Jenifer Lewis Popular Books
Jenifer Lewis Biography & Facts
Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films Beaches (1988) and Sister Act (1992). Lewis is known for playing roles of mothers in the films What's Love Got to Do With It (1993), Poetic Justice (1993), The Preacher's Wife (1996), The Brothers (2001), The Cookout (2004), Think Like a Man (2012) and in the sequel Think Like a Man Too (2014), Baggage Claim (2013) and The Wedding Ringer (2015), as well as in The Temptations miniseries (1998). Lewis is known unofficially as "The Mother of Black Hollywood" (also the name of her memoir) given her frequent matriarchal film and television roles. She also provided the voice for Mama Odie in Disney's animated feature The Princess and the Frog (2009), and Flo in Pixar's Cars series. Additional film roles include Dead Presidents (1995), Cast Away (2000) and Hereafter (2010). On television, Lewis starred as Lana Hawkins in the Lifetime medical drama Strong Medicine from 2000 to 2006. She also had recurring roles on sitcoms A Different World, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Girlfriends. In 2014, Lewis began starring as Ruby Johnson in the ABC comedy series Black-ish, for which she received two Critics' Choice Television Award nominations. Early life Lewis was born in Kinloch, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, to a nurse's aide mother, Dorothy, and a factory worker father. Lewis is the youngest of seven children. She sang in her church choir at the age of five. She attended Kinloch High School and then college at Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri. She received an honorary degree from Webster in 2015. After college, Lewis moved to New York. Career 1970s–1980s Soon after she arrived in New York City, Lewis debuted on Broadway in a small role in Eubie (1979), the musical based on the work of Eubie Blake. She next landed the role of Effie White in the workshop of the Michael Bennett–directed musical Dreamgirls, but when the show moved to Broadway, Bennett chose Jennifer Holliday for the role. Lewis became a Harlette, a back-up singer for Bette Midler, which led to Lewis' first TV appearances on Midler's HBO specials. She was cast as a backup singer in the Otto Titsling production number in Midler's film Beaches (1988). At the same time, Lewis was developing her nightclub act, The Diva Is Dismissed, an autobiographical comedy and music show in New York City cabarets. She performed the show off-Broadway at the Public Theater. 1990s After Lewis relocated to Los Angeles, she began appearing in television sitcoms, including Murphy Brown, Dream On, In Living Color, Roc, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and Friends. From 1992 to 1993, she played Dean Davenport in the sixth and final season of the NBC sitcom A Different World. She also had a recurring role as Will Smith's Aunt Helen in the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1991 to 1996. As a series regular, Lewis starred alongside Patricia Wettig in her short-lived legal drama Courthouse in 1995, playing Judge Rosetta Reide, the first main African American lesbian character on television. In 1992, Lewis was cast as one of the back-up singers to Whoopi Goldberg in the comedy film Sister Act. The following year, Lewis played the mother of Tupac Shakur's character in the film Poetic Justice, and as Zelma Bullock, Tina Turner's mother, in the biopic What's Love Got to Do With It starring Angela Bassett. Lewis has stated that she never auditioned to play Turner, but would have been thrilled to play the iconic singer. Lewis is only one year older than Bassett. For her performance, she received her first NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture nomination. In 1994, she followed with other comedic supporting roles, including Mrs. Coleman, the Unemployment Office lady, in Renaissance Man and as Whoopi Goldberg's sister in Corrina, Corrina. In 1995, she was cast in maternal roles to Kadeem Hardison in Panther and to Larenz Tate in Dead Presidents. In 1996, Lewis appeared as Theresa Randle's telephone sex line boss in the film Girl 6. Later that year, she played Whitney Houston's character's mother in the film The Preacher's Wife, for which she received her second NAACP Image Award nomination. She also had roles in The Mighty (1998), The Temptations miniseries (1998), Mystery Men (1999) and Blast from the Past (1999), and the leading role in the film Jackie's Back (1999). 2000s In 2000, Lewis had a supporting role in the adventure drama film Cast Away, directed by Robert Zemeckis. In the same year, she began starring as Lana Hawkins on the Lifetime television medical drama Strong Medicine, for which she also performed the theme song. The show ended in February 2006. She also voiced Flo in Pixar's Cars franchise. She also had a recurring role as Veretta Childs (Toni's mother) in the UPN sitcom Girlfriends. In film, she appeared as Morris Chestnut's mother in the romantic comedy The Brothers (2001). In 2006, she had a featured role as the wedding planner in Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, and also appeared in Perry's comedy-drama Meet the Browns (2008) as Vera Brown. She also appeared in Juwanna Mann (2002), The Cookout (2004), Nora's Hair Salon (2004), Dirty Laundry (2006) and Not Easily Broken (2009). On April 22, 2008, Lewis replaced Darlene Love as Motormouth Maybelle in Broadway's Hairspray. On television, she guest-starred on That's So Raven and Boston Legal. Lewis also had a number of voice acting roles, including Walt Disney Animation Studios's animated musical The Princess and the Frog (2009), for which she was nominated for the Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production. 2010s In June 2010, Lewis told the Jazz Joy and Roy syndicated radio show: "I just did a production of Hello Dolly at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle and it had to be one of the greatest productions that I have ever done, because I got to just do a character, Dolly Levi, and it was just great." In 2012, Lewis began working with Shangela on the online reality show parody Jenifer Lewis and Shangela, where she acts as herself alongside Shangela, a "drag queen living in her basement." She later appeared in Shangela's music video for "Werqin Girl (Professional)". In 2010, Clint Eastwood cast Lewis in his fantasy film Hereafter. The following year, she starred alongside Rosario Dawson and Tracee Ellis Ross in Five, for which she received her third NAACP Image Award nomination. She also co-starred in the short-lived NBC series The Playboy Club. She played Terrence J's overbearing mother in box-office hit Think Like a Man (2012) and its sequel Think Like a Man Too (2014). In 2013, she played Paula Patton's mother in the romantic comedy Baggage Claim. In 2015, she starred in the romantic comedy The Wedding Ringer. In 2014, Lewis was cast as Ruby Johnson, Anthony Anderson's character's mother in the ABC comedy series Black-i.... Discover the Jenifer Lewis popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jenifer Lewis books.
Best Seller Jenifer Lewis Books of 2024
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Metamorphosis
Jennifer Carole LewisFormer soldier Ron McBride thought his life couldn't possibly get any worse. He's been physically transformed, hunted across most of North America and is haunted by his battl...
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Miss Angel
Angelica GooddenA word was coined to describe the condition of people stricken with a new kind of fever when the Swissborn artist Angelica Kauffman (17411807) came to London in 1766. 'The whole wo...
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Monkey and the GOAT
Jennifer Carole LewisRather than becoming the Greatest Of All Time, goat shifter William Svenson is on the verge of flunking out of FUC's Newbie Academy. He's got one last chance to make it right and i...
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Judgment
Jennifer Carole LewisHow far would you go to protect your child? Martha Anderson gave up everything to help her daughter: her career, her marriage, and her life. She devoted years to Bernie'...
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Second Draft of My Life
Sara LewisFortytwo years and five books into her life, Charlotte Dearborn abandons her noncommittal boyfriend and her sinkingship writing career, and becomes an elementary school teacher. Su...
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Alluvia
JH LewisEvery night Anna falls asleep wondering which life will greet her in the morning. Will she wake as Anna Bennett, Anna Knight, or Anna Carter? Even after all this time she never kno...
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Nasty Nevin
Jennifer Lewis WilliamsNasty Nevin is the bizarre second book in the Mickey Stanislawsky Mystery series presenting more unsettling crimes & characters.Murders in Peaceton, Texas have a habit of happe...
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Third Eye Open
Jennifer Carole LewisWhen the world discovered superpowers were real, suddenly Jessica and Greg had more paranormal investigations than they could handle. Everyone suddenly seems convinced there ...
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Whispers In the Dark
Jennifer Carole LewisGOT GHOSTS?Strange noises? Things moving on their own?Lights turning off and on by themselves?YOU'VE GOT GHOSTS!AND I CAN HELP!As a contractor, Greg Cook, is more inclined to belie...
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Dirty Daniel
Jennifer Lewis WilliamsMeshelle “Mickey” Stanislawsky has been a detective for one hour before she gets her first murder case. The victim? A janitor at the New Birth Free Pentecostal Church. No blood. No...
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Lizzie Searches for Love Trilogy
Linda BylerContains all three Lizzie Searches for Love books by Linda Byler Ideal gift for readers in search of a love story Excellent choice for fans of Girls of Paper and Fire, Story Thiev...
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Baggage Claim
David E. TalbertIn this national bestseller and basis for the smash hit movie starring Paula Patton, Baggage Claim is the story of one woman who decides that she’s done flying solo.When her baby s...
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The House of Mirth
Edith WhartonA literary sensation when it was published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1905, The House of Mirth quickly established Edith Wharton as the most important American woman of letters ...
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Beacon of Light
Linda BylerThe second book in The Long Road Home series, a unique and gripping Amish romance trilogy set in the South at the turn of the century. At the end of Banished, Clinton has died and ...
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The Weaving of Life
Linda BylerThe first in a new series about an independent Amish woman and her struggles in career and romance. Susan Lapp is a hardworking Amish woman in her early twenties. She enjoys the fi...
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Disappearances
Linda BylerSadie may be married now, but she's as spirited as ever, and her life is no less tame. In fact, soon after she and Mark are s...
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Revelations
Jennifer Carole LewisFor millennia, the lalassu have existed at the fringes of society, hiding in the shadows. But someone is determined to drag them into the light.Dani has spent years fighting ...
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Yeah, I Said It
Wanda SykesWanda Sykes reduces people to tears tears of laughter. She's done so as a standup comic, a sitcom star, and a sports commentator for years now, and in the process she's gained a h...
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Love in Unlikely Places
Linda BylerWhen Emma leaves the security of her Amish community for a job in North Carolina, she finds herself navigating choices, circumstances, and a relationship that she never could have ...
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A Murder Among Friends
Jennifer Lewis WilliamsA Murder Among Friends is a crime novel about betrayal, jealousy, murder, and revenge.Everyone is shocked when Catherine, a pregnant surrogate, goes missingfrom the gay couple whos...
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A Second Chance
Linda BylerHow long will Edna have to wait for the love of her life? Will God reward her patience? From Linda Byler, bestselling author of Amish Romances, comes a new story with "multifaceted...
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A Star To Steer Her By
Jennifer Carole LewisAll Captain Rebecca Arisdesia ever wanted was freedom. The freedom to fly the skies and not be caught up in dirtside social expectations. But every ship has to make por...
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Courting Caleb
Kelly LongIn a small Appalachian community with few single men, young Amish women take fate in hand and help forge their own paths to happy marriages . . . Wanted: An Amish Mail Order ...
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First Christmas on Huckleberry Hill
Jennifer BeckstrandBefore irrepressible eightysomethings Anna and Felty Helmuth became Huckleberry Hill, Wisconsin’s mostbeloved matchmakers, they were mismatched young lovers facing seemingly imposs...
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An Amish Bride
Rosalind LauerIn Joyful River, Pennsylvania, the faithfilled Amish community lives side by side with the English world, healing problems and overcoming hardship with compassion, love, and abidin...
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All in Good Time
Linda BylerThis final book in The Long Road Home trilogy is full of unexpected twists. The redemptive ending will leave you smiling for days. As May settles into family life, she has so much ...
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Angels Burning
Tawni O'DellFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Back Roads, “a noholdsbarred, pageturning, perfectly crafted thriller” (Heather Gudenkauf, author of The Weight of Silence) following ...
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Hope Deferred
Linda BylerWill Daniel and Anna be able to reconcile their faith struggles and their love for each other? Beloved Amish novelist Linda Byler once again writes a compelling and surprising love...
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A Change of Affection
Becket CookThe powerful, dramatic story of how a successful Hollywood set designer whose identity was deeply rooted in his homosexuality came to be suddenly and utterly transformed by the pow...
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Division
Jennifer Carole LewisWhen alliances shatter, a choice must be made. Revolution or redemption?Vincent Harris has three talents: his enhanced strength means he can rip apart a building with his bare hand...
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Ruined Expectations
Jennifer LewisNatalie is a junior in college when she meets Andrew, he's everything she wants in a man and within weeks they move in together. Andrew promises to always be there for her.Until Na...
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Rose on the Grave
Jennifer Carole LewisAfter the incredible haunting at his parents' home, Greg and Jessica partner to investigate more hauntings together. But events aren't going as smoothly as they might have ho...
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Inquisition
Jennifer Carole LewisPolice detective Joe Cabrera used to have a pretty good life. Promising career, plenty of flirtations, and he never once needed to question the nature of his reality. A...
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A Plain and Simple Christmas
Amy ClipstonTake a trip to BirdinHand, Pennsylvania, where you’ll meet the women of the Kauffman Amish Bakery in Lancaster County. As each woman’s story unfolds, you will share in her heartach...
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Tapestry of Love
Linda BylerThe second book in the New Directions series following Weaving of Life, this Amish romance will keep you guessing until the end! Susan Lapp is back in Lancaster and ready to begin ...
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Bold Words from Black Women
Tamara PizzoliCelebrate the power of Black womanhood in this firstofitskind collection of inspirational quotes from fifty activists, artists, and leaders, featuring bold, attentiongrabbing illus...
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Highland Games Murder
Jennifer Lewis WilliamsAt the biannual Highland Games in the small Texas town of Daunder, bagpipe player Nigel Pauley is ruthlessly stabbed with a sgian dubh, a knife pipers wear as part of their costume...
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Banished
Linda BylerThe first book in The Long Road Home trilogy, a unique and gripping Amish romance set in the South at the turn of the century. It was the early 1900s when Obadiah (Oba) and Me...
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Cack-Handed
Gina YashereThe British comedian of Nigerian heritage and coexecutive producer and writer of the CBS hit series Bob Hearts Abishola chronicles her odyssey to get to America and break...
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Garment of Praise
Linda BylerThe final book in the New Directions series delves into the complexities of a blended Amish family. Are love and faith enough to navigate through relationship tensions, homesicknes...
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One of Us
Tawni O'DellCheck out Tawni O’Dell’s upcoming thriller, Angels Burning, available January 2016 from Gallery Books.“A fearless exploration of the line between mental illness and true evil, a pl...