Alfre Woodard
(1952 - )
Profession: Actress
Hometown: Tulsa
Inducted: 2014
Alfre Woodard, one of Oklahoma's most successful actors, was born in Tulsa and graduated from Bishop Kelley High School where she was a cheerleader and track star. It was here that she first fell in love with acting after auditioning for a school play. She then went to Boston University to study acting. Before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in television and film, Woodard performed on Broadway for a brief period.
Woodard's big break came in the 1978 film Remember Me. Some of her most notable films include Lawrence Kasdan's Grand Canyon (1991); Maya Angelou's Down in Delta (1998); Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave (2013); and The Lion King (2019). She also appeared in shows such as Mandela (1987), the Lifetime Remake of Steel Magnolias (2012); and A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017). Throughout her career, Woodard has been nominated for an Oscar, a Grammy, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, one Golden Globe, an NAACP Image Award, and an Essence Black Women honor award. She has been nominated eighteen times for Emmy awards, winning four times.
In addition to her prolific career in film and television, Woodard is an outspoken human rights activist. She helped found Arts for a New South Africa (ANSA) to support the struggle to end apartheid. ANSA also worked in the United States and Africa to combat HIV/AIDS and help educate youth. Woodard's artistic talent has touched countless people and enabled her to use her fame and fortune to fight for social justice around the world.
Want to see more?
Click below to watch Alfre Woodard perform a reading of black abolitionist Sojourner Truth's 1851 speech, "Ain't I a Woman?" at the 2014 Human Rights First Dinner.