#television actresses

NOVEMBER 29 - JENIFER LEWIS

Once nicknamed the “Black Mother of Hollywood”, Jenifer Lewis is known for playing maternal roles films that include Poetic Justice,What’s Love Got To Do With It,Dead Presidents,PantherandPenny Marshall’sThe Preacher’s Wife. It is likely no coincidence that she was selected to portray Dre’s mother Ruby on the ABC sitcom Black-ish, delivering some of the biggest laughs alongside Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross and the rest of the cast.

In her early career, Lewis was cast as Effie White in the workshop for Dreamgirls, but when the show moved to Broadway, Jennifer Holliday was chosen for the role instead. Shortly after, she landed a gig as one of Bette Midler’s back-up singers, earning her first television and film credits with the diva’s HBO specials and the 1988 film Beaches. She would also play one of Whoopi Goldberg’s back-up singers in both Sister Actmovies.

On television, Lewis had memorable roles as Dean Davenport on A Different World, Aunt Helen on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Veretta Childs on Girlfriends. She appeared in six seasons as Lana Hawkins on Lifetime’s Strong Medicine, also performing the show’s theme song.

Lewis has contributed her vocal talents to several animated projects, bringing to life Mama Odie in The Princess and the Frog, Flo in the Cars franchise and Bebe Ho on Eddie Murphy’s television series The PJs. Her stage credits include a Shakespeare in the Park production opposite Meryl Streep and five Broadway credits, including the role of Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray.

In 2007, Lewis revealed on The Oprah Winfrey Show that she has bipolar disorder. Beyond participating in causes to promote mental health awareness, she has continued to speak out about her diagnosis since then.

DECEMBER 13 - JAMIE BREWER

Though she may be more immediately recognizable from her television appearances on American Horror Story,Southland,and Switched at Birth, actress Jamie Brewer made history earlier this year as the first woman with Down syndrome to walk the runway at New York Fashion Week.

Brewer is active in the Down syndrome community and has served on the Executive Board of the State of Texas ARC. While working with the organization’s Governmental Affairs Committee, she spoke to Senators at the Texas State Capitol, successfully persuading them to abolish the word “retarded” from all state legislation.