Alfre Woodward
Alfre Woodard, a Black actress, was born on this date in 1953.
Born in Tulsa, OK, she is the youngest of three children. She was named by her godmother, who claimed she saw a vision of Alfre's name written out in gold letters. The acting bug bit a former high school cheerleader and track star, Alfre after being persuaded to audition for her school play by a nun.
She studied drama and graduated from Boston University. Woodward is a busy and highly acclaimed actress worldwide. She's made numerous guest appearances in TV and film. She received a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for her 1983 performance in the movie "Cross Creek." Her TV credits include "Hill Street Blues," "St. Elsewhere," "L.A. Law," and "Homicide: Life on the Street." Woodward has won Emmy Awards for her television performances in these series and the movie "Miss Evers' Boys." She has also received Emmy nominations for other performances as well. She has appeared on stage in "Map of the World" and "A Winter's Tale."
Her film credits are many, but among the outstanding movies in which she has appeared are "The Rainbow Is Enuf" (1982), "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide," "Mandela," (1987) "A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story," and "Miss Firecracker" (1989).
More recent productions include "Speak Truth to Power," (2000), "American Exile" (2001)as narrator), "The Wild Thornberrys" (2002), "A Wrinkle In Time" (2003 TV Miniseries), "Radio" (2003), "The Forgotten" (2004), "Night Train" (2005), "Beauty Shop "(2005) and "42.4 Percent" (2006).
She lives in Santa Monica, CA, with her husband, writer Roderick Spencer. They have two adopted children, Mavis and Duncan.
