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