Demetria Dyan McKinney (born August 27, 1979) is an American actress and singer. From 2006 to 2012, during its original run, she starred in the TBS sitcom '' Tyler Perry's House of Payne'', a BET revival of the show was announced in 2020. Her other series regular roles include TV One sitcom '' The Rickey Smiley Show'', Bounce TV prime time soap opera '' Saints & Sinners'' and Syfy horror drama ''

Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs an ...

'', as well as '' Motherland: Fort Salem'' on Freeform. Her stage credits include playing

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she ...

in the Rhythm and Blues Opera ''

I Dream ''I Dream'' is a British children's musical television comedy programme aimed at teenage audiences, which aired in 2004. It was set at an esteemed performing arts college near Barcelona, Spain, and focuses on 13 teenagers who are invited to enrol ...

'' (2010), as well as the role of Deena Jones in ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and other ...

'' (2012). In 2017, McKinney played

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

in the TV One film '' Bobbi Kristina''. She released her debut album ''Officially Yours'' in 2017.

Career

Acting

McKinney has performed in a number of

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmmak ...

's stage plays, including ''Meet The Browns'', ''

Why Did I Get Married ''Why Did I Get Married?'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film adaptation written, produced, directed, and starring Tyler Perry. It was inspired by Perry's play of the same name. The film also stars Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Malik Yoba, Sh ...

'' and ''Madea's Family Christmas''. She starred as Janine Shelton-Payne on the TBS comedy series '' Tyler Perry's House of Payne'' from 2006 to 2012. She was nominated for a 2009 National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) Vision Award for Best Performance in a Comedy, in recognition of her work on ''House of Payne''. She returned for the ''House of Payne'' spin-off '' The Paynes'' in 2018. McKinney has guest starred on '' Necessary Roughness'', ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliot ...

'', ''

Devious Maids ''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, P ...

'', ''

Chicago Med ''Chicago Med'' is an American medical drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead, and is the third installment of Wolf Entertainment's ''Chicago'' franchise. The series premiered on NBC on November 17, 2015. ''Chicago Me ...

'', and '' Being Mary Jane''. She also appeared on Bravo's ''

The Real Housewives of Atlanta ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen seaso ...

'', as a recurring cast member during the seventh season, and a guest star on the eighth season. From 2012 to 2014, McKinney had a series regular role on the TV One comedy series, '' The Rickey Smiley Show''. In 2016, she was cast as Tamara Austin in the

Bounce TV Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel ...

prime time television soap opera '' Saints & Sinners''. In 2017, she was cast opposite

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in '' New Jack City'' in 1991 and '' USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin ...

and Robinne Lee in the Syfy horror drama ''

''. The series was canceled after one season. Also in 2017, McKinney starred in the TV One movie '' Bobbi Kristina'' as

, the late icon and mother to Bobbi Kristina. McKinney had a recurring role in the BET drama series '' The Quad'' from 2017 to 2018. She also played a leading role in the 2018 Christmas themed romantic film ''A Stone Cold Christmas''. In 2019, she starred in the Urban Movie Channel family drama series '' A House Divided'' alongside

Paula Jai Parker Paula Jai Parker is an American actress. She is best known for her supporting roles in the films ''Friday'' (1995), '' Sprung'' (1997), '' Why Do Fools Fall in Love'' (1998), '' Phone Booth'' (2002), ''Hustle & Flow'' (2005), and '' Idlewild'' (20 ...

. She was later cast in the Freeform drama series '' Motherland: Fort Salem''. In 2022, she began starring on The Winchesters.

Singing

McKinney has performed in a number of musicals. In 2010, she performed in the Rhythm and Blues opera ''

''. She appeared in ''

'' and performed with

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway theatre, Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls (musical), Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), ''Your Arms Too Short to Box with G ...

in 2012, and lent vocals to R&B singer Anthony David's album ''Love Out Loud''. In 2015, her single "Trade It All" charted on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Adult R&B Songs The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...

. In 2017, McKinney released her debut album ''Officially Yours''. She received a nomination for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist. From this album, she released three singles: "Is This Love", "Happy" and "Easy" which peaked at #4 on the

chart.

Personal life

McKinney faced homelessness at the age of 17 and has one child. She was in a decade long on-off relationship with TV producer Roger Bobb. McKinney called off their engagement in 2016, then later on announced she was dating music producer Eric Philips.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKinney, Demetria African-American actresses Living people 1979 births Filipino emigrants to the United States American actresses of Filipino descent African-American female models Female models from New Mexico African-American models 20th-century African-American women singers Actresses from Albuquerque, New Mexico 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers