Lena Waithe
Actor
Born May 17, 1984 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Lena Waithe (/weɪθ/; born May 17, 1984) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series The Chi (2018–present) and the BET comedy series Boomerang (2019–20) and Twenties (2020–21). She also wrote and produced the crime film Queen & Slim (2019) and is the executive producer of the horror anthology series Them (2021–present). Waithe gained recognition for her role in the Netflix comedy-drama series Master of None (2015–2021) and became the first African-American woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 2017 for writing the show's "Thanksgiving" episode, which was loosely based on her personal experience of coming out to her mother. She has also appeared in Steven Spielberg's 2018 adventure film Ready Player One and the HBO series Westworld. In 2023, she was nominated for Best Play at the 76th Tony Awards, her production work on the sketch-comedy play Ain't No Mo'.
Filmography
FREYR
Mating Season
Alex (voice)
Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television
Self
Reclaim the Flag
Self
Long's Long Lost & Mini Mart
Window Cleaners
It's Dorothy!
Self
Honey Bare
Move Ya Body: The Birth of House
Corpse Fishing
Tender Thoughts
Hollywood Black
Self
Meal Ticket
Play Hard
Bitter Leaf
Sarajin
Kokomo City
Order for Pickup
Last Days of the Lab
My Nights Glow Yellow
Sorry Grandpa Hsiao
A Thousand and One
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Self (voice)
Chang Can Dunk
House Party
Self
The 25th Filial Exemplar
Sherri
Self - Guest
Beauty
100% USDA Certified Organic Homemade Tofu
Beast
Crooked Trees Gon Give Me Wings
Black Santa
Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
College Maya (voice)
2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Self
Twenties After-Show With B. Scott
Self - Guest
Artistic
The One and Only Dick Gregory
Self
Soñadora
Shoebox
Only the Moon Stands Still
Bad Hair
Brook-Lynne
Them
The Beauty President
Amend: The Fight for America
Self
You Love Me
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020
Self
#blackAF
Lena Waithe
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Self - Contestant
You Ain't Got These
Onward
Officer Spector (voice)
Visible: Out on Television
Self - Narrator (voice)
Queen & Slim
Fragile.com
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Self
A Black Lady Sketch Show
Office Employee
Boomerang
Rising
The Shop
Self
Ready Player One
Aech / Helen
Step Sisters
The Chi
Camille Hallaway
Big Mouth
Lena (voice)
Steve
Self
Dear White People
P. Ninny
Westworld
Ash
This Is Us
Animal Shelter Clerk
Master of None
Denise Watkins
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self
Ladylike
Dear White People
Transparent
Jane
I Will Follow
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest
RuPaul's Drag Race
Self - Guest Judge
Bones
The Comeback
Summer
Grey's Anatomy
Evynn Moore
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self - Guest
The View
Self
The Daily Show
Self
The Grammys
Self
The Oscars
Self