Biography
After gaining attention on the stage as one of the young women of color who people Ntozake Shange's poetic panorama of the black female experience, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf", Whitfield began appearing in supporting roles in such films as "Doctor Detroit" (1982) and "Silverado" (1985) but did not achieve real success until starring in television films ("The George McKenna Story", "Johnnie Mae …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
2006 | Cast in Tyler Perry's "Madea's Family Reunion" | |
2004 | Co-starred with Jamie Foxx in "Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story" | |
2003 | Played Galleria's mother, Dorethea in the Disney Channel Original Movie's "The Cheetah Girls" and "The Cheetah Girls 2" | |
2003 | Co-starred in Chris Rock's "Head of the State" | |
2002 | Had a recurring role as Paula Van Doran on "Without a Trace" (CBS) | |
1998 | Aged from 19 to 47 as snobby Martha's Vineyard matron Corinne Coles in the ABC miniseries "The Wedding", executive produced by Oprah Winfrey | |
1997 | Starred opposite Samuel L Jackson in "Eve's Bayou", playing the head of a prosperous black family in Louisiana | |
1996 | Reunited with Danny Glover from "Silverado" for "Gone Fishin'", a film that failed to live up to her expectations | |
1996 | Appeared as Sophie in "Sophie and the Moon Hanger", a Lifetime TV-movie exploring the relationship of the wife of a KKK Wizard and her longtime black housekeeper | |
1996 | High-profile role as victim turned villainess in Martin Lawrence's "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate" scored a hit with her fans (if not the critics) | |
1994 | Acted opposite Bill Cosby in NBC's "The Cosby Mysteries", both the movie and the series that followed | |
1992 | Starred in CBS movie "Stompin' at the Savoy" | |
1991 | Won an Emmy portraying the title character of "The Josephine Baker Story", produced for cable by HBO | |
1991 | Played recurring role of television news anchorwoman Maggie Mayfield on ABC's primetime serial courtroom drama, "Equal Justice" | |
1989 | Portrayed Ciel in the ABC miniseries, "The Women of Brewster Place"; first association with executive producer Oprah Winfrey | |
1988 | Played Dr. Cory Banks on the ABC medical drama series, "HeartBeat" | |
1987 | Appeared in the forgettable "Jaws the Revenge" | |
1986 | Starred as the title character in "Johnnie Mae Gibson: FBI", a CBS movie based on the real life story of the first black female undercover agent for the FBI | |
1985 | Gained valuable experiece as Rae in "Silverado" | |
1983 | Appeared in PBS TV adaptation of "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf" | |
1982 | Made feature film debut in "Doctor Detroit" | |
1979 | Began her film career under a talent development program at Columbia Pictures | |
| Co-starred in the Los Angeles, London and Australian companies of Ntozake Shange's play, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf" | ||
| Performed with the Black Repertory Company in Washington, DC; also did stage work in New York City before moving to Los Angeles | ||
Awards
1991 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television in The Josephine Baker Story |
1991 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress In a Miniseries or Special in The Josephine Baker Story |