Alfre Woodard
Birthday: Born in 1952-11-08 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Deathday: Alive
Alfre Ette Woodard (born November 8, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and Grammy Award, 12 times for Emmy Awards (winning four), and has also won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. She is known for her role in films such as Cross Creek, Miss Firecracker, Grand Canyon, Passion Fish, Primal Fear, Star Trek: First Contact, Miss Evers' Boys, K-PAX, Radio, Take the Lead and The Family That Preys.
TV Credits
Desperate Housewives
Character: Betty Applewhite
Looking down on her friends and family isn't a way of life for Mary Alice Young... it's a way of death. One day, in her perfect house, in the loveliest of suburbs, Mary Alice ended it all. Now she's taking us into the lives of her family, friends and neighbors, commenting from her elevated P.O.V....
L.A. Law
Character: Adrianne Moore
L.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it contained many of Bochco's trademark features including a large number of parallel storylines, social drama and off-the-wall humor. It reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s, and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot-topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay right...
Static Shock
Character: Jean Hawkins (voice)
An ordinary inner-city kid gains extraordinary powers and becomes an urban legend as the first teenage African-American superhero....
Class of 3000
Character:
Class of 3000 is an American animated television series on Cartoon Network that was created by, was executively produced by, and starred André 3000 of the Hip Hop group OutKast as superstar and music teacher Sunny Bridges, set at Atlanta, Georgia's Westley School of Performing Arts. Mr. Bridges is a jazz and blues artist who occasionally lectures in Atlanta's Little Five Points residential area. It was produced by Tom Lynch Company, Moxie Turtle and Cartoon Network Studios. As of September 25, ...
Hill Street Blues
Character:
A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station....
Frasier
Character: Edna (voice)
After many years spent at the “Cheers” bar, Frasier moves back home to Seattle to work as a radio psychiatrist after his policeman father gets shot in the hip on duty....
The Practice
Character: Denise Freeman
A provocative legal drama focused on young associates at a bare-bones Boston firm and their scrappy boss, Bobby Donnell. The show's forte is its storylines about “people who walk a moral tightrope.”...
My Own Worst Enemy
Character: Mavis Heller
My Own Worst Enemy is an American television drama that aired on NBC in 2008. It premiered on October 13 and ended on December 15 after 9 episodes. The series was produced by Universal Media Studios. Jason Smilovic was the executive producer; David Semel was the director and executive producer. The final episode ended with a cliff-hanger, and the major plot lines ended without resolution. The series followed the life of American secret agent Edward Albright and his cover, Henry Spivey, who had ...
Tucker's Witch
Character: Marcia Fulbright
Rick and Amanda Tucker own and operate their private detective agency in Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. Amanda's psychic powers become an asset in solving cases but also tend to get the spouses into various troubles....
Homicide: Life on the Street
Character: Dr. Roxanne Turner
An American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit....
Homicide: Life on the Street
Character:
An American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit....
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character: Mrs. Brown
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The longest-running primetime series in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning during 1951 and continuing into 2013. From 1954 onward, all of its productions have been shown in color, although color television video productions were extremely rare in 1954. Many television movies have been shown on the program since its debut, ...
The White Shadow
Character: Sandra Wilcox
The White Shadow is an American drama television series that ran on the CBS network from November 27 1978, to March 16 1981....
True Blood
Character: Ruby Jean Reynolds
Thanks to a Japanese scientist's invention of synthetic, blood vampires have progressed from legendary monsters to fellow citizens overnight. And while humans have been safely removed from the menu, many remain apprehensive about these creatures "coming out of the coffin." Religious leaders, government officials, and vampire fundamentalists around the world have chosen their sides, but in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps, the jury is still out....
Gulliver's Travels
Character: Queen of Brobdingnag
Dr. Gulliver has returned from his journey to his family after a long absence - and tells them the story of his travels....
Palmerstown, U.S.A.
Character:
Palmerstown, U.S.A. is a drama series. It centers on the lives of two 9-year-old best friends, one black and one white, growing up in a small Southern town during the 1930s....
Three Rivers
Character: Dr. Sophia Jordan
Three Rivers is an American television medical drama that debuted on CBS on October 4, 2009, starring Alex O'Loughlin in the role of an infamous transplant surgeon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On November 30, 2009, after just eight episodes of the season had aired, CBS announced that Three Rivers had been pulled from their schedule with no plans to have it returned, and the series was later officially cancelled. However, the series later returned to the network on June 5, 2010 to burn off the re...
Black Panther
Character: Dondi Reece (voice)
Deep in the heart of Africa lies Wakanda, an advanced and unconquerable civilization. A family of warrior kings possessing superior speed, strength and agility has governed this mysterious nation as long as time itself. The latest in this famed line is young King T’Challa, the great hero known worldwide as the Black Panther. Now, outsiders once again threaten to invade and plunder Wakanda....
The Oscars
Character: Self
An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar....
What Really Happened To the Class Of '65?
Character:
Sam Ashley, a graduate of 1965 class of Bret Harte High School, who was now a teacher at the school, served as the narrator describing what had happened to his fellow graduates in the decade since they had graduated....
Sara
Character: Rozalyn Dupree
A newly minted attorney joins the legal aid clinic in San Francisco where her best friend works....
Memphis Beat
Character: Lieutenant Tanya Rice
Memphis Beat is an American drama series that debuted on TNT on June 22, 2010 and ended on August 16, 2011. Memphis Beat was officially canceled on October 14, 2011....
The Wild Thornberrys
Character: Medicine Woman (voice)
Travel the world with the Thornberrys and come face-to-face with blue sheep in Nepal, emus in Australia, marmots in Pakistan, flash floods in Siberia, Egyptian burial chambers, a runaway hot air balloon, a rock slide on the Karakoram Highway and more!...
Women, War & Peace
Character: Narrator (voice)
What if you looked at war as though women mattered? What if you looked at peace as though women mattered? These two questions were at the heart of this critically acclaimed five-part special series....
State of Affairs
Character: President Constance Payton
Each day the President is faced with dozens of life and death decisions, and to prioritize the biggest international crises facing the country, one top CIA analyst - Charleston Tucker - assembles the President's Daily Briefing. This list of the most vital security issues facing the nation brings with it moral and political judgment calls for Charleston and her trusted group of brilliant analysts at the agency. Aside from the political minefields she has to walk, Charlie has a close personal rel...
The Last Ship
Character: Amy Granderson
Their mission is simple: Find a cure. Stop the virus. Save the world. When a global pandemic wipes out eighty percent of the planet's population, the crew of a lone naval destroyer must find a way to pull humanity from the brink of extinction....
The Daily Show
Character: Self
The World's Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture....
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character: Self - Guest
A live-action children's television anthology series retelling popular fairy tales....
Marvel's Luke Cage
Character: Mariah Dillard
Given superstrength and durability by a sabotaged experiment, a wrongly accused man escapes prison to become a superhero for hire....
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Character: Aunt Josephine
The orphaned Baudelaire children face trials, tribulations and the evil Count Olaf, all in their quest to uncover the secret of their parents' death....
Reading Rainbow
Character: Herself - Narrator (voice)
Journey to exciting places and build a lasting connection with your favorite books. Each episode centers on a theme from a book, or other children's literature, which is explored through a number of segments or stories....
Who Do You Think You Are?
Character: Self
From roots in the Deep South to the slums of New Jersey, "Who Do You Think You Are?" follows the journeys of some of the most well-known names in American popular culture. Watch as celebrities discover unknown details about themselves and their families while researching their ancestry with the help of historians and genealogical experts....
American Experience
Character: Narrator (voice)
TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today....
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character: Princess Lovinia
A live-action children's television anthology series retelling popular fairy tales....
Empire
Character: Renee
A powerful family drama about the head of a music empire whose three sons and ex-wife all battle for his throne....
Monsieur Spade
Character: Virginia Dell
Detective Sam Spade is pulled out of his tranquil retirement in France to investigate a series of brutal murders....
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Character: Winsome (voice)
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child is an American anthology animated television series....
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Character: Self - Guest
Bravo network executive Andy Cohen discusses pop culture topics with celebrities and reality show personalities....
Rachael Ray
Character: Self
Rachael Ray, also known as The Rachael Ray Show, is an American talk show starring Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006. It is filmed at Chelsea Television Studios in New York City. The show's 8th season premiered on September 9, 2013, and became the last Harpo show in syndication to switch to HD with a revamped studio. In January 2012, CBS Television Distribution announced a two-year renewal for the show, taking it through the 2013–14 sea...
Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
Character: Mimi Lafayette (voice)
After 13-year-old super-genius Lunella accidentally brings ten-ton T-Rex, Devil Dinosaur into present-day New York City via a time vortex, the duo works together to protect the city's Lower East Side from danger....
Grey's Anatomy
Character: Justine Campbell
Follows the personal and professional lives of a group of doctors at Seattle’s Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital....
See
Character: Paris
A virus has decimated humankind. Those who survived emerged blind. Centuries later when twins are born with the mythic ability to see, their father must protect his tribe against a threatened queen....
The Sophisticated Gents
Character: Evelyn Evers
The 25-year reunion of members of a black athletic-social club brings together nine of its members for the first time to honor their old coach but is marred by a murder investigation involving one of the gents....
HBO First Look
Character: Self
HBO First Look is an American television show on HBO that chronicles up and coming movies. It first started in 1992 with a documentary on A League of Their Own starring Tom Hanks, and still airs today. The series shows behind-the-scenes looks at the filming and interviews with the actors. The show is part documentary and part advertisement. It airs on HBO with no set schedule....
The Megan Mullally Show
Character: Self - Guest
Two-time Emmy Award-winner Megan Mullally, coming off eight seasons as wisecracking socialite Karen Walker on NBC's "Will & Grace," moves into the driver's seat as host for this daytime talk show. Each episode is an entertaining hour featuring a mix of celebrities, real people, music, and comedy. Megan will interview top celebrities and also introduce the world to guests of all kinds — from quirky characters to funny kids to offbeat experts....
Star Trek: Lower Decks
Character: Lilly Sloane (voice)
The lives of the support crew serving on one of Starfleet's least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi have to keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies....
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Character: Self
PBS SoCal and Variety take you inside the biggest movies and TV shows of the past year through candid conversations with today's hottest actors. Hosted by Variety Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis and Variety Chief Correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, each episode brings together pairs of actors engaging in intimate one-on-one discussions about their craft and work....
Private Practice
Character: Dee Bennett
Having left behind Seattle Grace Hospital, renowned surgeon Addison Forbes Montgomery moves to Los Angeles for sunnier weather and happier possibilities. She reunites with her friends from medical school, joining them at their chic, co-op, Oceanside Wellness Center in Santa Monica....
Movie Credits
K-PAX
Character: Claudia Villars
Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations....
Star Trek: First Contact
Character: Lily Sloane
The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy....
Primal Fear
Character: Shoat
An arrogant, high-powered attorney takes on the case of a poor altar boy found running away from the scene of the grisly murder of the bishop who has taken him in. The case gets a lot more complex when the accused reveals that there may or may not have been a third person in the room....
Dinosaur
Character: Plio (voice)
An orphaned dinosaur raised by lemurs joins an arduous trek to a sancturary after a meteorite shower destroys his family home....
Mumford
Character: Lily
When a would-be psychologist, curiously named Dr. Mumford, comes to the idyllic town of the same name and offers his talent for listening and a disarming frankness, the town's quirkiest citizens scramble for a seat on his couch. As he lightens hearts darkened by old secrets no one realizes he's hiding a whopper of his own, or that he's fallen head over heels for one of his patients!...
Disney's American Legends
Character:
Meet the doers and dreamers who made America great -- including John Henry, the railroad builder who proved the value of believing in oneself. Journey with giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan as he clears the land for American settlers. Follow the trail of the beloved American Icon Johnny Appleseed, who planted apple trees which blossomed along the new frontier. Then, take an unforgettable ride with Casey Jones, The Brave Engineer who never failed to deliver the mail...no matter how difficult the route...
How to Make an American Quilt
Character: Marianna
Soon-to-be-wed graduate student Finn Dodd develops cold feet when she suspects her fiancé is cheating on her. In order to clear her head, Finn visits her grandmother, Hy, and great aunt, Glady Joe Cleary, in Grasse, Calif. There, Finn learns that Hy and Glady Joe are members of a group of passionate quilters, and over the course of her visit she is regaled with tales of love and life by women who have collected rich experiences and much wisdom....
Summer Camp
Character: Mary
Childhood best friends Nora, Ginny and Mary used to spend every summer at sleepaway camp together, and now, fifty years later, seize the opportunity to get back together for a reunion at the camp — full of food fights, river rafting and emotional revelations....
The Core
Character: Stickley
Geophysicist Dr. Josh Keyes discovers that an unknown force has caused the earth's inner core to stop rotating. With the planet's magnetic field rapidly deteriorating, our atmosphere literally starts to come apart at the seams with catastrophic consequences. To resolve the crisis, Keyes, along with a team of the world's most gifted scientists, travel into the earth's core. Their mission: detonate a device that will reactivate the core....
Crooklyn
Character: Carolyn Carmichael
From Spike Lee comes this vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school-teacher, her stubborn jazz-musician husband and their five kids living in '70s Brooklyn....
Take the Lead
Character: Augustine James
A former professional dancer volunteers to teach dance in the New York public school system and, while his background first clashes with his students' tastes, together they create a completely new style of dance. Based on the story of ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulane....
A Wrinkle in Time
Character: Mrs. Whatsit
Meg and Charles Wallace are aided by Calvin and three interesting women in the search for their father who disappeared during a government experiment. Their travels take them around the universe to a place unlike any other....
Grand Canyon
Character: Jane
Grand Canyon revolved around six residents from different backgrounds whose lives intertwine in modern-day Los Angeles. At the center of the film is the unlikely friendship of two men from different races and classes brought together when one finds himself in jeopardy in the other's rough neighborhood....
Radio
Character: Principal Daniels
In the racially divided town of Anderson, South Carolina in 1976, football coach Harold Jones spots a mentally disabled African-American young man nicknamed Radio near his practice field and is inspired to befriend him. Soon, Radio is Jones' loyal assistant, and he becomes a student at T.L. Hanna High School. But things start to sour when Coach Jones begins taking guff from parents and fans who feel that his devotion to Radio is getting in the way of the team's quest for a championship....
Beauty Shop
Character: Ms. Josephine
Far from Chicago, hairdresser Gina Norris has relocated to Atlanta with her daughter and has quickly established herself as a rare talent in her profession. But after repeatedly butting heads with her shady, over-the-top boss, Jorge, Norris sets out to create her own salon -- even snagging a few of Jorge's employees and clients. Now, Jorge will do anything to shut her down....
Passion Fish
Character: Chantelle
After an accident leaves her a paraplegic, a former soap opera star struggles to recover both emotionally and mentally, until she meets her newest nurse, who has struggles of her own....
Follow Me Home
Character: Evey
Three muralists (one Chicano, one Black, one American Indian) and the socially-maladjusted cousin of the Chicano muralist set off on a road trip with the intent of painting their images on the White House. Along the way they meet a mysterious Black woman. Together, these four men and one woman encounter racism, sexism, internal conflicts, and finally redemption as they discover their common humanity and their internal ability to conquer the societal ills that effect them all....
The Wild Thornberrys Movie
Character: Akela (Cheetah Mother) (voice)
Eliza and Debbie are two sisters who don't always get along. But their relationship is put to the test when Debbie's life is in danger, and Eliza might have to give up her power to talk to animals.......
Love & Basketball
Character: Camille Wright
Monica Wright and Quincy McCall grew up in the same neighborhood and have known each other since childhood. As they grow into adulthood, they fall in love, but they also share another all-consuming passion: basketball. As Quincy and Monica struggle to make their relationship work, they follow separate career paths though high school and college basketball and, they hope, into stardom in big-league professional ball....
Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys
Character: Alice Pratt
Wealthy socialite Charlotte Cartwright and her dear friend Alice Pratt, a working class woman of high ideals, have enjoyed a lasting friendship throughout several decades. Recently, their lives have become mired in turmoil as their adult children’s extramarital affairs, unethical business practices, and a dark secret threaten to derail family fortunes and unravel the lives of all involved. Charlotte and Alice decide to take a breather from it all by making a cross-country road trip in which they...
Weathering
Character: Mum
After losing her baby and nearly her life during labor, a journalist unravels amid disturbing visions and chilling attacks as she grieves alone at home....
The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag
Character: Ann
A Southern librarian puts excitement in her life with a found murder weapon and a false confession....
Sweet Revenge
Character: Vicki Teague
While a major in the U.S. Army, Joe Cheever has a fling with his commanding officer's daughter that results in a pregnancy. Cheever convinces the girl to have an illegal abortion. The abortion goes wrong and the girl dies. To protect his career, Cheever implicates Captain Dennison whose life is thereby ruined. Years later, the Captain's now grown-up sister Katherine marries Army Major Alex Breen, and is stunned to learn his commanding officer is the now Colonel Cheever. She becomes obsessed with...
Reach for Me
Character: Evelyn
Old and bitter, Alvin just wants some peace and quiet in his last days. His wish, however, is not granted when a young, vibrant and ironically full of life Kevin becomes Alvin's hospice roommate. Through this "odd couple" relationship, Alvin learns that its not the minutes in our life, its the moments in your life that matter....
HealtH
Character: Sally Benbow
At a luxury Florida resort, health food lobbyists choose their new president at their annual convention. As the conference progresses, underhanded tricks, backroom corruption and bizarre personal behavior threaten to undermine the entire affair....
Remember My Name
Character: Rita
Just released from prison, a young woman arrives in town to "start a new life," but soon begins stalking a married construction worker for no apparent reason, turning his life inside out and eventually terrorizing him and his wife....
12 Years a Slave
Character: Mistress Shaw
In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life....
Bopha!
Character: Rosie Mangena
In this story of a black policeman during South African apartheid, Danny Glover plays the cop, who believes he's trying to help his people, even while serving as a pawn of the racist government. When his son gets involved in the anti-apartheid movement, he finds himself torn between his family and what he believes is his duty....
Holiday Heart
Character: Wanda Dean
After losing his police officer lover, Christian drag queen Holiday Heart meets 12-year-old Niki and her drug-addicted mother, Wanda. Heart finds relief from heartache and a renewed sense of purpose when he steps in as a father figure to Niki and welcomes the two women into his life. But when Wanda becomes romantically involved with her drug dealer, Silas, it may endanger Niki and threaten to destroy the makeshift family....
Down in the Delta
Character: Loretta Sinclair
A single mother plagued by alcohol and drug addictions is sent with her children from Chicago to her ancestral home in the Mississippi Delta, to live with her uncle and aunt for the summer....
Words by Heart
Character: Claudie Sills
The only black family living in a small midwestern town at the turn of the century confront prejudice, as seen through the eyes of the young daughter....
Cross Creek
Character: Geechee
In the 1930s, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings moves to Florida's backwaters to write in peace. She feels bothered by affectionate men, editors and confused neighbors, but soon she connects and writes The Yearling, a classic of American literature....
Rich in Love
Character: Rhody Poole
Warren Odom, a rich Southern gentleman, is left in a state of shock when his wife, Helen, leaves him unexpectedly. With Helen gone, Warren's kindhearted teenage daughter, Lucille, cares for him and tries to cheer him up. Warren slowly starts to recover, and begins a relationship with another woman, Vera Delmage. However, his life is complicated when his older daughter, Rae, arrives in town pregnant....
Miss Evers' Boys
Character: Eunice Evers, R.N.
The true story of the US Government's 1932 Tuskeegee Syphilis Experiments, in which a group of black test subjects were allowed to die, despite a cure having been developed....
Steel Magnolias
Character: Ouiser
In an updated contemporary version of the beloved stage play and 1989 film, "Steel Magnolias" chronicles the lives and friendship of six women in Louisiana. Supporting each other through their triumphs and tragedies, they congregate at Truvy’s beauty shop to ponder the mysteries of life and death, husbands and children - and hair and nails - all the important topics that truly unite and celebrate women....
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Character: Esther
This film adaptation of James Baldwin's celebrated novel tells the journey of a family from the rural South to "big city" Harlem seeking both salvation and understanding and of a young boy struggling to earn the approval of a self-righteous and often unloving stepfather....
The Wild Thornberrys: The Origin of Donnie
Character: Medicine Woman (voice)
Donnie goes missing and the rest of the Thornberry family have various adventures (broken bones, getting lost in a cave, and a forest fire) while looking for him. It has been screened as a TV movie and as four episodes in season 4 of the TV series....
Space Oddity
Character: Dr. Olsen
A space-obsessed man gets the opportunity of a lifetime thanks to a Mars colonization program but finds his plans compromised by his feelings for a woman who brings him down to Earth....
Unnatural Causes
Character: Maude DeVictor
Frank Coleman is a Vietnam veteran dying from cancer brought on by exposure to the defoliant chemical Agent Orange which he turns to Maude DeVictor, a Veterans Administration benefits counselor who teams up with Coleman to fight a lopsided batted against the bureaucratic system for its cover up of the possible dangers of Agent Orange....
A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story
Character: Mary Thomas
The story of Mary Thomas, the mother of basketball star Isiah Thomas, and how she fought to keep her family together and her sons out of trouble despite the surroundings of poverty, drugs, crime and violence of their ghetto neighborhood....
Mandela
Character: Winnie Mandela
Nelson Mandela becomes South Africa's first Black President, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership in negotiating a bloodless revolution in that country....
Funny Valentines
Character: Joyce May
A woman returns to her home town to sort out her troubled marriage and finds new happiness in the rekindling of a broken friendship with her cousin....
Miss Firecracker
Character: Popeye Jackson
Carnelle Scott is a restless Mississippi girl looking for a life change. She decides to enter a beauty pageant, which her cousin had won years before. Despite a lack of support from those close to her Carnelle remains determined. She enlists the help of a seamstress to outfit her for the competition, while rebuffing the advances of predatory men, as she aims to bring home the crown....
Lost Souls
Character: Dr. Allen
A young woman becomes aware of a conspiracy to enable the Devil to walk the Earth in human form. To defeat the prophesy, she must convince a respected New York crime journalist, who is devoid of faith, that he is in fact the target of the conspiracy....
Extremities
Character: Patricia
A woman escapes from the man who is about to rape her, but leaves her purse behind. Afraid that her attacker might come after her, she goes to the police, but with no proof of the incident, they can do nothing. In fact, the man does use the information in her bag and comes to her apartment with the intent of rape, but she sprays him in the face with insect repellent, and then holds him captive. She is then faced with deciding whether to go to the police who might not believe her and release him,...
Annabelle
Character: Evelyn
A couple begins to experience terrifying supernatural occurrences involving a vintage doll shortly after their home is invaded by satanic cultists....
Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band
Character: Mary Lou Williams (voice)
Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams was a genius ahead of her time. From child prodigy to "Boogie-Woogie Queen" to groundbreaking composer to mentoring some of the greatest musicians of all time, she never ceased to astound those who heard her play. But for a Black woman in the early 1900s, life as a star did not come easy....
Blue Chips
Character: Lavada McRae
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around....
Mississippi Grind
Character: Sam
Gerry is a talented but down-on-his-luck gambler whose fortunes begin to change when he meets Curtis, a younger, highly charismatic poker player. The two strike up an immediate friendship and Gerry quickly persuades his new friend to accompany him on a road trip to a legendary high stakes poker game in New Orleans. As they make their way down the Mississippi River, Gerry and Curtis manage to find themselves in just about every bar, racetrack, casino, and pool hall they can find, experiencing bo...
The Forgotten
Character: Det. Anne Pope
Telly Paretta is a grieving mother struggling to cope with the loss of her 8-year-old son. She is stunned when her psychiatrist reveals that she has created eight years of memories about a son she never had. But when she meets a man who has had a similar experience, Telly embarks on a search to prove her son's existence, and her sanity....
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
Character: Self
This fascinating documentary unfolds in reverse telling the story of Mandela from the old man to the rural child. With contributions from storytellers from every corner of the globe, we gain a unique insight into why Mandela was so loved and revered. Mandela's unique way of handling the challenges of life range from his relationship with the British Royals and the attempted suicide of a South African rugby hero, to epic political strategies that clinched a World Cup, and single-handedly averted ...
What's Cooking?
Character: Audrey Williams
Four families of different ethnicities prepare for a potentially explosive Thanksgiving dinner....
So B. It
Character: Bernadette
A young girl named Heidi who lives with her mentally disabled mother, travels across the country to find out about her and her mothers past....
The Ambush Murders
Character: Karisha Ellsworth
An African-American political activist is wrongfully imprisoned for killing two white policemen; he is unwary of yet another white lawyer who claims that he will help free him....
The Singing Detective
Character: Chief of Staff
From his hospital bed, a writer suffering from a skin disease hallucinates musical numbers and paranoid plots....
Knucklehead
Character: Sheila
When his brother disappears, mentally disabled Langston Bellows (Gbenga Akinnagbe) is left without a protector in Brooklyn's housing projects. Now under the control of his abusive mother (Alfre Woodard) Langston must take his future into his own hands. He sets out to find the one doctor he believes can cure him, a celebrity magazine columnist who touts questionable prescription drug cocktails. If Langston can become "mentally excellent", it will mean moving into an apartment of his own with his ...
The Book of Clarence
Character: Mother Mary
Streetwise but down-on-his-luck, Clarence is struggling to find a better life for his family, while fighting to free himself of debt. Captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah and His apostles, he risks everything to carve his own path to a divine life, and ultimately discovers that the redemptive power of belief may be his only way out....
A Path Appears
Character: Self
The film follows intrepid reporters Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn and actor/advocates Malin Akerman, Mia Farrow, Ronan Farrow, Jennifer Garner, Regina Hall, Ashley Judd, Blake Lively, Eva Longoria, and Alfre Woodard to Colombia, Haiti, Kenya, and throughout the United States as they uncover the harshest forms of gender-based oppression and human rights violations, as well as the effective solutions being implemented to combat them....
Medal of Honor
Character: Narrator
The story of the Medal of Honor - the highest U.S. award for valor in combat - is told through personal accounts of bravery and daring...
John Henry
Character: Polly / Narrator (voice)
The story of the legendary steel-driving folk hero born with a hammer in his hands, who pitted his strength against a mighty railroad-building machine....
Cadillac Desert: Water and the Transformation of Nature
Character: Narrator (voice)
Documentary on water usage, money, politics, the transformation of nature, and the growth of the American west, shown on PBS as a four-part miniseries....
Freedom Road
Character: Katie
Ex-slave and former Union soldier Gideon Jackson represents other ex-slaves at the constitutional convention, and is soon elected to the U.S. Senate despite opposition from white landowners, law enforcement and the KKK. He unites with sharecropper Abner Lait, who helps Jackson unite ex-slaves and white tenant farmers....
Pictures of Hollis Woods
Character: Edna Reilly
After running away from her last foster placement with the Regan family, twelve year old Hollis Woods is placed with a new foster mother, the loving, retired art teacher, Josie Cahill....
Scrooged
Character: Grace Cooley
Frank Cross is a wildly successful television executive whose cold ambition and curmudgeonly nature has driven away the love of his life. But after firing a staff member on Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts who give him a chance to re-evaluate his actions and right the wrongs of his past....
Captain America: Civil War
Character: Miriam
Following the events of Age of Ultron, the collective governments of the world pass an act designed to regulate all superhuman activity. This polarizes opinion amongst the Avengers, causing two factions to side with Iron Man or Captain America, which causes an epic battle between former allies....
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
Character: Woman who lost her stuff
The powerful tales of seven diverse African-American women are woven together in this 1982 performance of Ntozake Shange's Obie Award-winning landmark play. A breakthrough portrayal of black women's experiences in America, the story combines music, poetry and dance to celebrate their unique culture while painting a poignant portrait of their terrible struggles....
Burning Sands
Character: Professor Hughes
Deep into Hell Week, a favored pledgee is torn between honoring his code of silence or standing up against the intensifying violence of underground hazing....
A Step Toward Tomorrow
Character: Dr. Sadlin
A divorcee moves her family cross-country to take her paralyzed son to a pioneer neurosurgeon....
The Water Is Wide
Character: Mrs. Brown
Pat Conroy, an ambitious, slightly rebellious idealistic teacher accepts Bennington county, SC's school board superintendent's offer to teach the all-black kids of the pauper fishery community on Yamacraw Island. Staffless 'head' mistress Brown incarnates stupidity and blind rule obedience, her didactic skills consisting in scolding and spanking her students. Pat moves heaven and earth to motivate and educate, but after finally getting trough to pupils and parents is refused contract renewal by ...
The Piano Lesson
Character: Berniece Charles
1930's Pittsburgh, a brother comes home to claim "my half of the piano", a family heirloom; but his sister is not wanting to part with it. This is a glimpse of the conditions for African-Americans as well as some of the attitudes and influences on their lives. But whether he is able to sell the piano so that he can get enough money to buy some property and "no longer have to work for someone else" involves the story (or lesson) that the piano has to show him....
American Violet
Character: Alma Roberts
A young single mother of four living in a small Texas town. Arrested during a drug raid and accused of a crime she didn't commit, Dee goes against the wishes of her mother, Alma, and rejects the plea-bargain that would free her from jail, but brand her as a felon for life. As word begins to spread that similar incidents are occurring in poor communities all across the country, Dee realizes that there are more mothers out there like her, and decides to take a stand against powerful district attor...
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
Character: Self
A celebration of Dr. Maya Angelou by weaving her words with rare and intimate archival photographs and videos, which paint hidden moments of her exuberant life during some of America’s most defining civil rights moments. From her upbringing in the Depression-era South to her swinging soirees with Malcolm X in Ghana to her inaugural speech for President Bill Clinton, we are given special access to interviews with Dr. Angelou whose indelible charm and quick wit make it easy to love her....
The Trial of the Moke
Character: Lucy Smith
Henry Flipper is the first black West Point graduate. Assigned to serve at Fort Davis in Texas, Flipper becomes the object of a conspiracy by his fellow cadets to rid the base of its only black graduate....
The Lion King
Character: Sarabi (voice)
Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his....
Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property
Character: Narrator
In 1831, Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in the United States that resulted in the murder of local slave owners and their families, the eventual execution of 55 rebels and the retribution lynching of more than 200 innocent slaves. Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property examines how the story of Turner’s revolt has been interpreted throughout history and how it continues to raise new questions about the nature of terrorism and other forms of violent resistance to oppression. The film adopts an inno...
The Wishing Tree
Character: Clara
When her storyteller mother (Mary Alice) dies, attorney Clara Collier (Alfre Woodard) returns to her Georgia hometown and is soon captivated by a local legend of the "Magic Man" (Blair Underwood). While looking for the source of the tale, Clara uncovers suprising family secrets. Czech filmmaker Ivan Passer directs this family drama that delves into the storytelling tradition of the Deep South. Blair Underwood and Helen Shaver co-star....
Puss in Boots
Character: Princess Lovinia
A young man (Gregory Hines) journeys from rags-to-riches thanks to his talented Puss in Boots (Ben Vereen). Starring Ben Vereen, Gregory Hines, Alfre Woodard, George Kirby, and Brock Peters. Narrated by Shelley Duvall....
King Leopold's Ghost
Character: Ilanga (voice)
The modern history of the Congo, the heart of Africa, is a terrifying tale of appalling brutality: how the greedy and incredibly ruthless King Leopold II of Belgium (1935-1909) turned a vast country into his private estate (1885-1908) and how he plundered the land and raped the bodies and souls of its defenceless inhabitants, causing countless victims; and what exactly is the true impact of this often forgotten story of crime and horror today....
The Killing Floor
Character: Mattie
During World War I, a poor black Southerner travels north to Chicago to get work in the city's slaughterhouses, where he becomes embroiled in the organized labor movement....
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
Character:
When the Civil War ended in 1865, more than four million slaves were set free. Over 70 years later, the memories of some 2,000 slave-era survivors were transcribed and preserved by the Library of Congress. These first-person anecdotes, ranging from the brutal to the bittersweet, have been brought to vivid life in this unique HBO documentary special, featuring the on-camera voices of over a dozen top African-American actors....
Black Panther
Character: Dondi Reece
Black Panther is the ruler and protector of the African nation of Wakanda. Using technology, wits, and extraordinary fighting ability he must protect his nation from an invasion led by Ulysses Klaw, the man who killed his father....
Henry Box Brown
Character:
In a magical take on a true story, a slave mails himself from a plantation in Richmond, Virginia, to freedom in Philadelphia in 1848....
Saint Judy
Character: Judge Benton
The true story of immigration attorney Judy Wood and how she singlehandedly changed the U.S. law of asylum to save women's lives....
Clemency
Character: Warden Bernadine Williams
Years of carrying out death row executions have taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine Williams. As she prepares to execute another inmate, Bernadine must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill....
Special Report: Journey to Mars
Character: Tamara O'Neil
When the world's first spaceship is close to its goal (Mars), the TV-network GNN begins its live coverage of the last two hours of the mission and then the problems start. The landing-computer malfunctions, the captain Eugene Slader gets very sick and back on Earth it is discovered that big financial corporations have an interest in the failure of the mission - and we, the viewers, can see it all live on television....
Juanita
Character: Juanita
Fed up with her deadbeat grown kids and marginal urban existence, Juanita takes a Greyhound bus to Paper Moon, Montana - where she reinvents herself and finds her mojo....
Fatherhood
Character: Marian
A widowed new dad copes with doubts, fears, heartache and dirty diapers as he sets out to raise his daughter on his own. Inspired by a true story....
The Lion King: Can You Feel The Love Tonight with Robin Roberts
Character:
"The Lion King: Can You Feel The Love Tonight with Robin Roberts" will explore the enduring universal appeal of "The Lion King" franchise, tap into its past and how it came to be, and offer a glimpse into its future. Roberts speaks with director Jon Favreau and gets an exclusive, behind-the-scenes visit to the studios where the new film is being mixed....
Heart and Souls
Character: Penny Washington
A fateful night in 1959, four people die when the bus they are riding crashes. They continue as ghosts; their souls become eternally entwined to the life of a child born at the moment of their deaths as his guardians. Baby Thomas grows up to be a businessman who has memories of his playmates, but assumes they are products of his youthful imagination. When the ghosts realize they need Thomas' help to move on to the afterlife, they decide to make an appearance once more....
And the Oscar Goes To...
Character: Self (archive footage)
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement....
The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
Character: Mary Parrish (voice)
Documents the race riot of 1921 and the destruction of the African-American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With testimony by eyewitnesses and background accounts by historians....
Eleanor Roosevelt
Character: Narrator (voice)
Eleanor Roosevelt struggled to overcome an unhappy childhood, betrayal in her marriage, a controlling mother-in-law, and gripping depressions — all the while staying true to her passion for social justice. This biography includes rare home movies, contemporary footage, and reflections from Eleanor’s closest surviving relatives, as well as biographers Blanche Wiesen Cook, Allida Black, and Geoffrey C. Ward, bringing to vibrant life one of the century’s most influential women....
Malcolm X: Make It Plain
Character: Narrator
Narrated by actress Alfre Woodard, this trenchant, eye-opening doc traces the radical civil rights leader’s life from his tumultuous childhood, through his rise in the ranks of the Nation of Islam, to his 1965 assassination....
Aliens for Breakfast
Character: Mrs. Marks
Sinbad plays Ari, an alien who comes to Earth in a cereal box in order to warn a kid about an imminent alien invasion....
Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks
Character: Narrator
An intimate look at the life and career of Gordon Parks a true Renaissance man who has excelled as a photographer, novelist, journalist, poet, musician and filmmaker....
The Underground Railroad
Character:
The Underground Railroad was not really a railroad, nor was it always underground. It was an informal network of people and hiding places that helped slaves escape the American South. It extended from the South into the northern states, Canada, the western frontier, and even Cuba and the Caribbean. This documentary remembers the people, white and black, famous and almost-forgotten, who risked their fortunes and even their lives to resist the unjust institution of slavery....
The Child Saver
Character: Andrea Crawford
Andrea Crawford, an important business woman, risks everything to save a kid from the life of crime....
No Small Matter
Character: Narrator (voice)
A look at the issue of high-quality early care and education in America, from home to childcare to preschool; the tragic cost of getting it wrong; and the huge payoff - for our kids, our families and our country - of getting it right....
Nefertiti and the Lost Dynasty
Character: Self - Narrator
It is one of Egypt's enduring mysteries. What happened to Nefertiti and her husband, Akhenaten - the radical king, and likely father of King Tut? In a dark and mysterious tomb located in the Valley of the Kings, there is a small chamber with two mummies without sarcophagi or wrappings. At times, both have been identified as Queen Nefertiti by scholars, filmmakers and historians. But the evidence has been circumstantial at best....
Blue Bayou
Character: Jessica Filley
A Los Angeles lawyer has to go to New Orleans for a steamy case involving a troubled teen....
Searching for Debra Winger
Character: Self
Rosanna Arquette talks to various actresses about the pressures they face as women working in the entertainment industry....
The Gray Man
Character: Margaret Cahill
When a shadowy CIA agent uncovers damning agency secrets, he's hunted across the globe by a sociopathic rogue operative who's put a bounty on his head....
Something New
Character: Joyce McQueen
Kenya McQueen, a corporate lawyer, finds love in the most unexpected place when she agrees to go on a blind date with Brian Kelly, a sexy and free-spirited landscaper....
Black Hollywood
Character: Self
Shot entirely on location in Hollywood in 1984, this feature documentary explores the role of black actors, black directors and the black audience in American movies....
Precious Blood
Character: Narrator
A one act play where a woman and a man share their life stories, till they inter stitch and conflict with each other....
The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue
Character: Maisie (voice)
When Toaster and the gang spark friendships with the playful animals at the veterinary hospital, they soon discover their new pals are about to be sent to a testing laboratory....
L.A. Law: Pilot
Character: Adrianne Moore
Pilot episode for the TV series introduces the lawyers and employees of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak, a Los Angeles law firm, in dealing with their courtroom cases and personal matters out of the courthouse. While the entire office deals with the unexpected death of one of the founding senior partners, Norman Chaney, junior partner Michael Kuzak reluctantly takes on the defense of a wealthy and spoiled young man, accused with two friends, of raping a woman dying from leukemia. While inte...
Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color
Character: Alma Thomas (voice)
Alma W. Thomas lived a life of firsts: the first Fine Arts graduate of Howard University (1924), the first Black woman to mount a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art (1972), and the first Black woman to have her paintings exhibited in the White House (2009). Yet she did not receive national attention until she was 80....
Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street
Character: Mary Parrish (voice)
This documentary celebrates the Black cultural renaissance that existed in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, OK, and investigates the 100-year-old race massacre that left an indelible, though hidden stain on American history....
Salem's Lot
Character: Dr. Cody
Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire....