Lynn Whitfield
Whitfield in 1999
Born	Lynn Smith (1953-02-15)February 15, 1953 (age 72)[1] Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1977–present
Spouses	Vantile Whitfield ​ ​ (m. 1974; div. 1978)​ Brian Gibson ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 1992)​
Children	1

Lynn Whitfield (néeSmith; 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 aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and received aGolden Globe Award nomination for her breakout performance asJosephine Baker in theHBO biographical filmThe 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, includingA 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), andThe 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 theOprah Winfrey Network dramatic seriesGreenleaf, for which she won critical acclaim and garnered two NAACP Image Awards and aGracie Award. She later appeared in filmsNappily Ever After (2018),Vacation Friends (2021) andThe Retirement Plan (2023). Whitfield has won a total of sevenNAACP Image Awards.

Whitfield was born inBaton Rouge, Louisiana, the daughter of Jean (née Butler), a former president of the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, and Dr. Valerian Smith, who was also a composer who wrote the musicals,The Supper andThe Wake. Her mother is a founding member of the Baton Rouge chapter ofThe Links Incorporated and is a member ofAlpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Whitfield is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.^[2]

Following graduation, she first garnered attention on the stage by performing with the Black Repertory Company in Washington, D.C. She married playwright/director/actorVantile Whitfield, one of the company's co-founders and a pioneer of black theatre, in 1974. She eventually moved to New York and appeared off-Broadway in such shows asThe Great Macdaddy andShowdown Time before earning international acclaim touring the United States, Australia and London's West End in the 1977 production of the landmark play "for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf" alongsideAlfre Woodard.^[3]

Whitfield made her professional screen debut in 1981 as Jill Thomas in the critically acclaimed NBC serial dramaHill Street Blues. In 1983, she appeared in the comedy filmDoctor Detroit (1983), playing the supporting role of Thelma Cleland. She later co-starred in the filmsThe Slugger's Wife,Silverado, andJaws: The Revenge. She also starred in the television filmsThe George McKenna Story oppositeDenzel Washington andJohnnie Mae Gibson: FBI as the title character and in the ABC miniseriesThe Women of Brewster Place alongsideOprah Winfrey andCicely Tyson).^[3] She also was a regular cast member in the short-lived 1988 ABC female-driven medical drama seriesHeartBeat alongsideKate Mulgrew,Laura Johnson, andGail Strickland.

Whitfield achieved wide recognition in the title role ofThe Josephine Baker Story (1991), portraying the American who became aFolies Bergère star, aFrench Resistance fighter duringWorld War II, and a civil rights activist. TheHBO biopic required her to age from 18 to 68.^[4] After a highly publicized casting call, Whitfield was chosen over hundreds of women.^[5] In the movie, she appeared nude on-screen.^[6] In his review,Ken Tucker ofEntertainment Weekly said: "Whitfield is exceptionally good as the legendary singer-dancer who came to prominence in the ’20s for her throaty singing and her notorious "banana dance"—a wiggly little number executed while wearing nothing except a skirt of real bananas."^[7]The New York Times added that Whitfield "powerfully captures her [Baker's] passionate determination.^[8]" Whitfield won aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her role, and said this gave her "the greatest sense of accomplishment and realization of my vision. It absolutely called upon everything I thought I could do at that point."^[9] She also received aGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film nomination and won theNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.

After her breakthrough as Josephine Baker, Whitfield had the recurring role in the ABC legal dramaEqual Justice, appearing oppositeJoe Morton. She continued her career, starring in the made-for-television moviesA Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story (1991);Stompin' at the Savoy (1992) withVanessa L. Williams,Jasmine Guy, andVanessa Bell Calloway;Taking the Heat (1993) withTony Goldwyn;State of Emergency (1994) withJoe Mantegna;Sophie and the Moonhanger (1996);The Wedding (1998), asHalle Berry's mother;The Color of Courage (1998) alongsideLinda Hamilton; andDeep in My Heart (1999) oppositeAnne Bancroft. She also had a regular role on the short-lived NBC detective seriesThe Cosby Mysteries from 1994 to 1995 and later guest-starred onMartin andTouched by an Angel.

In 1996, Whitfield was cast as the female lead oppositeMartin Lawrence in the dark romantic comedy filmA Thin Line Between Love and Hate.^[10][11] At the time of filming, Lawrence was 12 years younger than Whitfield, who was then 42. The film grossed over $35 million against a budget of $8 million.^[12] In 1997, she co-starred oppositeDanny Glover andRosanna Arquette in the comedy filmGone Fishin', appeared in the supporting role in the Canadian dramaThe Planet of Junior Brown, and played the mother ofJurnee Smollett's title character in the critically acclaimed independent dramaEve's Bayou.^[13] In 1998, Whitfield had supporting role of an oncologist in the comedy-drama filmStepmom.^[14][15]

In the 2000s, Whitfield had many supporting roles on television and in films. She co-starred in theChris Rock comedy filmHead of State (2003) andTyler Perry'sMadea's Family Reunion (2006). Whitfield also appeared inThe Women (2008),The Rebound (2009), andMama, I Want to Sing (2011) and had many roles in low-profile B-movies. She also starred as Dorothea Garibaldi, the mother of Galleria (played byRaven-Symoné) in the Disney Channel filmsThe Cheetah Girls andThe Cheetah Girls 2. In 2004, she playedBarbara Becnel in the made-for-television movieRedemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story receivingNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.

On television, Whitfield had recurring roles onBoston Public andWithout a Trace in the 2000s. From 2014 to 2015, she appeared in the ABC legal dramaHow to Get Away with Murder as villainous Mary Walker.^[16] She also had a recurring role onHit the Floor^[17] and appeared as the abusive mother of April (Rochelle Aytes) onMistresses.^[18]

In 2015, Whitfield was cast as the main villain inGreenleaf, theOprah Winfrey Network original scripted drama series about the unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch. Whitfield played the leading role of Lady Mae Greenleaf, the imperious minister's wife and the power- and money-hungry matriarch of the family.^[19][20] The series also starredKeith David,Merle Dandridge,Kim Hawthorne, andOprah Winfrey. Whitfield received positive reviews from critics for her performance.^[21][22] One critic stated: "Whitfield has the imperious aura of a grand soap opera diva in the tradition ofJoan Collins."^[23] She won theNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2019 and 2020 as well as theGracie Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series in 2017.^[24] The series ended in 2020 after five seasons and 60 episodes. Whitfield later was cast in a leading role inGreenleaf's planned spinoff.^[25]

In 2018, Whitfield co-starred oppositeSanaa Lathan in the romantic comedy filmNappily Ever After, which was released onNetflix.^[26] She guest-starred asShaunette Renée Wilson's mother, a famous Nigerian surgeon, on the Fox medical dramaThe Resident in 2019. In 2021, she co-starred in the comedy filmVacation Friends.^[27] In 2023, she appeared oppositeNicolas Cage andRon Perlman in the action comedy film,The Retirement Plan.^[28] Also in 2023, she was cast as Alicia, an intimidating, fearless and powerful matriarch, in the Showtime crime drama series,The Chi during its sixth season.^[29] She was promoted to series regular for the seven season.^[30] In 2024, Whitfield starred in the road drama film,Albany Road directed and written byChristine Swanson.^[31]

In 2025, Whitfield voiced an older Noni in the second episode of the miniseriesEyes of Wakanda.^[32]

Whitfield has been married twice. Her first husband, from 1974 to 1978, was Vantile Whitfield.^[33] From 1990 to 1992, she was married to directorBrian Gibson, with whom she had a daughter, Grace.^[6][34]

• Lynn Whitfield atIMDb 

• 1953 births
• 20th-century African-American actresses
• 20th-century American actresses
• 21st-century African-American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• Actresses from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• American film actresses
• American television actresses
• Howard University alumni
• Living people
• Louisiana Creole people
• Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
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