Lynn Whitfield

Lynn Whitfield (May 6, 1953 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is an Emmy Award-winning African American actress most famous for portraying African American entertainment pioneer Josephine Baker in 1991. Her other roles include A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) and Eve's Bayou (1998).

Scion of an achievement-oriented Baton Rouge clan with roots in southern black aristocracy, toothsome, energetic leading lady Lynn Whitfield first watched the likes of Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and Bette Davis in "All About Eve" from the vantage of her grandmother's lap, attired in mink-trimmed frocks and seeing no reason she could not some day play those same types of roles. After gaining attention on the stage as one of the young women of color who people Ntozake Shange's poetic panorama of the black female experience, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf", Whitfield began appearing in supporting roles in such films as "Doctor Detroit" (1982) and "Silverado" (1985) but did not achieve real success until starring in television films ("The George McKenna Story", "Johnnie Mae Gibson: FBI", both CBS 1986) and miniseries (the acclaimed "The Women of Brewster Place" ABC 1989).

Whitfield vaulted to international attention in the title role of "The Josephine Baker Story" (1991), the HBO biopic requiring her to age from 18 to 68 to portray the Follies Bergere star turned Resistance and civil rights fighter. In a highly-publicized search that rivaled that of the hunt for Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind", she beat out more than 500 women considered world-wide for the role and won an Emmy, achieving "the greatest sense of accomplishment and realization of my vision. It absolutely called upon everything I thought I could do at that point." Her triumph as Baker, however, proved both a blessing and a curse as she became so closely identified with the Jazz Age legend that other opportunities were slow to come along. Whitfield had worked as a regular in two ABC series ("Heartbreak" and "Equal Justice") prior to playing Baker, and the dearth of good offers encouraged her to return to the small screen opposite Bill Cosby in "The Cosby Mysteries" (NBC, 1994-95).

Gradually, the parts started coming her way again, and though critical response to such vehicles as "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate" and "Gone Fishin'" (both 1996) was tepid, these features increased her exposure. Whitfield roared back into the winner's column with "Eve's Bayou" (1997), her part as head of a prosperous, socially prominent black family in Louisiana drawing heavily on her blue-blooded Baton Rouge upbringing. She returned to a similar milieu as snobby Martha's Vineyard matron Corinne Coles in the ABC miniseries "The Wedding" (1998), executive produced by Oprah Winfrey, who had also executive produced the earlier "The Women of Brewster Place". Certainly, these last two roles, along with that of Josephine Baker, are the kinds of parts Whitfield envisioned for herself as that little Louisiana princess so many years ago.

Also credited as: Lynn Butler-Smith.

Personal life

• Brother: Valerian Butler-Smith. younger
• Daughter: Grace Gibson. born on August 2, 1991; father, Brian Gibson
• Father: Valerian Smith. born c. 1926; died on November 18, 1992 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana of cancer; founded the *Baton Rouge Playhouse in 1952; worked on the musical scores of such films as "Band of Angels" (1957) and "Hurry Sundown" (1967) and composed such musical stage productions as "Supper", "Earl K Long", "Creole Baby" and "Tribulations"; moonlighted as a local talent scout and rounded up extras for location photography on "Hurry Sundown"
• Grandmother: Dennis Smith.
• Mother: Jean Butler. serving as president of the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency as of 1995
• Sister: Kimberleigh Butler-Smith. younger
• Sister: Shawne Langston. younger
• Significant Others
  • Husband: Brian Gibson. British-born c. 1945; married on June 30, 1990, five days after they completed work together on "The Josephine Baker Story", for which he also won an Emmy; separated in April 1992; divorced eight months later
  • Husband: Vantile Whitfield. born c. 1923; married c. 1974; divorced c. 1978
  • Companion: Kweisi Mfume. former Congressman and chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus; former head of the NAACP; dated for two years; no longer together
• Education - Howard University, Washington, DC, drama, BFA, 1974

Milestones

• 1979 Began her film career under a talent development program at Columbia Pictures
• 1982 Made feature film debut in "Doctor Detroit"
• 1983 Appeared in PBS TV adaptation of "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf"
• 1985 Gained valuable experiece as Rae in "Silverado"
• 1986 Starred as the title character in "Johnnie Mae Gibson: FBI", a CBS movie based on the real life story of the first black female undercover agent for the FBI
• 1987 Appeared in the forgettable "Jaws the Revenge"
• 1988 Played Dr. Cory Banks on the ABC medical drama series, "HeartBeat"
• 1989 Portrayed Ciel in the ABC miniseries, "The Women of Brewster Place"; first association with executive producer Oprah Winfrey
• 1991 Played recurring role of television news anchorwoman Maggie Mayfield on ABC's primetime serial courtroom drama, "Equal Justice"
• 1991 Won an Emmy portraying the title character of "The Josephine Baker Story", produced for cable by HBO
• 1992 Starred in CBS movie "Stompin' at the Savoy"
• 1996 Appeared as Sophie in "Sophie and the Moon Hanger", a Lifetime TV-movie exploring the relationship of the wife of a KKK Wizard and her longtime black housekeeper
• 1996 High-profile role as victim turned villainess in Martin Lawrence's "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate" scored a hit with her fans (if not the critics)
• 1996 Reunited with Danny Glover from "Silverado" for "Gone Fishin'", a film that failed to live up to her expectations
• 1997 Starred opposite Samuel L Jackson in "Eve's Bayou", playing the head of a prosperous black family in Louisiana
• 1998 Aged from 19 to 47 as snobby Martha's Vineyard matron Corinne Coles in the ABC miniseries "The Wedding", executive produced by Oprah Winfrey
• 2003 Co-starred in Chris Rock's "Head of the State"
• Acted opposite Bill Cosby in NBC's "The Cosby Mysteries", both the movie and the series that followed
• Co-starred in the Los Angeles, London and Australian companies of Ntozake Shange's play, "For Colored *Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf"
• Performed with the Black Repertory Company in Washington, DC; also did stage work in New York City before moving to Los Angeles

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