While this handsome, African-American actress has never truly risen to star status, she is an accomplished performer of stage and screen who, strangely, never seems to age. She's played a host of diverse characters — doctor, detective, judge, junkie, teacher — yet she is consistently believable. Her television work, which includes stints on
St. Elsewhere and
Hill Street Blues as well as a number of TV-movies, has won her critical praise and four Emmy awards. A married mother of two, Woodard has always maintained a low personal profile, even when she signed on to one of TV's hottest shows,
Desperate Housewives, in 2005.
Alfre Woodard Fast Facts:- The youngest of three children, she was a cheerleader in high school.
- Breakthrough role came in the 1977 Los Angeles stage production of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.
- Most honored black actress in the history of the primetime Emmys as of 2006.
- On her career boost as a result of playing mysterious Betty Applewhite in Desperate Housewives: "After 30 years as a performer, I figured I was on people's radar already, but noooo!" she told TV GUIDE in 2005. "Now people shout at me in the streets. 'Hey, Betty! What are you doing? You're a weird lady!'"
- Alfre Woodard Relationships:
- Constance Woodard - Mother
- Duncan Spencer - Son
- Marion H. Woodard - Father
- Mavis Spencer - Daughter
- Roderick Spencer - Husband
- Alfre Woodard Awards:
- 1997 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special - Winner
- 1985 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Special - Nominee
- 2008 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Nominee
- 1998 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Winner
- 2001 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Nominee
- 1993 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Nominee
- 1988 Emmy: Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series - Nominee
- 1998 Emmy: Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee
- 2003 Emmy: Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series - Winner
- 1987 Emmy: Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series - Winner
- 1986 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee
- 1987 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special - Nominee
- 1990 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special - Nominee
- 1995 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special - Nominee
- 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 1984 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - Winner
- 1996 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress for a Minseries or Special - Nominee
- 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Nominee
- 1983 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Nominee
- College:
- Boston University, Boston, MA (BFA in Theater, 1974)
