Jenifer Lewis
Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American film and television actress and singer. She is one of Hollywood's most familiar faces, with more than 300 appearances in film and television and was dubbed a "national treasure" by TV Guide.com. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in the films Beaches and Sister Act. She delivered legendary performances as Tina Turner's mother in What's Love Got to Do With It and in The Preacher's Wife as the mother of Whitney Houston's character. She starred opposite Matt Damon in Clint Eastwood's Hereafter. For director Tyler Perry, she created unforgettable characters in Madea's Family Reunion and Meet the Browns. In the movie Cast Away, she portrayed Tom Hanks' boss. In animated films, Jenifer's uniquely recognizable voice is adored by Disney fans worldwide in roles such as "Flo" in Cars and Cars 2, and as "Mama Odie" in The Princess and the Frog. For six seasons, Jenifer portrayed "Lana Hawkins" on Lifetime's hit series Strong Medicine. She starred on the hit show Black-ish (ABC), where her hilarious portrayal of "Ruby Johnson" earned her a nomination for the 2016 Critics Choice Award. She has also written two books: The Mother of Black Hollywood and Walking in My Joy: In These Streets.
Available on CineVibes
Full Filmography
All Credits (140)
A Different World
as President Davenport
Haunted Hotel
as Additional Voices (voice)
Ado
as Ms. Hopkins
Spellbound
as Nazara (voice)
The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish
as Mother Nature (voice)
The Greatest Love Story Never Told
as Self
This Is Me…Now
as Gemini
History of the World: Part II
as Grandma
Commitment to Life
as Self (archive footage)
Not Dead Yet
as Donna
Night Court
as Erika
So Help Me Todd
as Jacqueline Burton
Sherri
as Self - Guest
The Jennifer Hudson Show
as Self - Guest
Cars on the Road
as Flo (voice)
I Love That for You
as Patricia Cochran
black-ish: A Celebration – An ABC News Special
as Self
And Just Like That…
as Lucille Highwater
The Ghost and Molly McGee
as Patty (voice)
Mickey Mouse Funhouse
as Wheezelene (voice)
Mickey Mouse Funhouse
as Unknown
All Boys Aren't Blue
as Unknown
Finding Kendrick Johnson
as Narrator (voice)
Monsters at Work
as Grandma Tuskmon (voice)
Rugrats
as Ms. Marjorie / Narrator (voice)
Rugrats
as Ms. Marjorie (voice)
The Upshaws
as Dr. Pearl Edmunds
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
as Self - Contestant
Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square
as Margeline
Star Trek: Lower Decks
as Bartender (voice)
Stars in the House
as Self - Special Guest
Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back
as Self (archive footage)
The Addams Family
as Great Auntie Sloom (Voice)
Amphibia
as Mama Hasselback (voice)
Forbidden
as Unknown
grown-ish
as Ruby Johnson
Big Hero 6 The Series
as Professor Granville (voice)
Jewel's Catch One
as Self
The $100,000 Pyramid
as Self
Match Game
as Self - Panelist
To Tell the Truth
as Self - Panelist
Secrets of the Magic City
as Aunt Valerie
The Wedding Ringer
as Doris Jenkins
black-ish
as Ruby Johnson
Think Like a Man Too
as Loretta
The Radiator Springs 500½
as Flo (voice)
Baggage Claim
as Catherine Moore
Teen Titans Go!
as Microwavabelle (voice)
Hiccups
as Flo (voice)
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
as Self - Guest Judge
Jenifer Lewis and Shangela
as Jenifer Lewis
Zambezia
as Gogo (voice)
Think Like a Man
as Loretta Hanover
Five
as Maggie
The Playboy Club
as Pearl
When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren
as Retirement Home Waitress (uncredited)
Young Justice
as Olympia Savage (voice)
Hereafter
as Candace
The Princess and the Frog
as Mama Odie (voice)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest
Not Easily Broken
as Mary 'Mama' Clark
Prop 8: The Musical
as Riffing Prop 8'er
Meet the Browns
as Vera
Redrum
as Therapist
Who's Your Caddy?
as C-Note's Mom
Day Break
as Elizabeth Hopper
Geared-Up
as Unknown
Shark
as Ellie Broussard
Dirty Laundry
as Aunt Lettuce
Madea's Family Reunion
as Milay Jenay Lori
Earth to America
as Self
The Boondocks
as Boss Willona (voice)
The Boondocks
as Geraldine (voice)
Dancing with the Stars
as Self - Musical Guest
American Dad!
as Lessie (voice)
Boston Legal
as Judge Isabel Fisher
Shark Tale
as Motown Turtle (voice)
The Cookout
as Lady Em
Nora's Hair Salon
as Nora
That's So Raven
as Vivian
Antwone Fisher
as Aunt Mary Williams (uncredited)
Juwanna Mann
as Aunt Ruby
The Brothers
as Louise Smith
Dancing in September
as Judge Warner
Cast Away
as Becca Twig
Bette
as Unknown
Girlfriends
as Veretta Childs
Strong Medicine
as Lana Hawkins
Partners
as Detective Lancy
Little Richard
as Muh Penniman
Time of Your Life
as Unknown
Mystery Men
as Lucille
Jackie's Back!
as Jackie Washington
Blast from the Past
as Dr. Aron
The PJs
as Bebe Ho (voice)
Get Bruce!
as Self
The Temptations
as Mama Rose
An Unexpected Life
as Camille
The Mighty
as Mrs. Addison
Rituals
as Carmen
The Chris Rock Show
as Self
The Preacher's Wife
as Margueritte Coleman
Promised Land
as Queenie
The Jamie Foxx Show
as Josie
The Daily Show
as Unknown
Girl 6
as Boss #1 - Lil
Moesha
as Mrs. Biggs
Dead Presidents
as Mrs. Curtis
Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan
as Denice Cooper
Panther
as Rita
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as Female Black Widow Spider (voice)
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as Hazel (voice)
The Parent 'Hood
as Unknown
Deconstructing Sarah
as Betty
Friends
as Paula
Touched by an Angel
as Queenie
New York Undercover
as Unknown
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
as Amanda
Corrina, Corrina
as Jevina
Rebel Highway
as Amanda Baldwin Cooper
Renaissance Man
as Mrs. Coleman
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
as Vegas Backup Singer #1
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
as Mystique
Undercover Blues
as Cab Driver
Living Single
as Unknown
The Meteor Man
as Mrs. Williams
Poetic Justice
as Annie
What's Love Got to Do with It
as Zelma Bullock
Frozen Assets
as Jomisha
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
as Georgia Rodman
Sister Act
as Michelle
Roc
as Charlaine
Sunday in Paris
as Taylor Chase
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
as Aunt Helen
Dream On
as Carolyn
In Living Color
as Unknown
Beaches
as Diva
A Different World
as Susan Clayton
A Different World
as Dean Dorothy Dandridge Davenport
Bette Midler: Art or Bust
as Self - Harlette