Dawnn lewis biography

Dawnn Lewis Speaker Biography

Dawnn Lewis, a multitalented and multifaceted individual: recently co-producing with the Los Angeles Urban League the A NEW DAY: Concert For A cause – The Entertainment Family Gives Back!  - an All-Star fundraising concert event, raising awareness & funds for non-profit organizations, that serve the Inner City Community.  She is an: NAACP Image Award, Trumpet Award, Grammy Award-winning singer, multiple ASCAP & BMI Award-winning songwriter, film, television & stage actor, and a Series TV creator/producer. 

She’s now mesmerizing audiences with her powerful voice and stirring performance in the ETC production of Gershwin’s PORGY & BESS as “Serena”, and can now be seen on the hit TNT series MAJOR CRIMES & awaiting the March , premiere of the highly anticipated new AMAZON series: THE LEGEND OF MASTER LEGEND, starring alongside John Hawkes (Winters Bone, American Gangster) and Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire).  Dawnn can also be “heard” giving voice to several characters such as “LaBarbara” in Fox’s hit series FUTURAMA, “Mrs. Hanshaw” in SOPHIA THE FIRST, “Granny McStuffins” in DOC MCSTUFFINS, “Bobe” in HOME, as well as a variety of characters in the animated series TURBO & Disney/Pixar’s Academy Award winning animated feature hits INSIDE OUT! and MONSTERS UNIVERSITY.

Dawnn’s CD’s: “Worth Waiting For” &  “Donny McCullough & Friends: CANDLES IN THE WINDOW” are available on Amazon & ITunes.

Dawnn’s upcoming feature film: THE REVIVAL, written & produced by acclaimed actor Harry Lennix, starring GRAMMY sensation Mali Music.

She’s served the last years on the National Advisory Board of the NATIONAL CENTER FOR CIVIL & HUMAN RIGHTS in Atlanta, Ga., & completed her fourth ter

Saying "no" might be the only thing that Dawnn Lewis has difficulty doing, which is apparent in her incredible energy. Even as series regular on a weekly television show, Dawnn continued composing songs, writing and performing jingles, and doing a series of motivational speaking engagements and concerts for organizations such as the H.E.L.P. Group and the American Cancer Society. She is also involved as a board member for the national youth groups, Little Angel Bunny Foundation, Campfire Boys and Girls, Youth Entertainment Studios (Y.E.S.) and is the Director of the Speakers Bureau for Arnold Schwarzenegger's Inner City Games. As an avid sports fan, Dawnn also donates her time to many NFL, MLB & NBA charities and events including the NBA's Stay In School Jam!, as well as several of their players private foundations.

Growing up in Brooklyn with strong traditional Caribbean family values, Dawnn attended the High School of Music & Art, graduating at the age of 16, then graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Miami. Even as a college freshman, she wanted to do more than what the school program allowed her. She surreptitiously added so many classes that she was finally invited to launch an experimental pilot project, acting as student guinea pig, which led to the first musical theatre degree at the University of Miami.

Encouraging young people has always been imperative to Dawnn, who feels that her celebrity status gives her the best opportunity to help the youth of this country. She has been a spokesperson for such important organizations as the National Council for AIDS Awareness, American Lung Association, spokesperson for Easter Seals, NAACP, 4-H Club, UNICEF, the United Negro College Fund, and the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, Athletes & Entertainers for Kids, the aforementioned Campfire Boys & Girls and Y.E.S. She also lectures on motivational topics to college and civic grou

American actress and singer (born )

Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, ) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom A Different World from the series beginning in until the end of its fifth season in , in addition to co-writing the opening theme song for the series.

Lewis's other notable roles include portraying Robin Dumars on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper for its first season (–93) and as Cheryl Spade in the film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. Since then, Lewis has appeared in numerous TV series, including other sitcoms, and has also performed on stage.

Early life and education

Dawnn Lewis was born on August 13, , in Brooklyn, New York City, to Carl and Joyce Lewis, who are of African-American and Guyanese descent, She began singing at the age of four and acting at eleven. At sixteen, Lewis graduated from the High School of Music & Art in New York City, now known as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. In college, she majored in musical theatre with a minor in journalism, graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree, cum laude, from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, in

Career

The Tap Dance Kid National Tour ()

From August 1, , to July 6, , Lewis performed in the chorus and as the character Dulcie in the National Tour of the Broadway musicalThe Tap Dance Kid under the name "Dawnn J. Lewis".

A Different World (–)

Lewis appeared in the first five of six seasons of A Different World as Jaleesa Vinson (later Vinson–Taylor), from until Lewis co-wrote the theme song to A Different World, with Bill Cosby and Stu Gardner, and co-performed the song for the first season. Although her character was married to another of the main characters on the show, her character disappeared from the series without explanation, simila