Cast & creator
Jenifer Lewis
Best known for Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, The Daily Show, American Dad!
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.
78
film credits
75
television credits
148
1983–2026 · acting roles
6.6
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (153)
Showing 153 of 153 credits
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest
2009
The Daily Show
1996
American Dad!
Lessie (voice)
2005
Friends
Paula
1994
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Self - Guest
2022
Teen Titans Go!
Microwavabelle (voice)
2013
Dancing with the Stars
Self - Musical Guest
2005
Sherri
Self - Guest
2022
Young Justice
Olympia Savage (voice)
2010
Touched by an Angel
Queenie
1994
Strong Medicine
Lana Hawkins
2000
Boston Legal
Judge Isabel Fisher
2004
black-ish
Ruby Johnson
2014
The Ghost and Molly McGee
Patty (voice)
2021
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Mystique
1993
A Different World
Susan Clayton
1987A Different World
Dean Dorothy Dandridge Davenport
1987
Star Trek: Lower Decks
Bartender (voice)
2020
Girlfriends
Veretta Childs
2000
That's So Raven
Vivian
2003
grown-ish
Ruby Johnson
2018
Moesha
Mrs. Biggs
1996
The Boondocks
Boss Willona (voice)
2005The Boondocks
Geraldine (voice)
2005
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
Self - Guest Judge
2012
GOAT
Flo Everson (voice)
2026
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Aunt Helen
1990
Amphibia
Mama Hasselback (voice)
2019
Stars in the House
Self - Special Guest
2020
Big Hero 6 The Series
Professor Granville (voice)
2017
Cars 2
Flo (voice)
2011
New York Undercover
1994
And Just Like That…
Lucille Highwater
2021
The Jamie Foxx Show
Josie
1996
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
Self - Contestant
2021
Monsters at Work
Grandma Tuskmon (voice)
2021
Shark
Ellie Broussard
2006
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
Georgia Rodman
1992
To Tell the Truth
Self - Panelist
2016
Match Game
Self - Panelist
2016
The $100,000 Pyramid
Self
2016
Cars
Flo (voice)
2006
Living Single
1993
Cars 3
Flo (voice)
2017
History of the World: Part II
Grandma
2023
In Living Color
1990
Rugrats
Ms. Marjorie / Narrator (voice)
2021Rugrats
Ms. Marjorie (voice)
2021
Dream On
Carolyn
1990
So Help Me Todd
Jacqueline Burton
2022
The Upshaws
Dr. Pearl Edmunds
2021
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Female Black Widow Spider (voice)
1995Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Hazel (voice)
1995
Mickey Mouse Funhouse
Wheezelene (voice)
2021Mickey Mouse Funhouse
2021
The Princess and the Frog
Mama Odie (voice)
2009
Haunted Hotel
Additional Voices (voice)
2025
Night Court
Erika
2023
The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish
Mother Nature (voice)
2024
The Parent 'Hood
1995
Shark Tale
Motown Turtle (voice)
2004
The PJs
Bebe Ho (voice)
1999
Cast Away
Becca Twig
2000
The Addams Family
Great Auntie Sloom (Voice)
2019
Promised Land
Queenie
1996
Cars on the Road
Flo (voice)
2022
Not Dead Yet
Donna
2023
The Chris Rock Show
Self
1997
Rebel Highway
Amanda Baldwin Cooper
1994
Day Break
Elizabeth Hopper
2006
Blast from the Past
Dr. Aron
1999
Sister Act
Michelle
1992
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Vegas Backup Singer #1
1993
Time of Your Life
1999Grown Ups
Kathy
1999
The Wedding Ringer
Doris Jenkins
2015
I Love That for You
Patricia Cochran
2022
Roc
Charlaine
1991
Bette
2000
Spellbound
Nazara (voice)
2024
The Playboy Club
Pearl
2011Courthouse
Rosetta Reide
1995
Think Like a Man Too
Loretta
2014
Mystery Men
Lucille
1999
This Is Me…Now
Gemini
2024
The Preacher's Wife
Margueritte Coleman
1996
Hereafter
Candace
2010
The Temptations
Mama Rose
1998
Zambezia
Gogo (voice)
2012
Beaches
Diva
1988
Madea's Family Reunion
Milay Jenay Lori
2006
Renaissance Man
Mrs. Coleman
1994
Corrina, Corrina
Jevina
1994
What's Love Got to Do with It
Zelma Bullock
1993
Baggage Claim
Catherine Moore
2013
Think Like a Man
Loretta Hanover
2012
Dead Presidents
Mrs. Curtis
1995
Not Easily Broken
Mary 'Mama' Clark
2009
Undercover Blues
Cab Driver
1993
Poetic Justice
Annie
1993
The Meteor Man
Mrs. Williams
1993
The Greatest Love Story Never Told
Self
2024Rhona Who Lives by the River
Missy
Antwone Fisher
Aunt Mary Williams (uncredited)
2002
The Mighty
Mrs. Addison
1998
The Radiator Springs 500½
Flo (voice)
2014
Panther
Rita
1995
Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square
Margeline
2020
Meet the Browns
Vera
2008
Juwanna Mann
Aunt Ruby
2002
Who's Your Caddy?
C-Note's Mom
2007
Jenifer Lewis and Shangela
Jenifer Lewis
2012Jenifer Lewis and Shangela
Theme Song Performance
2012Jenifer Lewis and Shangela
Producer
2012Jenifer Lewis and Shangela
Creator
2012
Prop 8: The Musical
Riffing Prop 8'er
2008
Get Bruce!
Self
1999
Geared-Up
2006
Commitment to Life
Self (archive footage)
2023
The Cookout
Lady Em
2004
Earth to America
Self
2005
Deconstructing Sarah
Betty
1994
The Brothers
Louise Smith
2001
Five
Maggie
2011
Jewel's Catch One
Self
2017
Hiccups
Flo (voice)
2013
Girl 6
Boss #1 - Lil
1996
black-ish: A Celebration – An ABC News Special
Self
2022
Nora's Hair Salon
Nora
2004
Jackie's Back!
Jackie Washington
1999Jackie's Back!
Co-Producer
1999
Frozen Assets
Jomisha
1992
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
Amanda
1994
When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren
Retirement Home Waitress (uncredited)
2011
Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan
Denice Cooper
1995
Little Richard
Muh Penniman
2000
Dancing in September
Judge Warner
2001
Secrets of the Magic City
Aunt Valerie
2015
Bette Midler: Art or Bust
Self - Harlette
1984
Ado
Ms. Hopkins
2025
Forbidden
2018
Redrum
Therapist
2007
Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back
Self (archive footage)
2019Bette Midler: No Frills
Herself
1983
LaQuifa is Halleloosin' It!
Thanks
2013
Rituals
Carmen
1998Women Like Us
Dirty Laundry
Aunt Lettuce
2006
An Unexpected Life
Camille
1998
Partners
Detective Lancy
2000
Finding Kendrick Johnson
Narrator (voice)
2021
All Boys Aren't Blue
2021
Sunday in Paris
Taylor Chase
1991