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Lena Waithe Biography and Full Filmography - MovieWise

Quick Facts

Born:
1984-05-17

Birthplace:
Chicago, Illinois, USA

Credits:
43 Total Roles

Lena Waithe

Acting

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Biography

Lena Waithe (/weɪθ/; born May 17, 1984) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series The Chi (2018–present) and the BET comedy series Boomerang (2019–20) and Twenties (2020–21). She also wrote and produced the crime film Queen & Slim (2019) and is the executive producer of the horror anthology series Them (2021–present).

Waithe gained recognition for her role in the Netflix comedy-drama series Master of None (2015–2021) and became the first African-American woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 2017 for writing the show's "Thanksgiving" episode, which was loosely based on her personal experience of coming out to her mother. She has also appeared in Steven Spielberg's 2018 adventure film Ready Player One and the HBO series Westworld. In 2023, she was nominated for Best Play at the 76th Tony Awards, her production work on the sketch-comedy play Ain't No Mo'.

Waithe was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2018 and was included on Fast Company's Queer 50 list in 2021 and 2022.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Lena Waithe, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Full Filmography

Year Title Role
2025 Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television TV Self
2025 Reclaim the Flag MOVIE Self
2025 It's Dorothy! MOVIE Self
2023 Being Mary Tyler Moore MOVIE Self (voice)
2023 House Party MOVIE Self
2022 Sherri TV Self - Guest
2022 Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration MOVIE Self
2022 The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder TV College Maya (voice)
2021 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony MOVIE Self
2021 Twenties After-Show With B. Scott TV Self - Guest

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