Jenifer Lewis
Acting • Born 1957-01-25
Biography
Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American film and television actress and singer. She is one of Hollywood's most familiar faces, with more than 300 appearances in film and television and was dubbed a "national treasure" by TV Guide.com. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in the films Beaches and Sister Act. She delivered legendary performances as Tina Turner's mother in What's Love Got to Do With It and in The Preacher's Wife as the mother of Whitney Houston's character. She starred opposite Matt Damon in Clint Eastwood's Hereafter. For director Tyler Perry, she created unforgettable characters in Madea's Family Reunion and Meet the Browns. In the movie Cast Away, she portrayed Tom Hanks' boss. In animated films, Jenifer's uniquely recognizable voice is adored by Disney fans worldwide in roles such as "Flo" in Cars and Cars 2, and as "Mama Odie" in The Princess and the Frog. For six seasons, Jenifer portrayed "Lana Hawkins" on Lifetime's hit series Strong Medicine. She starred on the hit show Black-ish (ABC), where her hilarious portrayal of "Ruby Johnson" earned her a nomination for the 2016 Critics Choice Award. She has also written two books: The Mother of Black Hollywood and Walking in My Joy: In These Streets.
Filmography
146 credits
Cars
Movie • 2006
Flo (voice)
Prop 8: The Musical
Movie • 2008
Riffing Prop 8'er
The Princess and the Frog
Movie • 2009
Mama Odie (voice)
Beaches
Movie • 1988
Diva
Sister Act
Movie • 1992
Michelle
The Brothers
Movie • 2001
Louise Smith
The Preacher's Wife
Movie • 1996
Margueritte Coleman
The Mighty
Movie • 1998
Mrs. Addison
Mystery Men
Movie • 1999
Lucille
Dirty Laundry
Movie • 2006
Aunt Lettuce
Panther
Movie • 1995
Rita
Jackie's Back!
Movie • 1999
Jackie Washington
Not Easily Broken
Movie • 2009
Mary 'Mama' Clark
Madea's Family Reunion
Movie • 2006
Milay Jenay Lori
The Cookout
Movie • 2004
Lady Em
Get Bruce!
Movie • 1999
Self
Think Like a Man
Movie • 2012
Loretta Hanover
Nora's Hair Salon
Movie • 2004
Nora
Meet the Browns
Movie • 2008
Vera
Shark Tale
Movie • 2004
Motown Turtle (voice)
When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren
Movie • 2011
Retirement Home Waitress (uncredited)
black-ish: A Celebration – An ABC News Special
Movie • 2022
Self
Think Like a Man Too
Movie • 2014
Loretta
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Movie • 1993
Vegas Backup Singer #1
Partners
Movie • 2000
Detective Lancy
Deconstructing Sarah
Movie • 1994
Betty
The Wedding Ringer
Movie • 2015
Doris Jenkins
Baggage Claim
Movie • 2013
Catherine Moore
Spellbound
Movie • 2024
Nazara (voice)
Dancing in September
Movie • 2001
Judge Warner
Undercover Blues
Movie • 1993
Cab Driver
Zambezia
Movie • 2012
Gogo (voice)
Bette Midler: No Frills
Movie • 1983
Herself
An Unexpected Life
Movie • 1998
Camille
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
Movie • 1994
Amanda
Earth to America
Movie • 2005
Self
This Is Me…Now
Movie • 2024
Gemini
Cars 2
Movie • 2011
Flo (voice)
The Greatest Love Story Never Told
Movie • 2024
Self
Finding Kendrick Johnson
Movie • 2021
Narrator (voice)
Geared-Up
Movie • 2006
What's Love Got to Do with It
Movie • 1993
Zelma Bullock
Five
Movie • 2011
Maggie
Frozen Assets
Movie • 1992
Jomisha
Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan
Movie • 1995
Denice Cooper
Juwanna Mann
Movie • 2002
Aunt Ruby
Cars 3
Movie • 2017
Flo (voice)
Blast from the Past
Movie • 1999
Dr. Aron
Bette Midler: Art or Bust
Movie • 1984
Self - Harlette
Hereafter
Movie • 2010
Candace
Little Richard
Movie • 2000
Muh Penniman
Hiccups
Movie • 2013
Flo (voice)
The Radiator Springs 500½
Movie • 2014
Flo (voice)
Jewel's Catch One
Movie • 2017
Self
Forbidden
Movie • 2018
Girl 6
Movie • 1996
Boss #1 - Lil
Sunday in Paris
Movie • 1991
Taylor Chase
Corrina, Corrina
Movie • 1994
Jevina
The Addams Family
Movie • 2019
Great Auntie Sloom (Voice)
Cast Away
Movie • 2000
Becca Twig
Dead Presidents
Movie • 1995
Mrs. Curtis
Secrets of the Magic City
Movie • 2015
Aunt Valerie
Who's Your Caddy?
Movie • 2007
C-Note's Mom
Redrum
Movie • 2007
Therapist
Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square
Movie • 2020
Margeline
Renaissance Man
Movie • 1994
Mrs. Coleman
All Boys Aren't Blue
Movie • 2021
Poetic Justice
Movie • 1993
Annie
The Meteor Man
Movie • 1993
Mrs. Williams
Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back
Movie • 2019
Self (archive footage)
Ado
Movie • 2025
Ms. Hopkins
GOAT
Movie • 2026
Flo Everson (voice)
Rituals
Movie • 1998
Carmen
Antwone Fisher
Movie • 2002
Aunt Mary Williams (uncredited)
Tiana's Bayou Adventure | Disneyland Resort
Movie • 2025
Mama Odie (Voice)
Shark
TV • 2006
Ellie Broussard
American Dad!
TV • 2005
Lessie (voice)
Friends
TV • 1994
Paula
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
TV • 1990
Aunt Helen
The Jamie Foxx Show
TV • 1996
Josie
Girlfriends
TV • 2000
Veretta Childs
Grown Ups
TV • 1999
The Parent 'Hood
TV • 1995
Moesha
TV • 1996
Mrs. Biggs
New York Undercover
TV • 1994
Bette
TV • 2000
Living Single
TV • 1993
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
TV • 1993
Mystique
Strong Medicine
TV • 2000
Lana Hawkins
In Living Color
TV • 1990
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
TV • 1992
Georgia Rodman
The PJs
TV • 1999
Bebe Ho (voice)
Boston Legal
TV • 2004
Judge Isabel Fisher
Time of Your Life
TV • 1999
Courthouse
TV • 1995
Judge Rosetta Reide
Rugrats
TV • 2021
Ms. Marjorie / Narrator (voice)
black-ish
TV • 2014
Ruby Johnson
Star Trek: Lower Decks
TV • 2020
Bartender (voice)
Rugrats
TV • 2021
Ms. Marjorie (voice)
The Chris Rock Show
TV • 1997
Self
grown-ish
TV • 2018
Ruby Johnson
Young Justice
TV • 2010
Olympia Savage (voice)
The $100,000 Pyramid
TV • 2016
Self
I Love That for You
TV • 2022
Patricia Cochran
The Temptations
TV • 1998
Mama Rose
Roc
TV • 1991
Charlaine
A Different World
TV • 1987
Susan Clayton
A Different World
TV • 1987
Dean Dorothy Dandridge Davenport
Sherri
TV • 2022
Self - Guest
Promised Land
TV • 1996
Queenie
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
TV • 1995
Female Black Widow Spider (voice)
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
TV • 1995
Hazel (voice)
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
TV • 2012
Self - Guest Judge
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
TV • 2009
Self - Guest
Day Break
TV • 2006
Elizabeth Hopper
Night Court
TV • 2023
Erika
The Daily Show
TV • 1996
To Tell the Truth
TV • 2016
Self - Panelist
Jenifer Lewis and Shangela
TV • 2012
Jenifer Lewis
That's So Raven
TV • 2003
Vivian
Match Game
TV • 2016
Self - Panelist
Cars on the Road
TV • 2022
Flo (voice)
The Upshaws
TV • 2021
Dr. Pearl Edmunds
Monsters at Work
TV • 2021
Grandma Tuskmon (voice)
Not Dead Yet
TV • 2023
Donna
So Help Me Todd
TV • 2022
Jacqueline Burton
Stars in the House
TV • 2020
Self - Special Guest
Dream On
TV • 1990
Carolyn
The Boondocks
TV • 2005
Boss Willona (voice)
The Boondocks
TV • 2005
Geraldine (voice)
The Playboy Club
TV • 2011
Pearl
The Ghost and Molly McGee
TV • 2021
Patty (voice)
History of the World: Part II
TV • 2023
Grandma
Touched by an Angel
TV • 1994
Queenie
Big Hero 6 The Series
TV • 2017
Professor Granville (voice)
Amphibia
TV • 2019
Mama Hasselback (voice)
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
TV • 2021
Self - Contestant
Mickey Mouse Funhouse
TV • 2021
Wheezelene (voice)
The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish
TV • 2024
Mother Nature (voice)
Rhona Who Lives by the River
TV
Missy
And Just Like That…
TV • 2021
Lucille Highwater
Haunted Hotel
TV • 2025
Additional Voices (voice)
Dancing with the Stars
TV • 2005
Self - Musical Guest
Teen Titans Go!
TV • 2013
Microwavabelle (voice)
Rebel Highway
TV • 1994
Amanda Baldwin Cooper
The Jennifer Hudson Show
TV • 2022
Self - Guest