Alfre Woodard Biography

Alfre Ette Woodard (born November 8, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Grammy Award, 18 times for the Emmy Award (winning four), and has also won a Golden Globe Award and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Early life

Woodard was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Constance, a homemaker, and Marion H. Woodard, an entrepreneur and interior designer. Woodard attended Bishop Kelley High School, a private Catholic school in Tulsa. She studied drama at Boston University, from which she graduated.

Career

Woodard has made numerous appearances in television series and motion pictures. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1983 film Cross Creek. In 1993, she starred in the film Passion Fish for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. She also appeared in the films Heart and Souls, Crooklyn, How to Make an American Quilt, Primal Fear, in Down in the Delta as a single alcoholic mother from Chicago forced to spend a summer with her uncle in Mississippi, and as Lily Sloane, Zefram Cochrane's assistant in Star Trek: First Contact, a performance in the franchise which garnered wide critical acclaim.

In 1997, she starred in the HBO film Miss Evers' Boys, for which she won an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a CableACE Award, an NAACP Image Award and a Satellite Awards.

Woodard's television credits include Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, Faerie Tale Theatre (in "Puss in Boots"), L.A. Law, and Homicide: Life on the Street. Woodard has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for her performances in the series Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and The Practice, as well as the television movie Miss Evers' Boys. Woodard has received Emmy nominations for Words by Heart, St. Elsewhere, Unnatural Causes, a second nomination for St. Elsewhere, A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story, The Piano Lesson, Gulliver's Travels, Homicide: Life on the Street and The Water Is Wide.

In 2003, Woodard, took part in the HBO film Unchained Memories, a dramatization of WPA slave narratives. From 2005 to 2006, Woodard starred in the ABC series Desperate Housewives, and received another Emmy nomination for her role as Betty Applewhite. Woodard has appeared on stage in such plays as Map of the World, Drowning Crow, Me & Bessie and Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. She starred in Tyler Perry's latest film The Family That Preys. In 2009, she appeared in American Violet, playing the mother of a 24-year-old African-American woman wrongfully swept up in a drug raid.

In 2010, she was a guest star in the third season of HBO's True Blood as Ruby Jean Reynolds. and was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2011 for her role.

She was most recently seen starring as Lt. Tanya Rice in TNT's original series Memphis Beat, for which she won Gracie Allen Awards for performance in a series. One critic said: "I originally tuned in for Jason Lee, who plays a police detective named Dwight who likes to croon the blues. But I was won over by Alfre Woodard, who plays Dwight's by-the-book boss." In 2013, she appeared in Ava DuVernay's short film The Door, a part of Miu Miu's Women's Tales series.

Personal life

Woodard lives in Santa Monica, California, with her husband, writer Roderick Spencer, and their two children, Mavis and Duncan. Woodard follows Christian Science. She is a founder and board member of Artists for a New South Africa and is also active in the Democratic Party. Woodard has also expressed support for same sex marriage. In February 2009, she joined a group of American film directors and actors on a cultural trip to Iran at the invitation of the "House of Cinema" forum in Tehran. Her daughter, Mavis, served as Miss Golden Globe for the 2010 Golden Globe Awards.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Film or series	Result
1984	Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Cross Creek
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Hill Street Blues
1985		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Words By Heart Wonderworks
1986		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	St. Elsewhere
1987		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Unnatural Causes
		Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	L.A. Law
1988			St. Elsewhere
1989	Joe A. Callaway Award	Best Actress	The Winter's Tale
	CableACE Awards	Actress in a Movie or Miniseries	Mandela
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie	Unnatural Causes
1990			Mandela
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story The Magi
1992	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie
1993	Golden Globe Award	Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture	Passion Fish
	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Female
1994	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress	Heart and Souls
1995	[[Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards|Women in Film Crystal Awards]]	Life Achievement Award
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	The Piano Lesson
1996	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
		Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	How to Make an American Quilt
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Gulliver's Travels
1997		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Miss Evers' Boys
	CableACE Awards	Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries	The Member of the Wedding
		Actress in a Movie or Miniseries	Miss Evers' Boys
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Star Trek: First Contact
	Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Gulliver's Travels
1998	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie	Miss Evers' Boys
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress " Miniseries or Television Film
	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress " Miniseries or Television Film
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Homicide: Life on the Street
1999	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Female Lead	Down in the Delta
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
	Acapulco Black Film Festival	Best Actress
2000	Black Reel Awards	Best Actress	Funny Valentines
2001	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series or Special	The Wishing Tree
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Love & Basketball
		Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Holiday Heart
	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress " Miniseries or Television Film
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special	The Wishing Tree
2002	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	K-PAX
2003	Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	The Practice
2004	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Radio
2005	Character and Morality Awards	Best Actress
2006	Black Movie Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role	Something New
	BET Awards	Best Actress
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	The Water Is Wide
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Desperate Housewives
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
2007	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
	Black Movie Awards	Best Supporting Actress	The Water Is Wide
2008	Black Reel Awards	Best Actress	The Family That Preys
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Pictures of Hollis Woods
2009	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	The Family That Preys
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	My Own Worst Enemy
2010	Grammy Awards	Best Spoken Word Album for Children	Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales
	Black Reel Awards	Best Ensemble	American Violet
		Best Supporting Actress
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Memphis Beat
2011	NAMIC Vision Awards	Best Performance - Drama
	Gracie Allen Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	True Blood
2012	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Memphis Beat
2013		Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Steel Magnolias
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
	Black Reel Awards	Best Supporting Actress
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
	Gracie Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Drama
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie

Filmography

Film and Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Remember My Name	Rita
1979	Freedom Road	Katie
1980	HealtH	Sally Benbow
1981	'	Evelyn Evers
1982	The Ambush Murders	Kariha Ellsworth
1982–83	Tucker's Witch	Marcia Fulbright	12 episodes
1983	Hill Street Blues	Doris Robson	3 episodes
1983	Cross Creek	Geechee
1985	Sara	Rozalyn Dupree	13 episodes
1985, 1988	St. Elsewhere	Dr. Roxanne Turner	13 episodes
1986	Extremities	Patricia
1987	Mandela	Winnie Mandela
1987	The Life Saver	Andrea Crawford
1988	Scrooged	Grace Cooley
1989	Miss Firecracker	Popeye Jackson
1989	A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story	Mary Thomas
1990	Blue Bayou	Jessica Filley
1991	Grand Canyon	Jane
1991	Pretty Hattie's Baby	Hattie	Unreleased
1992	Passion Fish	Chantelle
1992	'	Attorney Ann Orkin
1993	Rich in Love	Rhody Poole
1993	Heart and Souls	Penny Washington
1993	Bopha!	Rosie Mangena
1994	Frasier	Edna	Episode: "The Botched Language of Cranes"
1994	Blue Chips	Lavada McRae
1994	Crooklyn	Carolyn Carmichael
1995	How to Make an American Quilt	Marianna
1995	'	Berniece
1996	Star Trek: First Contact	Lily Sloane
1996	Gulliver's Travels	Queen of Brobdingnag
1996	Primal Fear	Judge Miriam Shoat
1996	Follow Me Home	Evey
1996	A Step Toward Tomorrow	Dr. Sandlin
1997	Cadillac Desert	Narrator
1997	Miss Evers' Boys	Eunice Evers
1997	'	Maisie the Cat	Voice role
1997	'	Berenice Sadie Brown
1998	Down in the Delta	Loretta Sinclair
1998	Homicide: Life on the Street	Dr. Roxanne Turner	Episode: "Mercy"
1999	Funny Valentines	Joyce May
1999	The Wishing Tree	Clara Collier
1999	Mumford	Lily
2000	What's Cooking?	Audrey Williams
2000	Holiday Heart	Wanda
2000	Love & Basketball	Camille Wright
2000	Innovators	Herself as Host
2000	Dinosaur	Plio	Voice role
2001	K-PAX	Claudia Villars
2002	Searching for Debra Winger	Herself
2002	'	Akela	Voice role
2003	'	Chief of Staff
2003	'	Talma Stickley
2003	'	Denise Freeman	Episodes: "Final Judgement" and "Down the Hatch"
2003	Unchained Memories	a reader of a WPA slave narrative.
2003	Radio	Principal Daniels
2003	'	Mrs. Whatsit
2004	'	Detective Anne Pope
2005	Beauty Shop	Miss Josephine
2006	Something New	Joyce McQueen
2006	Take the Lead	Principal Augustine James
2005"06	Desperate Housewives	Betty Applewhite	26 episodes, Season 2, series regular
2007	Pictures of Hollis Woods	Edna Reilly
2008	American Violet	Alma Roberts
2008	'	Alice Pratt
2008	AmericanEast	Angela Jensen
2008	My Own Worst Enemy	Mavis Heller	9 episodes
2009"10	Three Rivers	Dr. Sophia Jordan	12 episodes
2009	Reach for Me	Evelyn
2010, 2012	True Blood	Ruby Jean Reynolds	4 episodes
2010	Black Panther	Dondi Reese, Queen Mother
2010"2011	Memphis Beat	Lt. Tanya Rice	20 episodes
2011	Grey's Anatomy	Justine Campbell	Episode: "Heart Shaped Box"
2012	Steel Magnolias	Ouiser
2012	Private Practice	Dee Bennett	Episode: "The Next Episode"
2013	Copper	Hattie Lemaster
2013	Twelve Years a Slave	Mistress Harriet Shaw