Alfre Woodard
Biography
Alfre Ette Woodard (born November 8, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and Grammy Award, 12 times for Emmy Awards (winning four), and has also won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. She is known for her role in films such as Cross Creek, Miss Firecracker, Grand Canyon, Passion Fish, Primal Fear, Star Trek: First Contact, Miss Evers' Boys, K-PAX, Radio, Take the Lead and The Family That Preys.
Gallery
Known For
Acting History
2025
The Last Frontier as Jacqueline Bradford
2025The Inquisitor as Self
2025Number One on the Call Sheet as Self
2024Salem's Lot as Dr. Cody
2024Summer Camp as Mary
2024Monsieur Spade as Virginia Dell
2024The Book of Clarence as Mother Mary
2023Weathering as Mum
2023Space Oddity as Dr. Olsen
2023Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur as Mimi (voice)
2022The Jennifer Hudson Show as Self
2022The Gray Man as Margaret Cahill
2021Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color as Alma Thomas (voice)
2021Fatherhood as Marian
2021Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street as Mary Parrish (voice)
2020The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart as Self
2020Star Trek: Lower Decks as Lilly Sloane (voice)
2020The Making of Clemency as Herself
2019Clemency as Warden Bernadine Williams
2019See as Paris
2019The Lion King as Sarabi (voice)
2019No Small Matter as Narrator (voice)
2019The Lion King: Can You Feel The Love Tonight with Robin Roberts
2019Juanita as Juanita
2019Saint Judy as Judge Benton
2017Burning Sands as Professor Hughes
2017A Series of Unfortunate Events as Aunt Josephine
2016Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise as Self
2016Marvel's Luke Cage as Mariah Dillard
2016So B. It as Bernadette
2016Captain America: Civil War as Miriam
2015Mississippi Grind as Sam
2015Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band as Mary Lou Williams (voice)
2015Knucklehead as Sheila
2015A Path Appears as Self
2015Empire as Renee
2014Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
2014State of Affairs as President Constance Payton
2014Annabelle as Evelyn
2014Nelson Mandela Redrawn as Self
2014The Last Ship as Amy Granderson
201312 Years a Slave as Mistress Shaw
2013The Door as E
2012Steel Magnolias as Ouiser
2011Women, War & Peace as Narrator (voice)
2010Memphis Beat as Lieutenant Tanya Rice
2010Who Do You Think You Are? as Self
2010Black Panther as Dondi Reece
2010Black Panther as Dondi Reece (voice)
2009Three Rivers as Dr. Sophia Jordan
2009Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as Self - Guest
2008Medal of Honor as Narrator
2008My Own Worst Enemy as Mavis Heller
2008Reach for Me as Evelyn
2008Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys as Alice Pratt
2008True Blood as Ruby Jean Reynolds
2008American Violet as Alma Roberts
2008Henry Box Brown
2007Pictures of Hollis Woods as Edna Reilly
2007Private Practice as Dee Bennett
2007Nefertiti and the Lost Dynasty as Self - Narrator
2006Class of 3000
2006The Megan Mullally Show as Self - Guest
2006Rachael Ray as Self
2006King Leopold's Ghost as Ilanga (voice)
2006Take the Lead as Augustine James
2006The Water Is Wide as Mrs. Brown
2006Something New as Joyce McQueen
2005Beauty Shop as Ms. Josephine
2005Grey's Anatomy as Justine Campbell
2004Desperate Housewives as Betty Applewhite
2004The Forgotten as Det. Anne Pope
2003The Singing Detective as Chief of Staff
2003Radio as Principal Daniels
2003A Wrinkle in Time as Mrs. Whatsit
2003The Core as Stickley
2003Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property as Narrator
2003Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
2002The Wild Thornberrys Movie as Akela (Cheetah Mother) (voice)
2002Searching for Debra Winger as Self
2001K-PAX as Claudia Villars
2001The Wild Thornberrys: The Origin of Donnie as Medicine Woman (voice)
2001Disney's American Legends
2000Holiday Heart as Wanda Dean
2000Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks as Narrator
2000Lost Souls as Dr. Allen
2000Static Shock as Jean Hawkins (voice)
2000The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story as Mary Parrish (voice)
2000John Henry as Polly / Narrator (voice)
2000Dinosaur as Plio (voice)
2000Love & Basketball as Camille Wright
2000What's Cooking? as Audrey Williams
2000Eleanor Roosevelt as Narrator (voice)
1999Mumford as Lily
1999Funny Valentines as Joyce May
1999The Underground Railroad
1999The Wishing Tree as Clara
1998Down in the Delta as Loretta Sinclair
1998The Wild Thornberrys as Medicine Woman (voice)
1997Seven Candles For Kwanzaa as Narrator
1997The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue as Maisie (voice)
1997Cadillac Desert: Water and the Transformation of Nature as Narrator (voice)
1997The Practice as Denise Freeman
1997Follow Me Home as Evey
1997Miss Evers' Boys as Eunice Evers, R.N.
1997The Member of the Wedding as Berenice Sadie Brown
1996Star Trek: First Contact as Lily Sloane
1996A Step Toward Tomorrow as Dr. Sadlin
1996The Daily Show as Self
1996Special Report: Journey to Mars as Tamara O'Neil
1996Primal Fear as Shoat
1996Gulliver's Travels as Queen of Brobdingnag
1995How to Make an American Quilt as Marianna
1995Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child as Winsome (voice)
1995The Piano Lesson as Berniece Charles
1994Crooklyn as Carolyn Carmichael
1994Aliens for Breakfast as Mrs. Marks
1994Blue Chips as Lavada McRae
1994Malcolm X: Make It Plain as Narrator
1993Frasier as Edna (voice)
1993Bopha! as Rosie Mangena
1993Heart and Souls as Penny Washington
1993Homicide: Life on the Street
1992Passion Fish as Chantelle
1992Rich in Love as Rhody Poole
1992The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag as Ann
1992HBO First Look as Self
1991Grand Canyon as Jane
1990Blue Bayou as Jessica Filley
1989A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story as Mary Thomas
1989Miss Firecracker as Popeye Jackson
1988Scrooged as Grace Cooley
1988American Experience as Narrator (voice)
1988The Child Saver as Andrea Crawford
1987Mandela as Winnie Mandela
1986Unnatural Causes as Maude DeVictor
1986L.A. Law as Adrianne Moore
1986L.A. Law: Pilot as Adrianne Moore
1986Extremities as Patricia
1985Puss in Boots as Princess Lovinia
1985Sara as Rozalyn Dupree
1985Words by Heart as Claudie Sills
1984Black Hollywood as Self
1984Sweet Revenge as Vicki Teague
1984WonderWorks as Claudie Sills
1984Go Tell It on the Mountain as Esther
1984The Killing Floor as Mattie
1983Cross Creek as Geechee
1983Reading Rainbow as Self - Narrator (voice)
1982St. Elsewhere as Roxanne Turner
1982Tucker's Witch as Marcia Fulbright
1982Faerie Tale Theatre as Self - Guest
1982Faerie Tale Theatre as Princess Lovinia
1982Precious Blood as Narrator
1982For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf as Woman who lost her stuff
1982The Ambush Murders as Karisha Ellsworth
1981The Sophisticated Gents as Evelyn Evers
1981Hill Street Blues
1980HealtH as Sally Benbow
1980Palmerstown, U.S.A.
1979Freedom Road as Katie
1978The White Shadow as Sandra Wilcox
1978The Trial of the Moke as Lucy Smith
1978Remember My Name as Rita
1977What Really Happened to the Class of '65?
1953The Oscars as Self
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame as Mrs. Brown
—Playing for Your Heart: The Making of “Love & Basketball” as Self
—Hate to See You Go
—The Boroughs as Judy