CELEBRITIES WHO INSPIRE
DIVALICIOUS, DIVA-LEWIS
‘When you’re hardest hit, you mustn’t quit’
By VICKI BENNINGTON
Photo by David Rice
Though Jenifer Lewis’s outspoken persona
that we see in her many film and television
roles might seem intimidating, in reality, her
take-charge attitude and wit are softened by
a warm and gracious demeanor.
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An actress, singer, dancer, comedienne and
writer, Jenifer has appeared in dozens of
movies, like The W
edding Ringer, Think Like
a Man, Meet The Browns, The Preacher’s Wife
and Sister Act, and on TV in Strong Medicine,
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Girlfriends and
currently, ABC’s Black-ish, among many others.
Jenifer grew up in Kinloch, Missouri, one of
seven children, and from the first time she sang
a solo in the Kinloch Baptist Church at the age
of 5, she knew she wanted to be a star.
“When I saw the reaction of the
congregation, that was it,” she said.
And her humble beginnings didn’t keep her
from going to college – even in the mid-1970s.
GAZELLE STL
“In my house, raised by the matriarchal model
we had, believe me, I was going to college,”
she said. “All my siblings are professionals.”
Jenifer earned a bachelor’s degree in theater
arts at Webster University in 1979, and this
year, cried tears of joy when she was asked
to be the Webster University Centennial
commencement speaker. She was awarded
an honorary doctorate degree for her
accomplishments and her work as an AIDS
activist and mentor to children, and Human
Rights Campaign Ally for Equality.
“I was so honored and so humbled. I feel
like I have come full circle, and it is very life
affirming,” Jenifer said.
“Growing up, I tended to be a leader and the
alpha female,” Jenifer said. “And I always
dreamed of being an entertainer.”
Did she want to sing or act?
“I wanted to do it all, like the many ladies
who were my role models – Judy Garland,
Ethel Merman, Barbra Streisand and Bette
Midler. And my heart and soul is Aretha
Franklin,” she said.
She headed to New Y after graduation, and a
ork
month later, landed a role on Broadway in Eubie.
“When people ask me how I became a star, I
tell them I never knew I wasn’t one,” Jenifer
said with a laugh. “You have to own who you
are, and I am grateful to be doing what I love
and what I truly feel I was born to do.
“And you have to love it to continue. It has to
consume your molecular structure,” she said.
“The rejections are too many and too great.”
One of the hardest rejections she can
remember came early in her career in New
York. She auditioned for Saturday Night Live,
but didn’t make it.