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Tonya Pinkins is an American actress and filmmaker. Her award-winning debut feature film Red Pill was an official selection at the 2021 Pan African Film Festival, won the Best Black Lives Matter Feature and Best First Feature at The Mykonos International Film Festival, Best First Feature at the Luléa Film Festival, and is nominated for awards in numerous festivals around the globe. Her web-series The Red Pilling of America can be heard on her podcast "You Can't Say That!" at BPN.fm/ycst
She is known for her portrayal of Livia Frye on the soap opera All My Children and for her roles on Broadway theatre. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards (winning one), and has won Obie Award, Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, AUDLECO, Garland, L.A. Drama Critics Circle, Clarence Derwent, and NAACP Theater Awards. She has been nominated for the Olivier, Helen Hayes, Noel, Joseph Jefferson, NAACP Image, Soap Opera Digest, and Ovation Awards. She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Jelly's Last Jam.
Pinkins later returned to college, earning an undergraduate degree from Columbia College Chicago in 1996, followed by a year at California Western School of Law in San Diego.
Pinkins has performed in several off-Broadway productions, including the comic role of Mopsa, the Shepherdess, in The Winter's Tale produced by the Riverside Shakespeare Company at The Shakespeare Center in 1983.For a photo of Tonya Pinkins in the role of Mopsa in The Winter's Tale, see Riverside Shakespeare Company
In 2011, Pinkins starred in the world premiere of Kirsten Greenidge's Milk Like Sugar at La Jolla Playhouse, and received a 2012 Craig Noel nomination for Best featured Actress in a Play. She reprised her role in the Playwrights Horizons in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, "Tony Winner Tonya Pinkins to Star in Milk Like Sugar at Playwrights Horizons". Broadway.com, September 23, 2011. and garnered a 2012 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play.
In 2012, Pinkins starred in Katori Hall's play Hurt Village, the gritty drama about life and change in a Memphis housing project made its world-premiere at Off-Broadway's Signature Theatre Company as part of the theatre's inaugural season.
In 2014, she appeared in New Federal Theatre's revival of Ed Bullins' The Fabulous Miss Marie opposite Roscoe Orman; in the Broadway production of Holler If Ya Hear Me; and the world premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' War at Yale Repertory. She also made guest appearances on such television shows as Army Wives, 24, Law & Order, The Cosby Show, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, and The Guardian among others.
During the mid-1980s Pinkins created the character of "Heather Dalton" on the CBS soap As the World Turns. In 1991, she was cast as Livia Frye in All My Children. Pinkins left All My Children in 1995 but returned to her role in 2003. She was later put on contract with the show from March 2004 until June 2006, when she was downgraded to recurring status.
She played Amala Motobo on 24. Pinkins played Ethel Peabody on the television show Gotham. In 2016, she played Mimi Corcoran on the Hulu science fiction limited series 11.22.63, based on the Stephen King book of the same name, and starring James Franco and Sarah Gadon. On March 16, 2017, she portrayed Sandra in the ABC television series Scandal.
Pinkins has appeared in several films in supporting roles, including Newlyweeds, Home, Fading Gigolo opposite Woody Allen, Enchanted, Premium, Romance & Cigarettes, and Above the Rim among others.
Pinkins wrote, directed, and starred as Cassandra in Red Pill, to be released in 2020.
Career
Pinkins won a Tony Award for her performance as Sweet Anita in Jelly's Last Jam. She was nominated for her roles in Play On! and in Caroline, or Change, where she played the title role. Her additional Broadway theatre credits include Merrily We Roll Along, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, The Wild Party, House of Flowers, Radio Golf, A Time To Kill, Playbill News: Her Shining Hour: Tonya Pinkins Sings Arlen and Holler If Ya Hear Me.
Filmography
Film
1980 Growing Up Young Carol Short 1984 Beat Street Angela 1986 Rage of Angels: The Story Continues Sharon TV movie Hotshot - 1989 See No Evil, Hear No Evil Leslie 1993 Strapped A.T.F. Officer TV movie 1994 Above the Rim Mailika Watson Against Their Will: Women in Prison Sondra TV movie 2000 Redemption Dr. Jones Short 2002 Love Hurts Auntie V 2004 Love, Mom Mom Short 2005 Romance & Cigarettes Female Medic 2006 Premium Marva True Grits Woman #1 Short 2007 Kuriocity Ruby Riggs Enchanted Phoebe Banks 2008 Mrs. Robinson 2013 Newlyweeds Patrice Fading Gigolo Othella Home Esmin 2015 Ori Inu: In Search of Self Mama Lola Short For Justice Marian Horn TV movie 2016 Collective: Unconscious Ripa Fearless Love Det. Cambridge Short 2017 Aardvark Abigail Principal Wilder My Days of Mercy Agatha Mary Church Terrell Short 2018 Write When You Get Work Roberta Simmons Paris Blues in Harlem Shirley Short Mr. Talented Valerie Brown Short 2019 The Artist's Wife Liza Caldwell 2020 The Surrogate Karen Weatherston-Harris Black Lady Goddess Professor Davis TV movie Red Pill Cassandra 2021 Better Than My Last Mrs. Carter TV movie
Television
1981 American Dream - Episode: "American Dream" 1984–86 As the World Turns Heather Dalton Regular Cast 1987 Crime Story Junkie Prostitute Episode: "Justice Hits the Skids" 1990 Iris Episode: "Elvin Pays for Dinner" Guiding Light Alanon Woman 2 Episode: "Episode #1.11039" Law & Order Woman Episode: "Subterranean Homeboy Blues" 1991–94 All My Children Livia Frye Regular Cast 1995 University Hospital Nurse Mary Jenkins Main cast 2000 Great Performances - Episode: "Play On!" 2002 Melinda Tralins Episode: "In Loco Parentis" 2004–09 All My Children Livia Frye Regular Cast 2005 Sleeper Cell Anita Al-Sayeed Episode: "Family" 2006 Criminal Minds Det. Nora Bennett Episode: "A Real Rain" Cold Case Dina Miller Episode: "The River" Law & Order Angela Young Episode: "Hindsight" 2007 Unfabulous Ms. Best Episode: "The Toot" 2008 Donna Taft Episode: "Split Ends" 2009 24 Alama Matobo Recurring cast: season 7 Army Wives Viola Crawford Recurring cast: season 3 2013 Hostages Beth Nix Episode: "2:45 PM" 2015 Nurse Jackie Charlane Episode: "Deal" & "Nice Ladies" 2015–16 Gotham Ethel Peabody Recurring cast: Season 2, guest: Season 3 2016 11.22.63 Mia Mimi Corcoran Recurring cast 2016–19 Madam Secretary Susan Thompson Recurring cast: season 3-6 2017 Scandal Sandra Episode: "Extinction" & "A Traitor Among Us" Francis Episode: "Belly of the Beast" 2018 Random Acts of Flyness Ripa The Reaper Recurring cast Elementary Judge Marilyn Whitfield Episode: "Fit to Be Tied" Fear the Walking Dead Martha Recurring cast: Season 4 Adventures in New America Sam Episode: "Love in the First Degree" 2019 Julie Episode: "Reckoning" Bull Judge Maynard Episode: "When the Rains Came" Burgess Episode: "Impossible" The Two Princes Upendo Recurring cast 2020 Katy Keene Busker Episode: "Pilot" God Friended Me Marsha Recurring cast: season 2 2021 Run the World Gwen Greene Episode: "Plus Ones" Women of the Movement Alma Carthan Main cast 2024-present Sistas Marie Willis Main Cast
Stage
1981 Merrily We Roll Along Gwen Wilson Alvin Theater, Broadway Broadway debut 1988 Just Say No Eustacia Vye WPA Theater, Off-Broadway 1991 Approximating Mother Ellie, Sylvia and Grace Judith Anderson Theater, Off-Broadway 1992 Jelly's Last Jam Anita Virginia Theater, Broadway Tony Award
Drama Desk Award1994 The Merry Wives of Windsor Mistress Ford Delacorte Theater, Off-Broadway 1995 Chronicle of a Death Foretold Clotilde Plymouth Theater, Broadway 1997 Play On! Lady Liv Brooks Atkinson Theater, Broadway Tony Award nomination 1998 Play On! Lady Liv Goodman Theatre, Chicago
Seattle Repertory Theatre 2000 The Wild Party Kate Virginia Theater, Broadway 2000 The Vagina Monologues performer Westside Theater, Off-Broadway 2000 Thoroughly Modern Millie Muzzy La Jolla Playhouse world premiere 2003 House of Flowers Madame Fleur New York City Center 2003 Caroline or Change Caroline Thibodeaux The Public Theater, Off-Broadway 2004 Caroline or Change Caroline Thibodeaux Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway Tony Award nomination
Drama Desk Award nomination2006 Caroline or Change Caroline Thibodeaux Royal National Theatre, London Olivier Award nomination 2007 Radio Golf Mame Wilkins McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton
Cort Theater, Broadway 2008 And Her Hair Went With Her Jasmine The Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles 2009 Black Pearl Sings! Alberta 'Pearl' Johnson Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C. 2011 All's Well That Ends Well Countess of Rousillon Delacorte Theater, Off-Broadway 2011 Measure for Measure Mistress Overdone Delacorte Theater, Off-Broadway 2011 Milk Like Sugar Myrna La Jolla Playhouse
Playwrights Horizons, Off-Broadway 2012 Hurt Village Big Mama Signature Theatre Company, Off-Broadway 2012 Storefront Church Jessie Cortez Atlantic Theater Company, Off-Broadway 2013 A Time to Kill Gwen Lee John Golden Theatre, Broadway 2014 Holler If Ya Hear Me Mrs. Weston Palace Theater, Broadway 2014 The Fabulous Miss Marie Miss Marie Castillo Theater, Off-Broadway 2014 War (play)>War Roberta Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven 2015 Rasheeda Speaking Jaclyn Signature Theatre Company, Off-Broadway Drama Desk Award nomination 2015 Mother Courage and Her Children Mother Courage Classic Stage Company, Off-Broadway 2017 Time Alone Anna Jackson Los Angeles Theatre Center 2022 A Raisin in the Sun Lena The Public Theater, Off-Broadway
External links
Categories: American Soap Opera Actresses, American Stage Actresses, American Television Actresses, Living People, Tony Award Winners, Actresses From Chicago, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School Alumni, 20th-century American Actresses, 21st-century American Actresses, American Film Actresses, Columbia College Chicago Alumni, 20th-century African-american Actresses, 21st-century African-american Actresses, Year Of Birth Missing
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