Yvette Freeman is an American actress, singer and director. Predominantly active as a stage actress, she made her Broadway debut in 1979 in the original production of '' Ain't Misbehavin'''. She won the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress for her portrayal of

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

in the 1998

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

play ''Dinah Was''. On television, she is best known for her roles as

Haleh Adams ''ER'' is an American medical drama television series created by novelist and physician Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994, to April 2, 2009, with a total of 331 episodes spanning 15 seasons. It was produced by Constant ...

in the NBC medical drama series '' ER'', Evelyn Smalley in the TV series '' Working '', and Irma Lerman in '' Orange Is the New Black''.

Life and career

Freeman was born and raised in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Unami language, Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North ...

. She later moved to New York City to pursue a career in graphic design. There she turned to acting on stage productions, before appearing in '' The Wiz'' and '' Ain't Misbehavin'''. At the same time, she also worked as a singer in nightclubs and performed in cabaret. In 1990, Freeman relocated to Los Angeles, and began appearing on television, in shows like ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'', ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives ...

'', and '' L.A. Law''. Freeman is best known for her role as

, a

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...

, on the NBC medical drama series '' ER''. She played the role from 1994 to the series finale in 2009, appearing in 184 episodes total. She was one of the longest-serving recurring characters on the show, having appeared in every season since 1994, with her first appearance in the two-hour pilot episode. From 1997 to 1999, she was also a regular on the NBC sitcom '' Working'', while still appearing in ''ER''. In 2002, during ''ER'' summer hiatus, she lost 120 pounds and now speaks as a positive advocate for weight loss. In 1999, Freeman released her debut album, ''A Tribute to

'', after performing in the Off-Broadway production of ''Dinah Was'' She won the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress in 1998. In 2012, she played Ma Rainey, the Mother of the Blues in the Huntington Theatre Company production of August Wilson's '' Ma Rainey's Black Bottom''. In 2000s, Freeman had recurring roles on the daytime soap operas ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' and '' The Bold and the Beautiful'', and guest starred on ''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...

'', '' Boston Public'', and ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

''. In 2014, Freeman was cast as Irma, one of "The Golden Girls", in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

comedy-drama series, '' Orange Is the New Black''. Along with cast, Freeman received

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Comedy Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest ensemble acting achievements in comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that cons ...

Filmography

Film/Movie

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Yvette Actresses from Wilmington, Delaware American film actresses American television actresses Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses African-American actresses American stage actresses 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people Year of birth missing (living people)