Alfre Woodard
Biography
Alfre Ette Woodard (born November 8, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and Grammy Award, 12 times for Emmy Awards (winning four), and has also won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. She is known for her role in films such as Cross Creek, Miss Firecracker, Grand Canyon, Passion Fish, Primal Fear, Star Trek: First Contact, Miss Evers' Boys, K-PAX, Radio, Take the Lead and The Family That Preys.
Known For
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
Grey's Anatomy
2005
The Daily Show
1996
The Jennifer Hudson Show
2022
Desperate Housewives
2004
Frasier
1993
The Practice
1997
True Blood
2008
Private Practice
2007
L.A. Law
1986
St. Elsewhere
1982
Hill Street Blues
1981
Filmography
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest · 2009
Grey's Anatomy
as Justine Campbell · 2005
The Daily Show
as Self · 1996
The Jennifer Hudson Show
as Self - Guest · 2022
Desperate Housewives
as Betty Applewhite · 2004
Frasier
as Edna (voice) · 1993
The Practice
as Denise Freeman · 1997
True Blood
as Ruby Jean Reynolds · 2008
Private Practice
as Dee Bennett · 2007
L.A. Law
as Adrianne Moore · 1986
St. Elsewhere
as Roxanne Turner · 1982
Hill Street Blues
· 1981
Empire
as Renee · 2015
American Experience
as Narrator (voice) · 1988
The Last Ship
as Amy Granderson · 2014
American Playhouse
as Woman who lost her stuff · 1982
American Playhouse
as Mattie · 1982
American Playhouse
as Esther · 1982
Homicide: Life on the Street
as Dr. Roxanne Turner · 1993
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
as Self · 2014
Star Trek: Lower Decks
as Lilly Sloane (voice) · 2020
The Wild Thornberrys
as Medicine Woman (voice) · 1998
See
as Paris · 2019
Monsieur Spade
as Virginia Dell · 2024
Captain America: Civil War
as Miriam · 2016
Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
as Mimi (voice) · 2023
The Lion King
as Sarabi (voice) · 2019
The Megan Mullally Show
as Self - Guest · 2006
A Series of Unfortunate Events
as Aunt Josephine · 2017
Reading Rainbow
as Self - Narrator (voice) · 1983
Static Shock
as Jean Hawkins (voice) · 2000
Marvel's Luke Cage
as Mariah Dillard · 2016
The Last Frontier
as Jacqueline Bradford · 2025
The Oscars
as Self · 1953
Rachael Ray
as Self - Guest · 2006
The Boroughs
as Judy Daniels · 2026
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as Winsome (voice) · 1995
Number One on the Call Sheet
as Self · 2025
Faerie Tale Theatre
as Self - Guest · 1982
Faerie Tale Theatre
as Princess Lovinia · 1982
12 Years a Slave
as Mistress Shaw · 2013
Primal Fear
as Shoat · 1996
Who Do You Think You Are?
as Self · 2010
The Gray Man
as Margaret Cahill · 2022
The White Shadow
as Sandra Wilcox · 1978
HBO First Look
as Self · 1992
Salem's Lot
as Dr. Cody · 2024
Annabelle
as Evelyn · 2014
Dinosaur
as Plio (voice) · 2000
The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart
as Self · 2020
Star Trek: First Contact
as Lily Sloane · 1996
The Core
as Stickley · 2003
Three Rivers
as Dr. Sophia Jordan · 2009
The Forgotten
as Det. Anne Pope · 2004
The Book of Clarence
as Mother Mary · 2024
Radio
as Principal Daniels · 2003
K-PAX
as Claudia Villars · 2001
Class of 3000
· 2006
Gulliver's Travels
as Queen of Brobdingnag · 1996
Scrooged
as Grace Cooley · 1988
Heart and Souls
as Penny Washington · 1993
Memphis Beat
as Lieutenant Tanya Rice · 2010
What Really Happened to the Class of '65?
· 1977
Summer Camp
as Mary · 2024
Take the Lead
as Augustine James · 2006
Fatherhood
as Marian · 2021
Inconceivable
as Dr. Lydia Crawford · 2005
Tucker's Witch
as Marcia Fulbright · 1982
My Own Worst Enemy
as Mavis Heller · 2008
Palmerstown, U.S.A.
· 1980
Black Panther
as Dondi Reece (voice) · 2010
Something New
as Joyce McQueen · 2006
The Wild Thornberrys Movie
as Akela (Cheetah Mother) (voice) · 2002
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Mrs. Brown · 1951
Mississippi Grind
as Sam · 2015
Space Oddity
as Dr. Olsen · 2023
Lost Souls
as Dr. Allen · 2000
Beauty Shop
as Ms. Josephine · 2005
WonderWorks
as Claudie Sills · 1984
Blue Chips
as Lavada McRae · 1994
Sara
as Rozalyn Dupree · 1985
How to Make an American Quilt
as Marianna · 1995
Saint Judy
as Judge Benton · 2018
Cadillac Desert
as Narrator (voice) · 1997
The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue
as Maisie (voice) · 1997
Love & Basketball
as Camille Wright · 2000
The Singing Detective
as Chief of Staff · 2003
Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys
as Alice Pratt · 2008
Passion Fish
as Chantelle · 1992
The Sophisticated Gents
as Evelyn Evers · 1981
Grand Canyon
as Jane · 1991
Extremities
as Patricia · 1986
Crooklyn
as Carolyn Carmichael · 1994
Steel Magnolias
as Ouiser · 2012
A Wrinkle in Time
as Mrs. Whatsit · 2003
Miss Evers' Boys
as Eunice Evers, R.N. · 1997
Disney's American Legends
· 2001
Cross Creek
as Geechee · 1983
Holiday Heart
as Wanda Dean · 2000
Clemency
as Warden Bernadine Williams · 2019
Women, War & Peace
as Narrator (voice) · 2011
The Piano Lesson
as Berniece Charles · 1995
Pictures of Hollis Woods
as Edna Reilly · 2007
Burning Sands
as Professor Hughes · 2017
Go Tell It on the Mountain
as Esther · 1984
Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property
as Narrator · 2003
What's Cooking?
as Audrey Williams · 2000
Aliens for Breakfast
as Mrs. Marks · 1994
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
as Self · 2016
King Leopold's Ghost
as Ilanga (voice) · 2006
Sweet Revenge
as Vicki Teague · 1984
The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag
as Ann · 1992
So B. It
as Bernadette · 2016
Weathering
as Mum · 2023
American Violet
as Alma Roberts · 2008
Black Panther
as Dondi Reece · 2010
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
· 2003
Mandela
as Winnie Mandela · 1987
Remember My Name
as Rita · 1978
The Wild Thornberrys: The Origin of Donnie
as Medicine Woman (voice) · 2001
The Water Is Wide
as Mrs. Brown · 2006
Mumford
as Lily · 1999
Miss Firecracker
as Popeye Jackson · 1989
The Inquisitor
as Narration · 2025
2034
Eleanor Roosevelt
as Narrator (voice) · 2000
Knucklehead
as Sheila · 2015
The Ambush Murders
as Karisha Ellsworth · 1982
The Killing Floor
as Mattie · 1984
Malcolm X: Make It Plain
as Narrator · 1994
Follow Me Home
as Evey · 1997
Rich in Love
as Rhody Poole · 1992
State of Affairs
as President Constance Payton · 2014
Special Report: Journey to Mars
as Tamara O'Neil · 1996
The Lion King: Can You Feel The Love Tonight with Robin Roberts
· 2019
A Step Toward Tomorrow
as Dr. Sadlin · 1996
A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story
as Mary Thomas · 1989
Down in the Delta
as Loretta Sinclair · 1998
The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
as Mary Parrish (voice) · 2000
Words by Heart
as Claudie Sills · 1985
Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street
as Mary Parrish (voice) · 2021
Playing for Your Heart: The Making of “Love & Basketball”
as Self
L.A. Law: Pilot
as Adrianne Moore · 1986
John Henry
as Polly / Narrator (voice) · 2000
Precious Blood
as Narrator · 1982
The Door
as E · 2013
Funny Valentines
as Joyce May · 1999
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
as Woman who lost her stuff · 1982
Nefertiti and the Lost Dynasty
as Self - Narrator · 2007
Nelson Mandela Redrawn
as Self · 2014
HealtH
as Sally Benbow · 1980
Bopha!
as Rosie Mangena · 1993
Searching for Debra Winger
as Self · 2002
Juanita
as Juanita · 2019
The Trial of the Moke
as Lucy Smith · 1978
Puss in Boots
as Princess Lovinia · 1985
Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band
as Mary Lou Williams (voice) · 2015
The Underground Railroad
· 1999
Reach for Me
as Evelyn · 2008
The Thing That Hurts
The Member of the Wedding
as Berenice Sadie Brown · 1997
The Making of Clemency
as Herself · 2020
The Wishing Tree
as Clara · 1999
Freedom Road
as Katie · 1979
Hate to See You Go
Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks
as Narrator · 2000
Pockets of Heaven
Blue Bayou
as Jessica Filley · 1990
Black Hollywood
as Self · 1984
Seven Candles For Kwanzaa
as Narrator · 1997
The Child Saver
as Andrea Crawford · 1988
Medal of Honor
as Narrator · 2008
Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color
as Alma Thomas (voice) · 2021
Unnatural Causes
as Maude DeVictor · 1986
No Small Matter
as Narrator (voice) · 2019
Henry Box Brown
· 2008