Jackson
Released: 1999-04-11

The Lori Jackson Story - A civil rights campaigner, Lori Jackson, champions the the cause of a...

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Taking the Heat

as Carolyn Hunter
Released: 1993-06-06

When Michael Norell witnesses a murder, he doesn't want to testify but he is forced to by the...

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We Need a Little Christmas

as Irene
Released: 2022-10-22

Julie is adjusting to being a single mother to a grieving child while facing her first Christmas...

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Deep in My Heart

as Corrine Burrell
Released: 1999-02-14

A black woma is reunited with her white birth mother after being given up for adoption.

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The Planet of Junior Brown

as Mrs. Brown
Released: 1997-09-06

Powerful story about love, struggle and passion of an over protective mother and her piano prodigy.

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State of Emergency

as Dehlia Johnson
Released: 1994-02-21

Medical drama about a major hospital whose emergency room regularly faces an overload of...

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Prayer Never Fails

as Loral Brown
Released: 2016-02-12

When a high school basketball coach is fired for praying with one of his players, he follows...

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Thicker Than Blood: The Larry McLinden Story

as Bobbie Mallory
Released: 1994-06-03

When a couple breaks up after four years together, the man is told that the son he has raised as...

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Somebody's Child

as Constance
Released: 2012-08-11

A woman (Lynn Whitfield) dying of kidney disease learns that God works in mysterious ways after...

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The Making of Jaws The Revenge

as Self
Released: 1987-07-10

A behind the scenes look on Jaws The Revenge with interviews from the cast and crew.

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The Last Letter

as Lorraine
Released: 2013-12-17

Catharine Wright struggles with a debilitating sleep disorder. Her husband Michael struggles to...

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King's Faith

as Vanessa
Released: 2013-04-26

When eighteen-year-old Brendan King attempts to leave his turbulent gang life behind him, his...

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For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf

as Woman in bath
Released: 1982-02-23

The powerful tales of seven diverse African-American women are woven together in this 1982...

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The Dempsey Sisters

as Olivia Norman
Released: 2013-11-02

Three siblings return to their musical roots, agreeing to let their brother manage their family...

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24 Hour Love

as Cynthia
Released: 2013-03-19

The greatest feeling in the world is when you learn to love! Follow the stories of seven...

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Stompin' at the Savoy

as Esther
Released: 1992-04-19

As the Harlem Renaissance flourishes in jazzy New York City, Pauline, Esther and Alice struggle...

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Solace

as Irene
Released: 2018-09-23

Following the death of her father, a 17-year-old girl is sent to live with her estranged family...

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Act Like You Love Me

as Harriett Lofton
Released: 2013-08-06

Kelly Lofton is a young, successful dentist who has all the material things a woman could ask...

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Zora is My Name!

as uncredited
Released: 1990-01-01

A celebration of the life of Zora Neale Hurston, who was born at the turn of the 20th Century...

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Intimate Portrait: Josephine Baker

as Herself
Released: 1999-07-20

From world-renowned performer of the Jazz Age, to WWII spy, to civil rights activist – a look...

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Johnnie Mae Gibson: FBI

as Johnnie Mae Gibson
Released: 1986-10-21

A police officer is called by F.B.I. to infiltrate into gang of arms smugglers.

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The Redemption of a Dog

as Francine
Released: 2012-08-28

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30 Days in Atlanta

as Clara
Released: 2014-10-30

Akpos wins a 30-day holiday for two to Atlanta, Georgia. He takes his cousin (Richard), an IT...

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Sophie and the Moonhanger

as Sophie
Released: 1996-01-15

A woman pits herself against her husband and his Ku Klux Klan member friends when she learns...

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Kings of the Evening

as Gracie
Released: 2008-01-01

Homer Hobbs, home after two years in jail, discovers that life on the outside can be crueler...

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Mama, I Want to Sing!

as Lillian Winter
Released: 2011-01-19

A preacher's daughter, Amara, sings in the church choir before being discovered by a...

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The Ugly Duckling

as Narrator (voice)
Released: 2014-03-19

By Hans Christian Andersen; Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney; Narrated by Lynn Whitfield Only a...

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Without a Trace

as Paula Van Doren
First aired: 2002-09-26

The series follows the ventures of a Missing Persons Unit of the FBI in New York City.

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The Resident

as Josephine Okeke
First aired: 2018-01-21

A tough, brilliant senior resident guides an idealistic young doctor through his first day,...

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Miami Vice

as uncredited
First aired: 1984-09-16

The story of the Miami Police Department's vice squad and its efforts to end drug trafficking...

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How to Get Away with Murder

as Mary Walker
First aired: 2014-09-25

A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their...

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The Tyra Banks Show

as uncredited
First aired: 2005-09-12

The Tyra Banks Show, also known as and shortened to Tyra or The Tyra Show, is an American talk...

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Hill Street Blues

as uncredited
First aired: 1981-01-15

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

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Hill Street Blues

as Jill Thomas
First aired: 1981-01-15

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

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FlashForward

as Anastasia Markham
First aired: 2009-09-24

When the entire world blacks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds, everyone sees a flash of...

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Chasing Life

as Karen Callahan
First aired: 2014-06-10

April, an aspiring journalist, is balancing her ambitious career with her family and a new...

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Shark

as uncredited
First aired: 2006-09-21

Notorious Los Angeles defense attorney Sebastian Stark becomes disillusioned with his career...

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Matlock

as uncredited
First aired: 1986-03-03

Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of...

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Boston Public

as Louanna Harper
First aired: 2000-10-23

Principal Steven Harper runs Winslow High School as best as he can while dealing with the...

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Martin

as Ellen
First aired: 1992-08-27

Sassy sitcom centering on radio and television personality Martin Payne. Series focuses on his...

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Cagney & Lacey

as uncredited
First aired: 1982-03-25

Mary Beth Lacey and Chris Cagney are teamed up as NYPD police detectives. Their opposing...

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Greenleaf

as Lady Mae Greenleaf
First aired: 2016-06-21

The unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch, where...

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Tamron Hall

as Self - Guest
First aired: 2019-09-09

Former news host and journalist Tamron Hall discusses all things topical and engages those she...

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Matt Houston

as Val
First aired: 1982-09-26

Matt Houston is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1985. Created by...

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Tall Tales & Legends

as Pollie Ann
First aired: 1985-09-25

An anthology series that showcases various mythical characters and incidents throughout history.

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Promised Land

as Dr. Serena Hall
First aired: 1996-09-17

Promised Land is an American drama series which aired on CBS from 1996 to 1999. It is a spin-off...

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Fatal Attraction

as Narrator (voice)
First aired: 2013-06-03

Each pulse-pounding hour-long episode centers around an incredible and dangerous romance....

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The Cosby Mysteries

as uncredited
First aired: 1994-01-31

The Cosby Mysteries was an American television mystery series that starred Bill Cosby. It is the...

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HeartBeat

as Dr. Cory Banks
First aired: 1988-03-23

The professional and private lives of the predominantly female staff of the Women's Medical...

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Trauma Center

as uncredited
First aired: 1983-09-22

Medical drama that aired on ABC from September 22, 1983 to December 8, 1983.

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