LaTanya Richardson
LaTanya Richardson (born October 21, 1949), often listed as LaTanya Richardson Jackson,[1] is an American actress and producer. She began her career appearing in off-Broadway, before playing supporting roles on television and film.
LaTanya Jackson | |
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Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson during a tour of Naval Station Pearl Harbor. | |
Born | |
Other names | LaTanya Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson |
Occupation | Actress, producer |
Years active | 1976–present |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 1 |
Richardson has appeared in films include Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), Losing Isaiah (1995), Lone Star (1996), U.S. Marshals (1998), and The Fighting Temptations (2003). Her television credits include Show Me a Hero, Luke Cage, and series regular role on the BET crime drama Rebel.[2]
Personal life
She was born in Atlanta, Georgia. While a student at Atlanta's Spelman College (the second oldest college for black women in the US) in 1974, she met actor Samuel L. Jackson, then at all-male Morehouse College, who would later become her husband. She and Jackson married in 1980. They have one child, freelance film and TV producer Zoe Jackson, born in 1982. After her daughter's birth, Richardson stopped working regularly, because, she said: "We'd vowed to be an intact revolutionary black family. But it was very, very hard."[3]
Career
To date, Richardson's biggest role in a motion picture was in the 2003 musical The Fighting Temptations in which she appears as the main antagonist, the hypercritical Paulina Pritchett.
In 2014, Richardson was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Play for her 2013 performance in A Raisin in the Sun[1] as Lena Younger, a role she took over at the last minute when Diahann Carroll dropped out due to health concerns.[4] This was her second appearance on Broadway after her debut in the 2009 revival of Joe Turner's Come and Gone.[5]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | Hangin' with the Homeboys | Caseworker | |
1991 | The Super | Judge Smith | |
1991 | Fried Green Tomatoes | Janeen | |
1992 | Juice | Steel's Mother | |
1992 | Malcolm X | Lorraine | |
1992 | Lorenzo's Oil | Nurse Ruth | |
1993 | Sleepless in Seattle | Harriet | |
1994 | The Last Laugh | Elaine | Short film |
1994 | When a Man Loves a Woman | Dr. Gina Mendez | |
1995 | Losing Isaiah | Caroline Jones | |
1996 | Lone Star | Priscilla Worth | |
1997 | Loved | Attorney Rose Jackson | |
1997 | Julian Po | Darlene | |
1998 | U.S. Marshals | Deputy Marshal Savannah Cooper | |
1998 | Secrets | Short film | |
2003 | The Fighting Temptations | Paulina Pritchett | |
2006 | Freedomland | Marie | |
2007 | All About Us | Cousin Bernice | |
2007 | Blackout | Mrs. Thompson | |
2009 | Mother and Child | Carol | |
2019 | Juanita | Kay-Rita |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | A Man Called Hawk | Doris Gilbert | Episode: "Life After Death" |
1991 | Law & Order | Lorraine | Episode: "Life Choice" |
1992 | Law & Order | Anne Houston | Episode: "Sisters of Mercy" |
1992 | The Nightman | Emily | TV film |
1992 | Frannie's Turn | Vivian | Episodes: "Pilot", "Frannie and the Kitchen Sink" |
1992 | One Life to Live | Rodi | TV series |
1993 | Civil Wars | Episode: "Hit the Road, Jack" | |
1993 | Shameful Secrets | Louise Levy | TV film |
1993 | Cheers | Moderator | Episode: "Woody Gets an Election" |
1994 | Midnight Run for Your Life | Det. Dixon | TV film |
1994 | Party of Five | Jane Gideon | Episode: "Private Lives" |
1994 | Earth 2 | Alex Wentworth | Episode: "A Memory Play" |
1995 | Chicago Hope | Mrs. Parnett | Episode: "Cutting Edges" |
1995 | NYPD Blue | Sister Cecilia | Episode: "Heavin' Can Wait" |
1996 | The Deliverance of Elaine | Edna | TV film |
1997 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Lynette Thompson | Episode: "Betrayal" |
1998 | Any Day Now | Mrs. Walker | Episode: "Call Him Johnny" |
1998-1999 | Ally McBeal | Attorney Yvette Rose | Episodes: "Story of Love", "Let's Dance" |
1999 | Introducing Dorothy Dandridge | Auntie | TV film |
1999 | Judging Amy | Lena Railsback | Episode: "Pilot" |
1999 | Once and Again | Counselor | Episode: "Boy Meets Girl" |
2000 | Hairstory | TV film | |
2001 | Within These Walls | Melinda Donovan | TV film |
2001-2002 | 100 Centre Street | Atallah Sims | Recurring role (8 episodes) |
2003 | Boston Public | Sheila | Episode: "Chapter 62" |
2011 | Harry's Law | Noreen | Episode: "In the Ghetto" |
2012 | Damages | Judge Jaclynn Ellis | Episode: "You Want to End This Once and for All?" |
2013 | The Watsons Go To Birmingham | Grandma Sands | TV film |
2014 | Blue Bloods | Lt. Dee Ann Carver | Recurring role, Season 5 |
2015 | Show Me a Hero | Norma O'Neal | TV miniseries |
2016 - 2018 | Luke Cage | Maybelline "Mama Mabel" Stokes | Episode: "Manifest"; Netflix series |
2017 | Grey's Anatomy | Diane Pierce | Guest star (3 episodes) |
References
- "The Tony Award Nominees - All Categories". Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- "Rebel: John Singleton Scripted Drama Coming to BET in March - canceled TV shows - TV Series Finale". January 18, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- Pat Jordan (April 29, 2012). "How Samuel L. Jackson Became His Own Genre". The New York Times Magazine.
- Gioia, Michael (April 12, 2014). "LaTanya Richardson Jackson and Kenny Leon Discover the "Dream" in Broadway's A Raisin in the Sun". Playbill.com. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
- "LaTanya Richardson Jackson". TonyAwards.com. Retrieved September 27, 2014.