Lorraine Toussaint

Lorraine Toussaint ( born April 4, 1960) is a Trinidadian-American actress.

She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Black Reel Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Her mother was a teacher, and she brought Toussaint to live in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, in the late 1960s.

Toussaint graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts in 1978.

She then attended the Juilliard School's drama division as a member of Group 11 (1978–1982), where her classmates in 1982 included Megan Gallagher, Penny Johnson Jerald, Jack Kenny, and Jack Stehlin.

Toussaint graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

After graduating, Toussaint began her career as a Shakespearean actress before tackling screen acting in television and film.

Notable stage roles include Hippolyta in Liviu Ciulei's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Guthrie Theater, Tamara in the world premiere of Toni Morrison's Dreaming Emmett at Capital Repertory Theatre, the American premiere of Two Fish in the Sky at the Phoenix Theatre, and an appearance at Tadashi Suzuki's Toga Festival in Japan.

Toussaint made her screen debut in 1983.

In 1986, she portrayed the widow of a man shot and killed by Boston police in the television film A Case of Deadly Force, based on the book by Lawrence O'Donnell.

She later had a recurring role of Vera Williams in the ABC daytime soap opera, One Life to Live.

While maintaining her stage career, she appeared in guest starring roles in series such as 227 and Law & Order (in a recurring role as defense lawyer Shambala Green).

Toussaint began her career in theatre before supporting performances in films such as Breaking In (1989), Hudson Hawk (1991), and Dangerous Minds (1995).

Toussaint made her film debut in the female lead role opposite Burt Reynolds in the crime comedy Breaking In (1989).

The film received positive reviews from critics, but flopped in box office.

She also acted in a number of television films in the 1990s.

In 1991, she appeared opposite Bruce Willis in Hudson Hawk, and later co-starred alongside Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds (1995).

On television, Toussaint had regular roles in short-lived series Bodies of Evidence (CBS, 1992), Where I Live (ABC, 1993), Amazing Grace (NBC, 1995), and Leaving L.A. (ABC, 1997).

Toussaint had her biggest and leading role alongside Annie Potts in the Lifetime first original television drama series, Any Day Now, starring as Rene Jackson, a successful African-American lawyer.

The series received critical acclaim for both lead actresses' performances as well as the show's script writing but never attained standout ratings.

She also appeared in films Point of No Return (1993), Mother's Boys (1994), and Black Dog (1998).

As lead actress, she is best known for her role as Rene Jackson in the critically acclaimed Lifetime television drama series Any Day Now, from 1998 to 2002, and her recurring role as defense attorney Shambala Green in the NBC legal drama Law & Order.

In 2001, Toussaint was a promising contender for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category, though she did not receive a nomination.

She was nominated five times for a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her role.

Any Day Now ended after four seasons and 88 episodes.

She later appeared as a regular cast member in the NBC police procedural Crossing Jordan (2002–03) and the TNT crime drama Saving Grace (2007–10).

From 2002 to 2004, Toussaint had a regular role playing Dr. Elaine Duchamps in the NBC police procedural, Crossing Jordan.

In later years, she guest-starred on Frasier, Judging Amy, The Closer, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, ER, and NCIS.

She had a recurring role as Amelia 'Yoga' Bluman in the ABC comedy series Ugly Betty in 2006, and as Bird Merriweather in the NBC drama Friday Night Lights (2009–11).

She also was a regular, opposite Holly Hunter, in the TNT crime drama Saving Grace as Capt. Kate Perry from 2007 to 2010.

Toussaint also appeared as Jamie Foxx's character's mother in the 2009 drama The Soloist.

Toussaint received critical acclaim and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her performance in the 2012 drama film Middle of Nowhere, written and directed by Ava DuVernay.

In 2012, Toussaint received critical acclaim and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her performance as a hardworking mother who struggles to support her daughter's (Emayatzy Corinealdi) decision to put her life on hold to support her incarcerated husband (Omari Hardwick), of Middle of Nowhere, a drama film written and directed by Ava DuVernay.

In 2014, she played the role of Yvonne "Vee" Parker, the main antagonist in the second season of the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black, for which she received critical acclaim and a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

She also played the role of Amelia Boynton Robinson in the 2014 historical drama film Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay.

Toussaint later co-starred in the ABC fantasy-drama series Forever (2014–15), the Fox comedy-drama Rosewood (2015–17), the AMC drama Into the Badlands (2018–19), NBC drama The Village (2019) and CBS crime drama The Equalizer (2021–present).

Additionally, she appeared in films Fast Color (2018), Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019), The Glorias (2020) and Concrete Cowboy (2020).

Toussaint was born in Trinidad and Tobago.

In an interview she said:

"I grew up under the British system, which I think is horrific for children — very, very strict — a system that did not recognize children as being individuals. You were small animals earning the right to be human. Childhood for me then felt extraordinarily powerless, and as an artistic child who learned in alternative ways, it was hell. I was beaten regularly... A good child was a fearful child, and I was a very, very, good little girl, which meant I lived in a world of silent, dark terror most of the time."