Charlayne Woodard
Encyclopedia
Charlaine "Charlayne" Woodard (born December 29, 1953) is an American
film, stage
and television actress and playwright
. She has written four plays, titled Pretty Fire, Neat, In Real Life, which she starred in, and "Flight".
She portrayed the recurring role of Janice on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. She played the role of Vonda on Roseanne, and also appears in a recurring role as Sister Peg on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
, a nun who looks out for the safety of prostitutes and junkies and occasionally helps the SVU detectives. Her film credits include the role of Tituba
in The Crucible, alongside Daniel Day-Lewis
and Winona Ryder
, Elijah's mother in Unbreakable alongside Samuel L. Jackson
and Bruce Willis
, and Angel Kosinsky in Eye for an Eye, alongside Sally Field
.
She was one of the original cast members in the Tony Award
-winning Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin', and in 2009, starred in a one-person performance called The Night Watcher at Primary Stages in New York City.
Woodard has been married to Alan Harris, an intellectual property
lawyer, since 1991.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film, stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and television actress and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. She has written four plays, titled Pretty Fire, Neat, In Real Life, which she starred in, and "Flight".
She portrayed the recurring role of Janice on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. She played the role of Vonda on Roseanne, and also appears in a recurring role as Sister Peg on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
, a nun who looks out for the safety of prostitutes and junkies and occasionally helps the SVU detectives. Her film credits include the role of Tituba
Tituba
Tituba was a 17th-century slave belonging to Samuel Parris of Salem, Massachusetts. Tituba was one of the first three people accused of practicing witchcraft during the Salem witch trials which took place in 1692. Tituba was the first person accused by Betty Parris and Abigail Williams of...
in The Crucible, alongside Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
and Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas. Ryder's first significant role came in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice as a goth teenager, which won her critical and commercial recognition...
, Elijah's mother in Unbreakable alongside Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
and Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
, and Angel Kosinsky in Eye for an Eye, alongside Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
.
She was one of the original cast members in the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin', and in 2009, starred in a one-person performance called The Night Watcher at Primary Stages in New York City.
Woodard has been married to Alan Harris, an intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
lawyer, since 1991.
Selected filmography
- HairHair (film)Hair is a 1979 American film adaptation of the 1968 Broadway musical of the same name about a Vietnam war draftee who meets and befriends a tribe of long-haired hippies on his way to the army induction center...
(1979) as White Boys - The Crucible (1996) as Tituba
- Unbreakable (2000) as Elijah's Mother
- Sunshine StateSunshine State (film)Sunshine State is a 2002 American comedy–drama film written and directed by John Sayles. The picture stars an ensemble cast that features Angela Bassett, Edie Falco, Jane Alexander, Alan King, Timothy Hutton, Mary Steenburgen, Bill Cobbs, and others. The movie was filmed on Amelia Island,...
(2002) as Loretta - Lackawanna BluesLackawanna BluesLackawanna Blues is an American play written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson in 2001. It was later adapted as a television movie that aired in 2005. The play dramatizes the character of the author's primary caregiver when he was growing up in Lackawanna, New York, during the 1950s and 1960s.-Play:The...
(2005) as Bill's Woman