Lena Waithe

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

36

Gender

Female

Birthday

1984-05-17 (40 years old)

Place of Birth

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Also Known As

  • Lena D. Waithe
  • 麗娜·維特

Lena Waithe

Biography

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

Ready Player One
7.6%

Ready Player One

Mar 28, 2018

Grey's Anatomy
8.2%

Grey's Anatomy

Mar 27, 2005

Onward
7.7%

Onward

Feb 29, 2020

Westworld
8.0%

Westworld

Oct 2, 2016

This Is Us
8.2%

This Is Us

Sep 20, 2016

Big Mouth
7.7%

Big Mouth

Sep 29, 2017

The Daily Show
6.4%

The Daily Show

Jul 22, 1996

Master of None
7.4%

Master of None

Nov 6, 2015

RuPaul's Drag Race
7.5%

RuPaul's Drag Race

Feb 2, 2009

The Chi
8.0%

The Chi

Jan 7, 2018

Dear White People
6.1%

Dear White People

Apr 28, 2017

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Acting

Place To Be
2025
It's Dorothy! as Self
2023
Being Mary Tyler Moore as Self (voice)
2023
House Party as Lena Waithe
2022
Sherri as Self - Guest
2022
Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration
2022
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder as College Maya (voice)
2021
2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony as Self
2021
Twenties After-Show With B. Scott as Self - Guest
2021
The One and Only Dick Gregory as Self
2021
Bad Hair as Brook-Lynne
2021
Amend: The Fight for America as Self
2020
Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 as Self
2020
#blackAF as Lena Waithe
2020
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire as Self - Contestant
2020
You Ain't Got These
2020
Onward as Officer Spector (voice)
2020
Visible: Out on Television as Self - Narrator (voice)
2019
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner as Self
2019
A Black Lady Sketch Show as Office Employee
2018
The Shop as Self
2018
Ready Player One as Aech / Helen
2018
The Chi as Camille Hallaway
2017
Big Mouth as Lena (voice)
2017
Dear White People as P. Ninny
2016
Westworld as Ash
2016
This Is Us as Animal Shelter Clerk
2015
Master of None as Denise Watkins
2015
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter as Self
2014
Transparent as Jane
2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as Self - Guest
2009
RuPaul's Drag Race as Self - Guest Judge
2005
The Comeback as Summer
2005
Grey's Anatomy as Evynn Moore
1996
The Daily Show as Self
1953
The Oscars as Self

Creator

2019
Boomerang as Creator
2018
The Chi as Creator

Production

Such a Fun Age as Producer
Talent Show as Executive Producer
2024
Meal Ticket as Executive Producer
2023
Kokomo City as Executive Producer
2023
Order for Pickup as Executive Producer
2023
Last Days of the Lab as Executive Producer
2023
A Thousand and One as Producer
2023
Being Mary Tyler Moore as Producer
2023
Chang Can Dunk as Producer
2022
Black Santa as Executive Producer
2022
Beauty as Producer
2021
The One and Only Dick Gregory as Executive Producer
2021
Soñadora as Executive Producer
2021
Shoebox as Executive Producer
2021
Them as Executive Producer
2021
The Beauty President as Executive Producer
2020
The Forty-Year-Old Version as Producer
2019
Queen & Slim as Producer
2019
Fragile.com as Executive Producer
2018
Step Sisters as Producer
2018
The Chi as Executive Producer
2015
Master of None as Executive Producer
2014
Ladylike as Consulting Producer
2014
Dear White People as Producer
2010
I Will Follow as Production Coordinator

Writing

Talent Show as Screenplay
2022
Beauty as Writer
2020
You Love Me as Screenplay
2019
Queen & Slim as Screenplay
2019
Queen & Slim as Story
2018
Rising as Writer
2018
The Chi as Writer
2015
Master of None as Writer
2005
Bones as Writer
Movies
TV Shows
People
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Lena Waithe