Charlayne Woodard
Woodard at Dramatists Guild of America in 2015
Born	Charlaine Woodard (1953-12-29)December 29, 1953 (age 71) Albany, New York, U.S.
Education	Art Institute of Chicago (BFA)
Occupation(s)	Actress, playwright
Years active	1977–present
Spouse	Alan Michael Harris ​ (m. 1991)​

Charlaine "Charlayne" Woodard (born December 29, 1953) is an American playwright and actress.^[1] She is a two-timeObie Award winner as well as aTony Award and Drama Desk nominee. She was a series regular on the hit FX TV seriesPose. She played the title role in the Showtime movieRun For The Dream: The Gail Devers’ Story. Starring asCindy in the ABC Movie of the Week, Woodard was the first black Cinderella portrayed on TV or film. She is inMarvel Studios' miniseriesSecret Invasion as Priscilla Fury, which premiered on June 21, 2023.

Woodard began her professional career in 1976 performing in the road company ofDon't Bother Me I Can't Cope, written byMicki Grant and directed by Vinette Carroll, the first black female director on Broadway. In 1977, she made her Broadway debut in the revival ofHair, directed byTom O’Horgan; played a supporting role in the movie version ofHair, directed byMilos Forman; starred as Cindy in the NBC Movie of the Week,Cindy; and performed onThe Tonight Show.

In 1978, she was in the original company of the hit musical Ain't Misbehavin', for which she was nominated for both a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She reprised her role atHer Majesty's Theater in London's West End; the Aquarius theater in Los Angeles; and ten years after the Broadway opening, the Broadway revival with the original cast.NBC taped and broadcast the hit musical with the original Broadway cast.RCA released the original cast album.

Charlayne Woodard has written and performed five solo plays:Neat,Pretty Fire,In Real Life,The Night Watcher andFlight.

The Garden, a two-hander commissioned by theLa Jolla Playhouse, was produced at bothBaltimore Center Stage and The LaJolla Playhouse. Woodard's plays are published byDramatists Play Service.

As an actress, Woodard's off-Broadway theatre credits includeDaddy (2019) byJeremy O. Harris, directed byDanya Taymor Signature Theater; played Gertrude toOscar Issac's Hamlet, directed bySam Gold, at the Public Theater;War (2016)  by Brandon-Jacobs Jenkins, directed by Liliana Blain-Cruz at Lincoln Center; the 2014 revival ofThe Substance of Fire byJohn Robin Baitz, directed by Trip Cullman at Second Stage;The Witch of Edmonton (2010) directed by Jessie Berger, for which she was awarded her second Obie Award, at The Red Bull Theatre Company; world premiere of in theBlood (1999) bySuzan-Lori Parks directed byDavid Esbjornson for which she was awarded her first Obie Award;Fabulation (2004) byLynn Nottage, directed byKate Whorisky at Playwright's Horizons;Stunning (2009) byDavid Adjmi, directed ByAnne Kauffman at LCT3;Sorrows and Rejoicings, written and directed byAthol Fugard at Second Stage for which she received an Audelco Award;The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1990), directed byGeorge C. Wolfe at the Public Theatre;Twelfth Night (1989) alongsideMichelle Pfeiffer,Gregory Hines,Jeff Goldblum, andMary Elizabeth Mastrantonio atShakespeare in the Park;Paradise (1985) a musical with lyrics by George C. Wolfe, music by Robert Forest, directed by Ted Pappas at Playwrights Horizons. Woodard's regional credits include:Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Chris Ashley, as well asShout Up A Morning, directed byDes McAnuff, both at the La Jolla Playhouse;The Taming of the Shrew (Kate), directed byRebecca Taishman at Shakespeare Theatre Company;The Good Person of Szechwan, adapted by Tony Kushner, directed by Lisa Peterson at the LaJolla Playhouse; andPurgatorio byAriel Dorfman, directed by David Esbjornson at Seattle Rep.

Notable film roles includeHard Feelings (1982) for which she received a Canadian Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actress nomination;Crackers (1984) alongsideSean Penn,Donald Sutherland andJack Warner, directed byLouis Malle;Twister (1989), alongsideTim Robbins,Dylan McDermott andHarry Dean Stanton, directed byMichael Almereyda;One Good Cop (1991) alongsideMichael Keaton (1991);An Eye for an Eye (1995) opposite Sally Field andKiefer Sutherland; Tituba in the 1996 drama film The Crucible, alongside Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, directed byNicolas Hytner;Touched By Evil (1997) alongsidePaula Abdul;Around The Fire (1998) directed by John Jacobson;John Sayle’s Sunshine State (2002) alongsideAngela Bassett;M. Night Shyamalan’sUnbreakable (2000) and its sequelGlass (2019) alongside Samuel L. Jackson;The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) alongsideMel Gibson, directed byWim Wenders;Things Never Said (2013) written and directed by Charles Murray.

Among Woodard's many TV roles are Priscilla Fury inMarvel Studios' miniseries,Secret Invasion (2023) which reunites her with Jackson; season regular onPose (2018); recurring roles onIn Treatment Season 4;Animal Kingdom (2021);Prodigal Son 2019 – 2020);Sneaky Pete (2019);Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008);Sweet Justice (1994); Sister Peg onLaw and Order: Special Victims Unit (2002 to 2011),ER  (2006–2007); andChicago Hope (1994–2000).

Wikiquote has quotations related toCharlayne Woodard.

• Charlayne Woodard atIMDb
• Charlayne Woodard at theInternet Broadway Database (as Charlaine Woodard)
• Charlayne Woodard at theInternet Off-Broadway Database
• Charlayne Woodard's Official Website
• Charlayne Woodard's Acting Reel

• 1953 births
• Living people
• American film actresses
• American television actresses
• Actresses from Albany, New York
• 20th-century African-American actresses
• 20th-century American actresses
• 21st-century African-American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• Obie Award recipients
• 21st-century African-American people

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