Alfre Ette Woodard (born November 8, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and Grammy Award, 12 times for Emmy Awards (winning four), and has also won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. She is known for her role in films such as Cross Creek, Miss Firecracker, Grand Canyon, Passion Fish, Primal Fear, Star Trek: First Contact, Miss Evers' Boys, K-PAX, Radio, Take the Lead and The Family That Preys.

Filmography

• The Boroughs — Judy Daniels
• 2025The Inquisitor — Narration
• The Last Frontier — Jacqueline Bradford
• Monsieur Spade — Virginia Dell
• 2024Salem's Lot — Dr. Cody
• 2024Summer Camp — Mary
• 2024The Book of Clarence — Mother Mary
• Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur — Mimi (voice)
• 2023Space Oddity — Dr. Olsen
• 2023Weathering — Mum
• 2022The Gray Man — Margaret Cahill
• The Porter — Executive Producer
• 2021Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street — Mary Parrish (voice)
• 2021Fatherhood — Marian
• 2021Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color — Alma Thomas (voice)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks — Lilly Sloane (voice)
• 2019Clemency — Warden Bernadine Williams, Executive Producer
• 2019Juanita — Juanita
• 2019No Small Matter — Narrator (voice), Executive Producer
• See — Paris
• 2019The Lion King — Sarabi (voice)
• 2019The Lion King: Can You Feel The Love Tonight with Robin Roberts
• 2018Saint Judy — Judge Benton
• A Series of Unfortunate Events — Aunt Josephine
• 2017Burning Sands — Professor Hughes
• 2016Captain America: Civil War — Miriam
• Marvel's Luke Cage — Mariah Dillard
• 2016So B. It — Bernadette
• Empire — Renee
• 2015Knucklehead — Sheila
• 2015Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band — Mary Lou Williams (voice)
• 2015Mississippi Grind — Sam
• 2014Annabelle — Evelyn
• State of Affairs — President Constance Payton
• The Last Ship — Amy Granderson
• 201312 Years a Slave — Mistress Shaw
• 2013The Door — E
• 2012Steel Magnolias — Ouiser
• Women, War & Peace — Narrator (voice)
• 2010Black Panther — Dondi Reece
• Black Panther — Dondi Reece (voice)
• Memphis Beat — Lieutenant Tanya Rice
• Three Rivers — Dr. Sophia Jordan
• 2008American Violet — Alma Roberts
• 2008Henry Box Brown
• 2008Medal of Honor — Narrator
• My Own Worst Enemy — Mavis Heller
• 2008Reach for Me — Evelyn
• True Blood — Ruby Jean Reynolds
• 2008Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys — Alice Pratt
• 2007Pictures of Hollis Woods — Edna Reilly
• Private Practice — Dee Bennett
• Class of 3000
• 2006King Leopold's Ghost — Ilanga (voice)
• 2006Something New — Joyce McQueen
• 2006Take the Lead — Augustine James
• 2006The Water Is Wide — Mrs. Brown
• 2005Beauty Shop — Ms. Josephine
• Grey's Anatomy — Justine Campbell
• Inconceivable — Dr. Lydia Crawford
• Desperate Housewives — Betty Applewhite
• 2004The Forgotten — Det. Anne Pope
• 2003A Wrinkle in Time — Mrs. Whatsit
• 2003Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property — Narrator
• 2003Radio — Principal Daniels
• 2003The Core — Stickley
• 2003The Singing Detective — Chief of Staff
• 2003Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
• 2002The Wild Thornberrys Movie — Akela (Cheetah Mother) (voice)
• 2001Disney's American Legends
• 2001K-PAX — Claudia Villars
• 2001The Wild Thornberrys: The Origin of Donnie — Medicine Woman (voice)
• 2000Dinosaur — Plio (voice)
• 2000Eleanor Roosevelt — Narrator (voice)
• 2000Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks — Narrator
• 2000Holiday Heart — Wanda Dean
• 2000John Henry — Polly / Narrator (voice)
• 2000Lost Souls — Dr. Allen
• 2000Love & Basketball — Camille Wright
• Static Shock — Jean Hawkins (voice)
• 2000The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story — Mary Parrish (voice)
• 2000What's Cooking? — Audrey Williams
• 1999Funny Valentines — Joyce May
• 1999Mumford — Lily
• 1999The Underground Railroad
• 1999The Wishing Tree — Clara
• 1998Down in the Delta — Loretta Sinclair
• The Wild Thornberrys — Medicine Woman (voice)
• Cadillac Desert — Narrator (voice)
• 1997Follow Me Home — Evey
• 1997Miss Evers' Boys — Eunice Evers, R.N.
• 1997Seven Candles For Kwanzaa — Narrator
• 1997The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue — Maisie (voice)
• 1997The Member of the Wedding — Berenice Sadie Brown
• The Practice — Denise Freeman
• 1996A Step Toward Tomorrow — Dr. Sadlin
• Gulliver's Travels — Queen of Brobdingnag
• 1996Primal Fear — Shoat
• 1996Special Report: Journey to Mars — Tamara O'Neil
• 1996Star Trek: First Contact — Lily Sloane
• Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child — Winsome (voice)
• 1995How to Make an American Quilt — Marianna
• 1995The Piano Lesson — Berniece Charles
• 1994Aliens for Breakfast — Mrs. Marks
• 1994Blue Chips — Lavada McRae
• 1994Crooklyn — Carolyn Carmichael
• 1994Malcolm X: Make It Plain — Narrator
• 1993Bopha! — Rosie Mangena
• Frasier — Edna (voice)
• 1993Heart and Souls — Penny Washington
• Homicide: Life on the Street — Dr. Roxanne Turner
• 1992Passion Fish — Chantelle
• 1992Rich in Love — Rhody Poole
• 1992The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag — Ann
• 1991Grand Canyon — Jane
• 1990Blue Bayou — Jessica Filley
• 1989A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story — Mary Thomas
• 1989Miss Firecracker — Popeye Jackson
• American Experience — Narrator (voice)
• 1988Scrooged — Grace Cooley
• 1988The Child Saver — Andrea Crawford
• 1987Mandela — Winnie Mandela
• 1986Extremities — Patricia
• L.A. Law — Adrianne Moore
• 1986L.A. Law: Pilot — Adrianne Moore
• 1986Unnatural Causes — Maude DeVictor
• 1985Puss in Boots — Princess Lovinia
• Sara — Rozalyn Dupree
• 1985Words by Heart — Claudie Sills
• 1984Go Tell It on the Mountain — Esther
• 1984Sweet Revenge — Vicki Teague
• 1984The Killing Floor — Mattie
• WonderWorks — Claudie Sills
• 1983Cross Creek — Geechee
• American Playhouse — Woman who lost her stuff, Mattie, Esther
• Faerie Tale Theatre — Self - Guest, Princess Lovinia
• 1982For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf — Woman who lost her stuff
• 1982Precious Blood — Narrator
• St. Elsewhere — Roxanne Turner
• 1982The Ambush Murders — Karisha Ellsworth
• Tucker's Witch — Marcia Fulbright
• Hill Street Blues
• The Sophisticated Gents — Evelyn Evers
• 1980HealtH — Sally Benbow
• Palmerstown, U.S.A.
• 1979Freedom Road — Katie
• 1978Remember My Name — Rita
• 1978The Trial of the Moke — Lucy Smith
• The White Shadow — Sandra Wilcox
• What Really Happened to the Class of '65?
• Hallmark Hall of Fame — Mrs. Brown
• 2034
• Hate to See You Go
• Pockets of Heaven
• The Thing That Hurts

Appearances as themselves (19)

• Number One on the Call Sheet — Self
• The Jennifer Hudson Show — Self - Guest
• 2020The Making of Clemency — Herself
• The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart — Self
• 2016Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise — Self
• 2014Nelson Mandela Redrawn — Self
• Variety Studio: Actors on Actors — Self
• Who Do You Think You Are? — Self
• Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen — Self - Guest
• 2007Nefertiti and the Lost Dynasty — Self - Narrator
• Rachael Ray — Self - Guest
• The Megan Mullally Show — Self - Guest
• 2002Searching for Debra Winger — Self
• The Daily Show — Self
• HBO First Look — Self
• 1984Black Hollywood — Self
• Reading Rainbow — Self - Narrator (voice)
• The Oscars — Self
• Playing for Your Heart: The Making of “Love & Basketball” — Self