Lena Waithe

Acting · Born 1984-05-17 in Chicago, Illinois, USA

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…

Filmography

  • Ready Player One as Aech / Helen
  • Onward as Officer Spector (voice)
  • 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony as Self
  • Being Mary Tyler Moore as Self (voice)
  • Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration
  • Bad Hair as Brook-Lynne
  • Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 as Self
  • The One and Only Dick Gregory as Self
  • House Party as Self
  • It's Dorothy! as Self

TV