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.
143 acting credits
Acting · 143
The Daily Show
1996
American Dad!
2005
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
Friends
1994
GOAT
2026
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
1993
Dancing with the Stars
2005
Teen Titans Go!
2013
The Jennifer Hudson Show
2022
Young Justice
2010
Boston Legal
2004
Strong Medicine
2000
Shark
2006
Sherri
2022
Touched by an Angel
1994
black-ish
2014
Amphibia
2019
The Ghost and Molly McGee
2021
Star Trek: Lower Decks
2020
Girlfriends
2000
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
1990
A Different World
1987
Stars in the House
2020
New York Undercover
1994
The Boondocks
2005
That's So Raven
2003
grown-ish
2018
Moesha
1996
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
2012
And Just Like That…
2021
Monsters at Work
2021
Cars
2006
Cars 2
2011
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995
Match Game
2016
To Tell the Truth
2016
Big Hero 6 The Series
2017
The Jamie Foxx Show
1996
Living Single
1993
Cars 3
2017
The Princess and the Frog
2009
In Living Color
1990
So Help Me Todd
2022
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
1992
The Upshaws
2021
Rugrats
2021
Dream On
1990
The Parent 'Hood
1995
The $100,000 Pyramid
2016
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
2021
History of the World: Part II
2023
Cast Away
2000
Night Court
2023
The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish
2024
Not Dead Yet
2023
Promised Land
1996
The PJs
1999
Day Break
2006
The Chris Rock Show
1997
Mickey Mouse Funhouse
2021
Rebel Highway
1994
Shark Tale
2004
Haunted Hotel
2025
Cars on the Road
2022
Spellbound
2024
Blast from the Past
1999
Bette
2000
The Wedding Ringer
2015
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
1993
Grown Ups
1999
Sister Act
1992
Time of Your Life
1999
Roc
1991
I Love That for You
2022
The Addams Family
2019
What's Love Got to Do with It
1993
Hereafter
2010
Dead Presidents
1995
Courthouse
1995
The Playboy Club
2011
Poetic Justice
1993
Mystery Men
1999
Zambezia
2012
Madea's Family Reunion
2006
Think Like a Man
2012
The Temptations
1998
Undercover Blues
1993
This Is Me…Now
2024
Baggage Claim
2013
Think Like a Man Too
2014
Not Easily Broken
2009
Antwone Fisher
2002
Beaches
1988
The Mighty
1998
Earth to America
2005
Corrina, Corrina
1994
The Meteor Man
1993
The Preacher's Wife
1996
Meet the Browns
2008
The Cookout
2004
Who's Your Caddy?
2007
Hiccups
2013
Renaissance Man
1994
Girl 6
1996
Rhona Who Lives by the River
—
The Brothers
2001
Juwanna Mann
2002
Panther
1995
The Greatest Love Story Never Told
2024
The Radiator Springs 500½
2014
Five
2011
black-ish: A Celebration – An ABC News Special
2022
Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square
2020
When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren
2011
Jenifer Lewis and Shangela
2012
Prop 8: The Musical
2008
Get Bruce!
1999
Jackie's Back!
1999
Commitment to Life
2023
Frozen Assets
1992
Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back
2019
Redrum
2007
Partners
2000
Geared-Up
2006
Nora's Hair Salon
2004
An Unexpected Life
1998
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
1994
Dirty Laundry
2006
Secrets of the Magic City
2015
Deconstructing Sarah
1994
Dancing in September
2001
Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan
1995
Little Richard
2000
Forbidden
2018
Bette Midler: Art or Bust
1984
Rituals
1998
Tiana's Bayou Adventure | Disneyland Resort
2025
Ado
2025
Sunday in Paris
1991
Bette Midler: No Frills
1983
Jewel's Catch One
2017
All Boys Aren't Blue
2021
Finding Kendrick Johnson
2021