Cassandra Davis-Patton (born July 31, 1964) is an American actress best known for her role as Ella Payne on '' Tyler Perry's House of Payne'' and its spin-off series '' The Paynes''. She is also known as Aunt Bam in the '' Madea'' franchise since 2010. She has starred in several other productions under the direction of Tyler Perry.

Life and career

Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Davis attended Spelman College in Atlanta and majored in music. She left the college one credit short of graduation, because she was not allowed to perform religious music during her senior recital. Davis returned to Spelman in 2008 to complete her degree, graduating in November of that year. She has credited her devout,

born-again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

faith as the main reason behind her professional success. Davis' acting career began in 1988 with a supporting role in the Spike Lee comedy film ''

School Daze ''School Daze'' is a 1988 American musical comedy-drama film, written and directed by Spike Lee, and starring Laurence Fishburne (credited as Larry Fishburne), Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell. Based in part on Spike Lee's experiences a ...

''. Her early television credits include appearances on '' Living Single'', '' Married... with Children'', '' Kenan & Kel'', and '' The PJ's''. She established her acting career by appearing in Tyler Perry productions such as '' Madea's Family Reunion'', '' Madea Goes to Jail'', '' Daddy's Little Girls'', ''

Madea's Big Happy Family ''Madea's Big Happy Family'' is a 2010 American stage play created, produced, written, and directed by Tyler Perry. It stars Tyler Perry as Mabel "Madea" Simmons and Cassi Davis as Aunt Bam. The play also marks the debut appearance of Aunt Bam ...

'', ''

Boo! A Madea Halloween ''Boo! A Madea Halloween'' is a 2016 American comedy horror film directed, written, starring and co-produced by Tyler Perry. The idea for the film originated from a fictitious Madea Halloween movie that was mentioned in Chris Rock's 2014 film '' ...

'' and '' A Madea Family Funeral''. Davis is best known for her role as Ella Payne in the TBS sitcom '' Tyler Perry's House of Payne'' from 2007 to 2012. She received two NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance. In 2018, she starred in ''House of Payne'' spinoff '' The Paynes'' that aired on

Oprah Winfrey Network Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational basic cable channel jointly owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studios that launched on January 1, 2011, replacing the Discovery Health Channel. The network is led by talk show h ...

. In 2020, a revival series of ''House of Payne'' was ordered on BET.

Personal life

Davis married her longtime boyfriend Kerry Patton on January 11, 2017; prior to their marriage, the two had been dating since 2007. In an interview, Cassi denied having a stroke, but revealed instead that she was diagnosed with

Bell's palsy Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary fr ...

in March 2020.

Filmography

Films and plays

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Cassi 1964 births African-American Christians Actresses from Mississippi American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Living people Spelman College alumni People from Holly Springs, Mississippi 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses African-American actresses American voice actresses