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 an American family of gospel music artists from Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Family members * Pop Winans, David "Pop" Winans Sr. (father; b. April 20, 1934 – d. April 8, 2009) * Delores "Mom" Winans (mother; b. Septembe ...

. She starred as Charity Greenleaf-Satterlee in the

Oprah Winfrey Network The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN, also known as the OWN Network) is an American multinational basic cable television network which launched on January 1, 2011, effectively replacing the Discovery Health Channel, which one month later merged with ...

drama series, '' Greenleaf''.

Life and career

Winans was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, 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 university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

. She spent a month in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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 university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

. 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 Love, known professionally by her stage name as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer who has garnered 17 Grammy Awards, the most for any female gospel singer; 33 GMA Dove Awards, 19 Stellar Awards, ...

in the Lifetime television biographical film '' Whitney'', directed by

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television since the 1980s, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Angela Bassett, various accolades, including a Primetime ...

. 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 from Detroit, Michigan. He is a member of the noted Winans family, most members of which are also gospel artists. Winans has released nine solo albums, seven ...

Story''. In 2015, Winans was cast in a series regular role in the

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 deep voice and screen presence in over 300 roles in film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' The Thing'' (1982), ''Pla ...

, Merle Dandridge, 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 ...

. The series ended in 2020 after five seasons and 60 episodes. The following year, Winans played the leading role in the Lifetime Christmas film, ''Color of Love''. She starred in the drama film ''

Don't Waste Your Pretty ''Don't Waste Your Pretty'' is an American Romantic comedy, romantic Comedy drama, comedy-drama film written by Katrina O'Gilvie and directed by Tamara Bass. The film stars Keri Hilson, Deborah Joy Winans, Redaric Williams, Jasmine Burke, Kaye Si ...

'' alongside

Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, she began her musical career as a songwriter and backing vocalist for other artists under the wing of record producer Anthony De ...

Jasmine Burke Jasmine Burke is an American actress. She is known for her role as Dr. Christie Johnson in the Bounce TV prime time soap opera, '' Saints & Sinners'' (2016–2022). Life and career Burke was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and studied the ...

and

Kaye Singleton Kaye Singleton is an American actress and writer. She is known for her roles in the Bounce TV prime time soap opera, '' Saints & Sinners'' (2016–22), and BET prime time soap opera, ''The Oval'' (2021–present). In 2021, Singleton created and pr ...

, and was lead in the Oprah Winfrey Network film, ''A Sisterly Christmas''. In 2023, she starred in the romantic drama film ''The Final Say'' for

BET+ BET+ is a Video on demand#Subscription models, streaming service operated by Tyler Perry Studios and the BET Networks, BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. The service was first announced on June 24, 2019, ...

, and had a leading role in the third season of

Allblk ALLBLK (typeset as ALLBLK in press materials but stylized allblk in its logotype; pronounced as "all-black"; ALLWAYSBLK in Canada and the Caribbean), formerly Urban Movie Channel (UMC) is an over-the-top SVOD service operated by the AMC Network ...

thriller anthology series, ''

Terror Lake Drive ''Terror Lake Drive'' is an American horror-thriller anthology television series created by Jerry LaMothe and Kajuana S. Marie. The first season of six episodes premiered on Urban Movie Channel on November 25, 2020. The first season follows a sing ...

''.

Personal life

Winans gave birth to her first child, son Terrence David Williams, with husband Terrence Williams in October, 2021.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winans, Deborah Joy Living people American television actresses Actresses from Detroit 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women singers 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 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American women singers