Lena Waithe
Multi-talented Lena Waithe made her name as a writer and producer on the likes of "The Real World" (MTV, 1992-), "Bones" (Fox, 2005-17) and "Dear White People" (2014) before stepping in front of the camera in Aziz Ansari comedy "Master of None" (Netflix, 2015-). Born in Chicago, IL in 1984, Waithe graduated from Columbia College with a degree in writing, producing and television and shortly after landed her first job as an editorial assistant on ground-breaking reality show "The Real World" (MTV, 1992-). Waithe went onto assist in the production of long-running sitcom "Girlfriends" (UPN, 2000-08) and several "E! Live from the Red Carpet" (E!, 1996-) specials, as well as the big screen adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's fable "The Secret Life of Bees" (2008), Biggie Smalls biopic "Notorious" (2009) and Ava DuVernay's feature film debut "I Will Follow" (2010). After taking the director's chair herself on "Save Me" (2011), a short film about a 9-year-old boy's quest to find the man who saved his life, Waithe penned two episodes of kids musical comedy "How to Rock" (Nickelodeon, 2012), served as producer on race relations satire "Dear White People" (2014) and joined the staff of writers on crime procedural "Bones" (Fox, 2005-). Following a one-off appearance in Lisa Kudrow's meta-comedy "The Comeback" (HBO, 2005-), Waithe landed her first recurring acting gig as Dev's best friend Denise in "Master of None" (Netflix, 2015-). In September 2017, Waithe became the first black woman to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, for co-writing the second-season "Master of None" episode "Thanksgiving" with Ansari. Her impassioned acceptance speech was one of the night's most memorable moments.
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Lena Waithe
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
99% |
|
KOKOMO CITY | Executive Producer | $77.1K | 2023 |
97% |
|
Being Mary Tyler Moore | Producer | - | 2023 |
97% |
|
A Thousand and One | Producer | $3.4M | 2023 |
96% |
|
Chang Can Dunk | Producer | - | 2023 |
22% |
|
BEAUTY |
Screenwriter, Producer |
- | 2022 |
No Score Yet |
|
Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration | Self | - | 2022 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Huella | Executive Producer | - | 2022 |
100% | No Score Yet | The One and Only Dick Gregory |
Self, Executive Producer |
- | 2021 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Coche Bomba | Executive Producer | - | 2021 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Soft Sounds of Peeling Fruit | Executive Producer | - | 2021 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Cinephile: A Rising Voices Film | Executive Producer | - | 2021 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Shoebox | Executive Producer | - | 2021 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Soñadora | Executive Producer | - | 2021 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Only the Moon Stands Still | Executive Producer | - | 2021 |
62% |
|
Bad Hair | Brook-Lynne (Character) | - | 2020 |
88% |
|
Onward | Officer Spector (Voice) | $60.4M | 2020 |
82% |
|
Queen & Slim |
Screenwriter, Producer |
$43.8M | 2019 |
72% |
|
Ready Player One |
Aech/ |
$137.0M | 2018 |
22% |
|
Step Sisters | Producer | - | 2018 |
91% |
|
Dear White People | Producer | $4.4M | 2014 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Talk | Guest | 2018 2021-2022 2024 |
No Score Yet | 63% | The Chi |
Writer, Creator, Executive Producer |
2018-2024 |
79% | 75% | Westworld | Ash (Character) | 2020 2022 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Guest | 2019 2022 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Finding Your Roots | Guest | 2022 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Twenties After Show With B. Scott | Executive Producer | 2021 |
88% | 90% | Twenties | Creator | 2021 |
No Score Yet | 42% | Jimmy Kimmel Live! |
Guest, Host |
2018-2019 2021 |
94% | 71% | Master of None |
Denise (Character), Writer |
2015 2017 2021 |
79% | 79% | Them | Executive Producer | 2021 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | Guest | 2021 |
No Score Yet | 18% | The Late Late Show With James Corden | Guest | 2018-2020 |
100% | 70% | Boomerang | Executive Producer | 2020 |
75% | No Score Yet | You Ain't Got These |
Executive Producer, Host |
2020 |
No Score Yet | 50% | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert | Guest | 2018-2019 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Wendy Williams Show | Guest | 2018-2019 |
80% | 65% | Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner | Guest | 2019 |
84% | 74% | RuPaul's Drag Race | Judge | 2019 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Top Chef | Guest | 2019 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen | Guest | 2018-2019 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter | Guest | 2018 |
No Score Yet | 61% | Late Night With Seth Meyers | Guest | 2018 |
No Score Yet | 12% | The View | Guest | 2018 |
94% | 81% | This Is Us | Animal Shelter Clerk (Guest Star) | 2018 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Desus & Mero | Guest | 2018 |
91% | 76% | Transparent | Jane (Guest Star) | 2016 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Last Call With Carson Daly | Guest | 2015 |
74% | 88% | The Comeback | Summer (Guest Star) | 2014 |