Dawnn Lewis

At 62 years old, Dawnn Lewis has this physical status:

Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer, voice actor, and songwriter.

Lewis is best known for her appearance as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on NBC television sitcom A Different World from 1987 to 1992, in addition to being on the series, she co-wrote the theme song.

Lewis' other notable appearances include appearing Robin Dumars on ABC's Hangin' With Mr. Cooper's first season (1992–93) and Cheryl Spade in 1988's I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.

Lewis has appeared in numerous television shows, including other sitcoms, and has also appeared on stage.

Early life and education

Dawnn Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on August 13, 1961, to Carl and Joyce Lewis, who are of African-American and Guyanese descent, beginning in the age of four and acting at 11. Lewis graduated from the High School of Music & Art in New York City, now known as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, at the age of sixteen. She majored in musical theatre with a minor in journalism, graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, in 1982.

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Career

Lewis appeared and understudied in the National Tour of the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid, from August 1, 1985 to July 6, 1986, under the name "Dawn J. Lewis."

Lewis appeared on television as Jaleesa Vinson (later Vinson–Taylor) from 1987 to 1992. Lewis co-wrote the theme song for A Different World, along with Bill Cosby and Stu Gardner, and co-performed the performance for the first season. In A Different World, although her character was married to another of the show's key characters, her character disappeared from A Different World without explanation, as Chuck Cunningham of Happy Days. Lewis appeared in a special week of A Different World called the Hillman College Reunion on Nick at Nite, alongside Lisa Bonet, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell, Cree Summer, and Sinbad. She was paired with Dallas actor Ken Kercheval, not any of her co-stars on her first appearance in Super Password in 1988.

Lewis began acting in ABC's Hangin' with Mr. Cooper in September 1992, alongside Mark Curry and Holly Robinson. Lewis appeared in 20 of the first season's 22 episodes as Robin Dumars, Mark's childhood best friend and roommate. Lewis did not appear on the two shows at the same time – she moved from A Different World to star in Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. Lewis and Holly Robinson, as well as R&B quartet En Vogue, performed the theme song for season one of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. The show producers decided to revise their old ABC sitcom Three's Company plan some time before season one. Lewis left the show after the first season was over due to the producers' decision to change the show's course, replacing her role with a mother and her child; Mark's cousin Geneva Lee (portrayed by Raven-Symoné) and her daughter Nicole (portrayed by Raven-Symoné).

Lewis appeared in the video game True Crime: New York City, as the protagonist. In Peter Schneider's Sister Act the Musical, she played Deloris Van Cartier, opening at the Pasadena Playhouse on October 24, 2006. In three games, most recently Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Lewis has voiced Storm of the X-Men. Granny Grim on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, as well as voiced the female Shokan (Sheeva) in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm. Lewis has also appeared in the animated television series Figuama, LaBarbara Conrad's wife, Hermes Conrad's mother, as LaBarbara Conrad, and he has performed a variety of characters on The Boondocks. In addition, she portrayed Sharona on King of the Hill.

Lewis appeared in two Disney Channel Original Movies, The Poof Point as Marigold Ballord, and Let It Shine as Gail DeBarge. Lewis was in 2000 in the five-episode NBC miniseries The 10th Kingdom starred Blabberwort the Troll.

Lewis appeared in the Dreamgirls film version in 2006. In 2006, Lewis released Worth Waiting For's debut album, which was titled Worth Waiting For. She appeared in The Wiz with New York City Center's Encores, and she performed Addaperle. Lewis played Denise Fields on One Tree Hill in 2009. In 2010, Lewis appeared in The Secret Life of the American Teenager in a minor role as Lauren's mother. In 2012, she portrayed Malora in Strange Frame. In 2012-2013, she appeared on Days of Our Lives as Dr. Knapp. Lewis appeared in The Divorce, alongside Vanessa Bell Calloway, Tatyana Ali & Freda Payne. Lewis is a regular presence on Major Crimes as Patrice, a love interest for Lt. Provenza, whom he met during a trial. In the same year, she appeared as Ruby's mother Helen Hanshaw in one episode of Sofia The First.

Lewis was cast in Disney Junior's animated film Doc McStuffins as the voice of Grandma McStuffins in March 2016. She played Maybelle Mundy in the film Bunyan and Babe in 2017. She began voicing Fannie Granger in DreamWorks' Spirit Riding Free and Dr. Jones in Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters in 2018, while in 2019 she began voicing The Chief on Netflix's animated Carmen Sandiego. She appeared on "The Fat Blue Line" as Attorney General Lenora Carter in 2019 and became Bernice Hibbert's first female agent on "Uncut Femmes" in 2021.

Lewis began on November 7, 2019 as Zelma Turner's mother in Tina on Broadway and under the name "Dr. Dawnn Lewis."

Captain Carol Freeman appears in the animated film Star Trek: Lower Decks, beginning in August 2020.

Lewis is an honorary member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

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