Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
May 17, 1984
Place of Birth:
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Social Media
Lena Waithe
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
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | It's Dorothy! | Self |
| 2025 | Reclaim the Flag | Self |
| 2023 | Being Mary Tyler Moore | Self (voice) |
| 2023 | House Party | Lena Waithe |
| 2022 | Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration | |
| 2021 | 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony | Self |
| 2021 | Bad Hair | Brook-Lynne |
| 2021 | The One and Only Dick Gregory | Self |
| 2020 | Onward | Officer Spector (voice) |
| 2020 | Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 | Self |
| 2018 | Ready Player One | Aech / Helen |
| Place To Be | Shy |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder | College Maya (voice) |
| 2022 | Sherri | Self - Guest |
| 2021 | Twenties After-Show With B. Scott | Self - Guest |
| 2021 | Amend: The Fight for America | Self |
| 2020 | #blackAF | Lena Waithe |
| 2020 | You Ain't Got These | |
| 2020 | Visible: Out on Television | Self - Narrator (voice) |
| 2020 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | Self - Contestant |
| 2019 | A Black Lady Sketch Show | Office Employee |
| 2019 | Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner | Self |
| 2018 | The Shop | Self |
| 2018 | The Chi | Camille Hallaway |
| 2017 | Dear White People | P. Ninny |
| 2017 | Big Mouth | Lena (voice) |
| 2017 | Big Mouth | |
| 2016 | This Is Us | Animal Shelter Clerk |
| 2016 | Westworld | Ash |
| 2015 | Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter | Self |
| 2015 | Master of None | Denise Watkins |
| 2014 | Transparent | Jane |
| 2009 | Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen | Self - Guest |
| 2009 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Self - Guest Judge |
| 2005 | The Comeback | Summer |
| 2005 | Grey's Anatomy | Evynn Moore |
| 1996 | The Daily Show | Self |
| 1959 | The Grammys | Self |
| 1953 | The Oscars | Self |