LaTanya Richardson Jackson

Tony Award-nominated actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson spent the first part of her career treading the boards before racking up dozens of TV and film credits including "100 Centre Street" (A&E Network, 2001-02), "The Fighting Temptations" (2003) and "Blue Bloods" (CBS, 2010-). Born in Atlanta, GA in 1949, Jackson studied theater at her home state's Spelman College in the early '70s before moving to New York where she landed major roles in several off-Broadway productions. Jackson put her promising career on hold in 1982 in order to raise daughter Zoe but after earning a Masters in Drama at New York University, slowly returned to the stage towards the end of the decade. After guest spots on short-lived dramas "Dream Street" (NBC, 1989) and "A Man Called Hawk" (ABC, 1989), Jackson portrayed the first Black Army nurse Susie King Taylor in historical miniseries "The American Civil War" (PBS, 1990) and made her film debut playing a caseworker in coming-of-age drama "Hangin' with the Homeboys" (1991). Small parts in Joe Pesci comedy "The Super" (1991), tearjerker "Fried Green Tomatoes" (1991) and Spike Lee's biopic "Malcolm X" (1992) followed before she appeared alongside husband Samuel L. Jackson for the first time in Tupac-starring crime thriller "Juice" (1992). In the same year, Jackson played Vivian in the sitcom "Frannie's Turn" (CBS, 1992), Nurse Ruth in Oscar-nominated drama "Lorenzo's Oil" (1992) and Emily in TV movie "The Nightman" (1992). Jackson continued to balance minor big screen parts in the likes of "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993), "When a Man Loves a Woman" (1994) and "Losing Isaiah" (1995) with more substantial TV movie roles in "Shameful Secrets" (1993), "Midnight Run For Your Life" (1994) and "The Deliverance of Elaine" (1996) and one-off appearances in procedurals "Chicago Hope" (CBS, 1994-2000), "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005) and "Homicide: Life on the Street" (NBC, 1993-99) throughout the '90s. Having played Sergeant Priscilla Worth in ensemble mystery "Lone Star" (1996), attorneys in legal drama "Loved" (1997) and pop culture phenomenon "Ally McBeal" (Fox, 1997-2002), and Deputy Marshal Savannah Cooper in thriller sequel "U.S. Marshals" (1998), Jackson stuck to the right side of the law in the '00s when she took on the roles of prison supervisor Melinda in "Within These Walls" (2001) and Judge Atallah Sims in courtroom drama "100 Centre Street" (A&E Network, 2001-02). Jackson then got the chance to showcase her vocal talents when she played self-righteous parishioner Paulina Pritchett in gospel comedy "The Fighting Temptations" (2003) and followed it up with small roles in crime drama "Freedomland" (2006), TV movie "The Water Is Wide" (2006) and romance "All About Us" (2007). After adding "Blackout" (2007), "Mother and Child" (2009) and "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" (2013) to her extensive filmography, Jackson picked up a Tony Award nomination for her performance as Lena Younger in the Broadway revival of "A Raisin in the Sun," and joined the season five cast of police procedural "Blue Bloods" (CBS, 2010-) as Danny's by-the-book boss, Lt. Dee Ann Carver.