Lena Waithe

Acting

Lena Waithe

Born May 17, 1984Chicago, Illinois, USA75 credits

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'. Waithe was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2018 and was included on Fast Company's Queer 50 list in 2021 and 2022. Description above from the Wikipedia article Lena Waithe, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Filmography

Long's Long Lost & Mini Mart
2025Long's Long Lost & Mini Mart
Executive ProducerMovie
It's Dorothy!
2025It's Dorothy!
as SelfMovie
Honey Bare
2025Honey Bare
Executive ProducerMovie
Corpse Fishing
2024Corpse Fishing
Executive ProducerMovie
Tender Thoughts
2024Tender Thoughts
Executive ProducerMovie
Meal Ticket
2024Meal Ticket
Executive ProducerMovie
Play Hard
2024Play Hard
Executive ProducerMovie
Bitter Leaf
2024Bitter Leaf
Executive ProducerMovie
Sarajin
2023Sarajin
Executive ProducerMovie
Kokomo City
2023Kokomo City
Executive ProducerMovie
Order for Pickup
2023Order for Pickup
Executive ProducerMovie
Last Days of the Lab
2023Last Days of the Lab
Executive ProducerMovie
My Nights Glow Yellow
2023My Nights Glow Yellow
Executive ProducerMovie
Sorry Grandpa Hsiao
2023Sorry Grandpa Hsiao
Executive ProducerMovie
Being Mary Tyler Moore
2023Being Mary Tyler Moore
as Self (voice)Movie
House Party
2023House Party
as SelfMovie
The 25th Filial Exemplar
2022The 25th Filial Exemplar
Executive ProducerMovie
Sherri
2022Sherri
as Self - GuestTV
Beauty
2022Beauty
WriterMovie
Beast
2022Beast
Executive ProducerMovie
Black Santa
2022Black Santa
Executive ProducerMovie
Artistic
2021Artistic
Executive ProducerMovie
Soñadora
2021Soñadora
Executive ProducerMovie
Shoebox
2021Shoebox
Executive ProducerMovie
Only the Moon Stands Still
2021Only the Moon Stands Still
Executive ProducerMovie
Bad Hair
2021Bad Hair
as Brook-LynneMovie
Them
2021Them
Executive ProducerTV
The Beauty President
2021The Beauty President
Executive ProducerMovie
#blackAF
2020#blackAF
as Lena WaitheTV
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
2020Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
as Self - ContestantTV
Onward
2020Onward
as Officer Spector (voice)Movie
Visible: Out on Television
2020Visible: Out on Television
as Self - Narrator (voice)TV
Fragile.com
2019Fragile.com
Executive ProducerMovie
A Black Lady Sketch Show
2019A Black Lady Sketch Show
as Office EmployeeTV
Boomerang
2019Boomerang
CreatorTV
Rising
2018Rising
WriterMovie
The Shop
2018The Shop
as SelfTV
Ready Player One
2018Ready Player One
as Aech / HelenMovie
The Chi
2018The Chi
as Camille HallawayTV
Big Mouth
2017Big Mouth
as Lena (voice)TV
This Is Us
2016This Is Us
as Animal Shelter ClerkTV
Master of None
2015Master of None
as Denise WatkinsTV
RuPaul's Drag Race
2009RuPaul's Drag Race
as Self - Guest JudgeTV
Bones
2005Bones
WriterTV
The Comeback
2005The Comeback
as SummerTV
Grey's Anatomy
2005Grey's Anatomy
as Evynn MooreTV
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003Jimmy Kimmel Live!
as Self - GuestTV
P
Place To Be
as ShyMovie
T
Talent Show
Executive ProducerMovie
FREYR
FREYR
Executive ProducerMovie
G
Grand Rising
WriterMovie