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Lena Waithe

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Lena Waithe
Born (1984-05-17) May 17, 1984 (age 40)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[1][2]
EducationColumbia College Chicago, BA, 2006[2]
Occupation(s)Actress, producer, screenwriter

Lena D. Waithe (born May 17, 1984)[3] is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter, best known for her role as Denise on the 2015 Netflix television series Master of None.[4][5][6][7]

Early life

Waithe was born in Chicago, Illinois, on May 17, 1984. Though acting was not originally among Waithe's ambitions,[6] she knew from the age of seven that she wanted to be a television writer, and received strong family support for her writing from her single mother and grandmother.[4] She graduated from Evanston Township High School and from Columbia College Chicago in 2006,[5][8] crediting faculty playwright Michael Fry for his teaching and encouragement.[8][9]

Writing career

Waithe is a former writer for the Fox television series Bones,[6] a writer for the 2012 Nickelodeon sitcom How to Rock, and a producer on the 2014 satirical comedy film Dear White People.[10] Waithe wrote and appeared in the YouTube series "Twenties" which was produced by Flavor Unit Entertainment and optioned in 2014 by BET.[11][12] In addition to writing and directing the short film "Save Me", which was shown at several independent film festivals,[13] Waithe wrote the 2013 web series "Hello Cupid" and the 2011 viral video Shit Black Girls Say.[10]

Waithe had earlier worked on The Real World as an editorial assistant, and on the set of Girlfriends.[8] She was the personal assistant to director Gina Prince-Bythewood during the production of The Secret Life of Bees; Prince-Bythewood became a friend and mentor. Waithe was also a writing assistant on the 2009 biopic Notorious, about the life and murder of Notorious B.I.G.[8]

In 2014, Variety named Waithe as one of its "10 Comedians to Watch".[11] In August 2015, Showtime network commissioned a pilot for an upcoming series, written by Waithe and produced by Common, which tells a young urban African-American man's coming-of-age story. Both Waithe and Common grew up on Chicago's South Side.[5][10]

Master of None

Waithe was cast in Master of None after meeting creator and lead actor Aziz Ansari who, with Alan Yang, had originally written Denise as a straight, white woman with the potential, according to Waithe, to evolve into one of the main character's love interests: "for some reason, [casting director Allison Jones] thought about me for it, a black dyke woman".[4] Ansari and Yang rewrote the script to make the character more like Waithe: "All of us actors play heightened versions of ourselves", she said.[4] "I don't know if we've seen a sly, harem pants-wearing, cool Topshop sweatshirt-wearing, snapback hat-rocking dyke on TV."[6] "I know how many women I see out in the world who are very much like myself. We exist. To me, the visibility of it was what was going to be so important and so exciting."[6]

References

  1. ^ Swartz, Tracy (November 18, 2015). "Chicago-set pilot to be a mix of 'Fruitvale Station,' 'Crash'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Mast, Audrey Michelle (July 11, 2014). "Lena Waithe (BA '06)". Columbia College Chicago: Alumni Spotlights. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  3. ^ Rose, Lacey; O'Connell, Michael; Sandberg, Bryn Elise; Stanhope, Kate; Goldberg, Lesley (August 28, 2015). "Next Gen Fall TV: 10 Stars Poised for Breakouts". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d Garcia, Patricia (November 17, 2015). "Meet Lena Waithe, Master of None's Wisest and Funniest BFF". Vogue. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Zwecker, Bill (November 3, 2015). "Chicagoan Lena Waithe Plays Herself (Sort Of) In Aziz Ansari's Netflix Series". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e Weidenfeld, Lisa (November 18, 2015). "'Master of None's' Lena Waithe Talks Accidental Stardom, 'Failure to Launch'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  7. ^ Falcone, Dana Rose (November 10, 2015). "Master of None cast reveal how they're just like their characters". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d "Millenial Hustle". DEMO Magazine. April 25, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  9. ^ "Associate Professor Michael Fry". Columbia College Chicago. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  10. ^ a b c Goldberg, Lesley (August 11, 2015). "Showtime Orders Black Coming-of-Age Drama Produced by Common". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Holman, Jordyn (July 1, 2014). "Comedian Lena Waithe Inks Deal With BET to Write Pilot 'Twenties' (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  12. ^ Hasin, Sarvat (August 28, 2013). "On Making Mirrors". The Toast. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  13. ^ Fox, Sarah (August 11, 2015). "Lena Waithe, Common to create coming of age drama series". The / Slanted. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
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