Khandi Alexander

Harriet Rene "Khandi" Alexander (born September 4, 1957) is an American dancer, choreographer, and actress. She began her career as a dancer in the 1980s and was a choreographer for Whitney Houston's world tour from 1988 to 1992.

Khandi Alexander
Alexander in 2014
Born	Harriet Rene Alexander[1] September 4, 1957 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Dancer choreographer actress
Years active	1985–present

During the 1990s, Alexander appeared in a number of films, include CB4 (1993), What's Love Got to Do with It (1993), Sugar Hill (1994), and There's Something About Mary (1998). She starred as Catherine Duke in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio from 1995 to 1998. She also had a major recurring role in the NBC medical drama ER (1995–2001) as Jackie Robbins, sister to Dr. Peter Benton. Alexander also received critical acclaim for her leading performance in the HBO miniseries The Corner in 2000.

From 2002 to 2009, Alexander starred as Dr. Alexx Woods in the CBS police procedural series CSI: Miami. From 2010 to 2013, she starred as LaDonna Batiste-Williams in the HBO drama Treme. Later in 2013, she joined the cast of the ABC drama Scandal as Maya Lewis, Olivia Pope's mother, for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2015. Alexander also received a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for playing Bessie Smith's sister Viola in the 2015 HBO film Bessie.

Early life

Khandi Alexander was born in Jacksonville, Florida,[1] the daughter of Alverina Yavonna (Masters), an opera and jazz singer, and Henry Roland Alexander, who owned a construction company.[2][3][4] She was raised in Queens, New York,[1] and was educated at Queensborough Community College.[5] She appeared on Broadway, starring in Chicago, Bob Fosse's Dancin', and Dreamgirls.[5] She was a choreographer for Whitney Houston's world tour from 1988–1992, and also appeared as a dancer in Natalie Cole's video for "Pink Cadillac" in 1988.[6]

Career

Alexander in 2013

Alexander began her acting career in the late 1980s. She made her television debut on the 1985 sketch-comedy show FTV.[5] Since the early 1990s, Alexander has concentrated on film and TV, playing supporting roles in several movies, including CB4, Joshua Tree, What's Love Got to Do with It, Poetic Justice, and Sugar Hill.

In 1995, Alexander was cast as Catherine Duke on the NBC comedy series NewsRadio. She stayed with the show until season 4, episode 7, "Catherine Moves On", then returned for a final appearance in the season 5 premiere episode, "Bill Moves On". She played the recurring character of Jackie Robbins in the medical drama series ER. Alexander has made a number of guest appearances on other television shows, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NYPD Blue, Third Watch, Cosby, Better off Ted, La Femme Nikita, and Body of Proof.

In 2000, Alexander won critical acclaim for her performance as Fran Boyd, a mother addicted to drugs in the Emmy Award-winning HBO miniseries The Corner.[6][7][8] She later appeared in the films Emmett's Mark and Dark Blue, and starred opposite Rob Lowe in the Lifetime television movie Perfect Strangers. In 2002 through 2008, she portrayed the character of Alexx Woods, a medical examiner in the CBS police drama CSI: Miami. Alexander left CSI: Miami shortly before the end of the 2007–2008 season. Her final appearance aired on May 5, 2008. On February 2, 2009, she returned to the role of Alexx Woods for a guest appearance in the episode "Smoke Gets In Your CSI's".[9] She returned again as Alexx Woods in guest appearances in the episodes "Out of Time" on September 21, 2009 and "Bad Seed" on October 19, 2009.

In fall 2008, Alexander was cast as a lead character in the HBO drama pilot Treme, that premiered on April 11, 2010.[9] She played a bar owner in a neighborhood of New Orleans affected by Hurricane Katrina. She received critical acclaim for her performance in the show.[10][11] Alexander starred in the award-winning HBO television series by David Simon from 2010 to 2013.[12] The series ended after four seasons.[13] She later was cast in Shonda Rhimes' drama series Scandal as Maya Lewis, Kerry Washington's character Olivia Pope's mother.[14][15][16] In 2015, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her performance.[17]

In 2014, Alexander was cast as older sister of Queen Latifah's title character in the HBO Film Bessie about iconic blues singer Bessie Smith.[18][19] She was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries.[20]

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1985	Streetwalkin'	Star
1985	A Chorus Line	Dancer
1987	Maid to Order	Hooker in Jail
1993	CB4	Sissy
1993	Joshua Tree	Maralena Turner
1993	Menace II Society	Karen Lawson
1993	What's Love Got to Do with It	Darlene
1993	Poetic Justice	Simone
1994	Sugar Hill	Ella Skuggs
1994	House Party 3	Janelle
1994	Greedy	Laura Densmore, P.I.
1996	No Easy Way	Diana Campbell
1998	There's Something About Mary	Joanie
1999	Thick as Thieves	Janet
1999	Spawn 3: Ultimate Battle	Lakesha / Nurse	Voice
2002	Fool Proof	Icarus
2002	Emmett's Mark	Det. Middlestat
2002	Dark Blue	Janelle Holland
2004	Perfect Strangers	Christie Kaplan
2006	Rain	Latishia Arnold
2007	First Born	Dierdre
2013	The-N-word	Ms. Greene	Short film
2014	The Assault	Detective Jodi Miller
2016	A Woman, a Part	Leslie
2016	Pushing Dead	Dot
2016	Patriots Day[21]	Veronica (under the name The Interrogator)
2018	Fahrenheit 451	Toni Morrison

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	FTV	Various
1987	Rags to Riches	The Delights	Episode: "Pilot"
1988	Duet	Nurse	Episode: "Special Delivery"
1989	A Different World	Theressa Stone	Episode: "Citizen Wayne"
1993	Shameful Secrets	Rosalie	Television film
1994	To My Daughter with Love	Harriet	Television film
1995–1998	NewsRadio	Catherine Duke	Series regular, 58 episodes
1995–2001	ER	Jackie Robbins	Recurring role, 29 episodes
1996	Terminal	Dr. Deborah Levy	Television film
1998	La Femme Nikita	Terry	Episode: "Soul Sacrifice"
1999	Cosby	Karen	Episode: "The Awful Truth"
1999	NYPD Blue	Sonya	Episode: "What's Up, Chuck?"
1999	Partners	Charlie	TV pilot
2000	Rude Awakening	Juanita Wilson	Episode: "Star 80 Proof"
2000	The Corner	Denise Francine 'Fran' Boyd	TV miniseries
2000	Third Watch	Beverly Saunders	Episode: "History"
2001	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Sgt. Karen Smythe	Episode: "Paranoia"
2002	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Dr. Alexx Woods	Episode: "Cross Jurisdictions"
2002–2009	CSI: Miami	Dr. Alexx Woods	Series regular, 145 episodes
2009	Better Off Ted	Stella Clifton	Episode: "Battle of the Bulbs"
2010–2013	Treme	LaDonna Batiste-Williams	Series regular, 36 episodes
2012	Body of Proof	Beverly Travers	Episodes: "Occupational Hazards" and "Identity"
2013–2018	Scandal	Marie Wallace (AKA Maya Pope)	Recurring role, 20 episodes
2015	Bessie	Viola Smith	Television film
2017	Instinct	Monica Hernandez	Pilot
2019	A Black Lady Sketch Show	Narrator	Episode: "Why Are Her Pies Wet, Lord?"
2019	SEAL Team	Ambassador Nicole Marsden	Episodes: "All Along the Watchtower: Part 1" and “All Along the Watchtower: Part 2"

Music videos

• 1993 – "Heaven Knows" by Luther Vandross

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1998	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	NewsRadio	Nominated
2000	Online Film & Television Association	Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	The Corner	Nominated
2001	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special		Nominated
	Black Reel Awards	Best Actress		Won
2002	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Nominated
2003	DVD Exclusive Awards	Best Actress	Emmett's Mark	Nominated
2005	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	CSI: Miami	Won
2006		Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
2011	Vision Award	Best Performance - Drama	Treme	Won
2012	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
2013				Nominated
2014				Nominated
	Vision Award	Best Performance - Drama		Nominated
2015	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Scandal	Won
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries	Bessie	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Scandal	Nominated

References

1. Jr, Henry Louis Gates (January 28, 2016). Finding Your Roots, Season 2: The Official Companion to the PBS Series. ISBN 9781469626192.
2. "Khandi Alexander Biography (1957-)". Retrieved May 6, 2016.
3. Stated on Finding Your Roots, PBS, October 14, 2014
4. "Khandi Alexander's Interactive Family Tree - Finding Your Roots - PBS". Finding Your Roots. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
5. "Khandi Alexander Biography". Tvguide.com. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
6. "Khandi Alexander". Yahoo Movies. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
7. Fretts, Bruce (December 22, 2000). "Khandi Alexander". EW.com. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
8. Als, Hilton. "The Talk of the Town: The Small Screen Making "The Corner" Real". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
9. "Exclusive: Khandi Alexander Pays CSI: Miami a Visit - Today's News: Our Take". TVGuide.com. December 1, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
10. "Cheers & Jeers: Treme's Khandi (Alexander) is Dandy - Today's News: Our Take". TVGuide.com. July 5, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
11. "'Treme': Khandi Alexander, as LaDonna Batiste-Williams, has no time for your problems - latimes.com". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. April 25, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
12. Michael O'Connell, Khandi Alexander on the End of 'Treme' and Rebuilding LaDonna, The Hollywood Reporter, September 23, 2012
13. "'Treme' Season 4: Final episodes bring hope and struggle to New Orleans - Zap2it". Blog.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
14. "'Scandal' Casts 'Treme' Star to Play Olivia's Mother (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. November 17, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
15. "Khandi Alexander Will Play Olivia Pope's Mother On 'Scandal' | Shadow and Act". Blogs.indiewire.com. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
16. Slezak, Michael. "Scandal Season 3: Khandi Alexander Cast as Olivia's Mother — Is She Alive?". TVLine. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
17. Variety Staff. "Emmy Award Nominations 2015 – Full List: 67th Primetime Emmy Nominees - Variety". Variety. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
18. Andreeva, Nellie (January 1, 1970). "Mo'Nique & Khandi Alexander Join HBO Films' Bessie Smith Biopic". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
19. "Mo'Nique & Khandi Alexander Join Queen Latifah In Bessie Smith Biopic|Shadow and Act". Blogs.indiewire.com. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
20. Erik Pedersen. "Critics' Choice Television Awards Nominations 2015". Deadline. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
21. Erik Pedersen. "'Supergirl's Melissa Benoist Joins 'Patriots Day' As Wife Boston Marathon Bomber - Deadline". Deadline. Retrieved May 6, 2016.

External links

• Khandi Alexander at IMDb