Deborah Joy Imani Winans (born September 6, 1983) is an American actress and singer, and member of the musical

Winans family The Winans family is a U.S. family of gospel music artists from Detroit, Michigan. Family members * David "Pop" Winans Sr. (father; b. April 20, 1934 – d. April 8, 2009) * Delores "Mom" Winans (mother; b. September 22, 1936) * David Winans ...

. She starred as Charity Greenleaf-Satterlee in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, '' Greenleaf''.

Life and career

Winans was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, the daughter of Carvin and Deborah Kerr Winans. She graduated with a BFA degree from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

. She spent a month in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

at the Moscow Art Theatre School for additional training, and received an MFA degree in acting from the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bo ...

. In 2014, she began her acting career appearing in ''Fragile World'', a small film. Later she was cast as her aunt

CeCe Winans Priscilla Marie Winans Love, known professionally as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the duo BeBe & CeCe Winans; before launching an acclaimed solo career. Winans has been ...

in the

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

television biographical film ''

Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

'', directed by

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic '' What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

. Winans later made her stage debut in the musical ''Born for This: The

BeBe Winans Benjamin "BeBe" Winans (born September 17, 1962) is an American gospel and R&B singer. He is a member of the noted Winans family, most members of which are also gospel artists. Winans has released nine albums, seven with his sister CeCe as BeBe ...

Story''. In 2015, Winans was cast in a series regular role in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, '' Greenleaf''. She plays Charity Greenleaf-Satterlee, the youngest daughter in the family, who is also the Minister of Music. The series also stars

Lynn Whitfield Lynn Whitfield (''née'' Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a ...

Keith David Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' T ...

Merle Dandridge Merle Dandridge (born May 31, 1975) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for performing in Broadway musicals such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', ''Spamalot'', ''Rent'', and ''Once on This Island'', as well as her video game roles ...

, and

Kim Hawthorne Kimberly Hawthorne is an American actress. She began her career appearing on Broadway and daytime soap operas, before landing supporting roles on the prime time dramas. From 2000 to 2005, Hawthorne was regular cast member in the CBC Television po ...

. Winans welcomed her first child, son Terrence David Williams, with husband Terrence Williams in October, 2021.Deborah Joy Winans Welcomes Baby Boy After Difficult Pregnancy: 'Worst Pain of My Life'
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Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winans, Deborah Joy Living people American television actresses Actresses from Detroit 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women singers African-American actresses Wayne State University alumni Musicians from Detroit 1983 births California Institute of the Arts alumni American stage actresses 21st-century American singers 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers