Lena Waithe Biography
The Chicago, Illinois born actress Lena Waithe is also a screenwriter and producer. Waithe is known for co-writing and acting in the Netflix comedy-drama series Master of None. She made history becoming the first African-American woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for her work on Master of None in 2017.
The “Thanksgiving” episode for which she won the Emmy was loosely about her personal experience coming out to her mother. Waithe is the creator of the Showtime drama series The Chi.
Lena Waithe Age
Waithe was born on May 17, 1984
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.Lena Waithe Body Measurements
- Height: 5′ 9″ (1.75 m).
- Weight: 42 Kg.
- Shoe Size: Not Available.
- Body Shape: Not Available.
- Hair Colour: Black.
Lena Waithe Net Worth
Waithe has an estimated net worth of $15 million. Her acting, screenwriting and producing skills are the primary sources of her income.
Lena Waithe At&T
AT&T announces the 2019 Filmmaker Mentorship Program with Lena Waithe, Emmy Award Winner serving as Lead Program Mentor. The program which was launched in 2017, seeks to discover, incubate and empower emerging filmmakers from underrepresented communities to evolve their work, grow their audience and provide national distribution on platforms like DIRECTV and DIRECTV NOW.
Lena Waithe and Alana Mayo | Fiance
Waithe is openly lesbian. She has been in a relationship with a content executive, Alana Mayo, for three years. The two got engaged on Thanksgiving Day 2017.
Lena Waithe Career
After arriving in Los Ageles, Waithe secured a job as an assistant to the executive producer of Girlfriends, a long running sitcom. After a short time, she landed a minor role in Lisa Kudrow’s The Comeback. Later, Waithe became a writer for the Fox television series Bones and also a writer for the 2012 Nickelodeon sitcom How to Rock and a producer on the satirical comedy film Dear White People in 2014.
Waithe wrote and appeared in the “Twenties” a YouTube series, which was produced by Flavor Unit Entertainment and optioned in 2014 by BET. Besides writing and directing the short film “Save Me”, which was shown at several independent film festivals, Waithe also wrote the 2013 web series “Hello Cupid” and the 2011 viral video Shit Black Girls Say.
In 2014, Waithe was named as one of its “10 Comedians to Watch” by Variety. Showtime network commissioned a pilot in August 2015, for an upcoming series, The Chi, written by Waithe and produced by Common, which tells a young urban African-American man’s coming-of-age story. Waithe who is the show creator, her goal was to bring her experience growing up on the South Side where she experienced its diversity to craft a story that paints a more nuanced portrait of her hometown than is typically shown.
Waithe who is a co-chair of the Committee of Black Writers at the Writers Guild, she continues to extend her influence to support the African American community in the entertainment industry. Waithe was cast in Master of None a Netflix series after meeting Aziz Ansari, the creator and lead actor who with Alan Yang, originally had written Denise as a straight, white woman with the potential, as per Waithe, to evolve into one of the main character’s love interests. “For some reason, Allison Jones thought about me for it, a black gay woman.” Yang and Ansari rewrote the script to make the character more like Waithe:
Waithe and Ansari won the Primetime Emmy Award in 2017, for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the season 2 episode “Thanksgiving”. Waithe became the first African-American woman to win an Emmy in that category. Being a lesbian, Waithe described the episode as based on her coming out experience. She sent a special message during her Emmy speech, to her LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual) family discussing how “The things that make us different—those are our superpowers.”
Waithe ended her speech by recognizing her journey as a minority saying “Thank you for embracing a little Indian boy from South Carolina and a little queer black girl from the South Side of Chicago.” Additionally, she developed an autobiographical drama series reffered to as The Chi. Waithe was named by Out Magazine as the Out100: Artist of the Year on November 8, 2017.
Waithe has written and will produce Queen & Slim, starring Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith directed by Melina Matsoukas. Universal PicturesIt has scheduled to release iton November 27, 2019. When she is not actively working on writing, acting, or producing, Waithe works to recruit more people of color and queer artists for her film and television projects.
Lena Waithe Movies
- 2011 Save Me
- 2014 Dear White People
- 2014 Ladylike
- 2018 Step Sisters
- 2018 Ready Player One Aech / Helen
- 2019 Queen & Slim
Lena Waithe TV Shows
- 2007–2008 Girlfriends
- 2012 M.O Diaries
- 2012 How to Rock
- 2013 Hello Cupid
- 2014 Transparent Jane
- 2014 The Comeback Summer
- 2014–2015 Bones
- 2015–2017 Master of None Denise
- 2018 The Chi
- 2018 This Is Us Animal Shelter Clerk
- 2018 Dear White People P. Ninny
- 2019 Boomerang
Lena Waithe Emmy Awards
Waithe and Ansari won the Primetime Emmy Award in 2017, for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the season 2 episode “Thanksgiving”. Waithe became the first African-American woman to win an Emmy in that category.
Lena Waithe Awards and Nominations
Year |
Nominated Work |
Organization |
Category |
Result |
2017 |
Master of None (Episode: “Thanksgiving”) |
Emmy |
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series |
Won |
2018 |
N/A |
MTV |
Trailblazer Award |
Won |
2015 |
Dear White People |
Black Reel |
Outstanding Motion Picture |
Nominated |
2018 |
The Chi |
Black Reel |
Outstanding Drama Series |
Nominated |
2017 |
Master of None |
Gold Derby |
Comedy Episode of the Year |
Won |
2014 |
Dear White People |
Gotham |
Audience Award |
Nominated |
2018 |
Ready Player One |
MTV |
Best on Screen Team |
Nominated |
2018 |
Master of None |
Writers Guild of America |
Comedy Series |
Nominated |
2015 |
Dear White People |
Film Independent Spirit |
Best First Feature |
Nominated |
2017 |
N/A |
Out |
Artist of the Year |
Won |
2017 |
N/A |
The Advocate |
Person of the Year |
Nominated |
Frequently Asked Questions About Lena Waithe
Who is Lena Waithe?
Lena Waithe is also a screenwriter and producer. Waithe is known for co-writing and acting in the Netflix comedy-drama series Master of None.
How old is Lena Waithe?
Lena is 35 years old as of 2019, born on May 17, 1984.
How tall is Waithe?
Lena stands at a height of 5′ 9″ (1.75 m).
Is Waithe married?
Waithe who is openly lesbian, is not married but she has been in a relationship with a content executive, Alana Mayo, for three years. The two got engaged on Thanksgiving Day 2017.
How much is Waithe worth?
Waithe has an estimated net worth of $15 million. Her acting, screenwriting and producing skills are the primary sources of her income.
How much does Waithe make?
Not Known.
Where does Waithe live?
Not Known
Is Waithe dead or alive?
Waithe is still alive and in good health.
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