Profile of Lonette McKee on Famous Like Me

Lonette McKee (born July 22, 1954 in Detroit, Michigan) is an African-American television and film actress.

Lonette McKee's career began in the music business in Detroit, Michigan as a child prodigy, where she started writing music/lyrics, singing, playing keyboards and performing at the age of seven. At fourteen, she recorded her first record, which became an instant regional Pop/R&B hit. McKee wrote the title song for the film Quaroon when she was fifteen. She had written and produced three solo LPs, the most recent, "Natural Love", for Spike Lee's Columbia 40 Acres and A Mule lable. McKee scored the music for the well-received cable documentary on the lower Manhattan African Burial Ground, as well as numerous informercials. She had tour extensively throughout the world in concert performances, including the JVC Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall. McKee continues to write and produce music, as well as mentor and help young musical talent. She offers consultation and coaching to young performers. She appeared on Broadway in the most recent revival of the musical Show Boat, which co-starred old time stage and musical actors Elaine Stritch and John McMartin.

Her feature film credits include; Sparkle (1976), Cuba (1979), Which Way is Up (1977) and Brewstar's Millions (1985) - both opposite the legendary Richard Pryor; The Cotton Club (1984) and Gardens of Stone (1987) for Frances Ford Coppola; Lift (2001), for which she earned a Black Reel nomination. Other films include Honey (2003), Men of Honor (2000), Round Midnight (1986) for the great filmaker Bertrand Tavenier Jungle Fever (1991) Malcolm X (1992) He Got Game (1998) and She Hate Me for Spike Lee. Television miniseries and films include, The Women of Brewster Place (1989), for which she received an NAACP nomination, Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters First 100 Years (1999), Queen (1993) with Halle Berry, To Dance with Olivia (1997) and For Love of Olivia (2001) - both opposite Louis Gossett Jr. for CBS Television Network and Blind Faith for Showtime Cable Network. Lonette also received an NAACP nomination for her appearances on the long-running CBS soap opera As The World Turns.

Recently, Lonette did a recurring role on the NBC hit drama Third Watch. She was recognized in People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful" issue. She studied film directing at The New School in New York and apprenticed film directing with Spike Lee. She teaches a master acting workshop at Centenary College in New Jersey, where she serves as an adjunct professor in the theater arts department. Lonette is currently producing her first film Dream Street with Spike Lee, which she wrote and will direct.

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