Jen Harper is an American actress, known for her roles in television series '' In the Heat of the Night'' and '' Greenleaf''.

Life and career

Harper was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and graduated from

Spelman College Spelman College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia ...

in Medicine 1975, and later trained in London at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

. She later began performing on stage, appearing in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' in London, and later returned to United States. From 1990 to 1994, Harper had a recurring role as Dr. Winona Day in the police drama series, '' In the Heat of the Night''. Since then, Harper performed in many productions on Jomandi Theater, Horizon, Seven Stages the Alliance Theater, Theater in the Square, The Springer Opera House and Theatrical Outfit. In 2010s, Harper returned to television appearing in series, such as ''

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 ...

'', ''

Born Again Virgin ''Born Again Virgin'' is an American comedy-drama series, created by Ranada Shepard, that premiered on TV One on August 5, 2015. The pilot episode preview aired on February 6, 2015. The single-camera project set in Atlanta, and stars Danielle ...

'' and ''

Being Mary Jane ''Being Mary Jane'' is an American drama television series created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union. The pilot aired on July 2, 2013, as an hour-long television film across a 90-minute timeslot, before resuming as a weekly series ...

''. From 2016 to 2020 she played Deacon Connie Sykes 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''. She also had a recurring role in the

Bounce TV Bounce TV is an American digital terrestrial television, digital broadcast television network owned by Scripps Networks, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. It launched on September 26, 2011, and was promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multic ...

prime time soap opera,'' Saints & Sinners'' in 2018. In 2019, Harper starred in the comedy film, '' A Madea Family Funeral'' directed by

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Madea, Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her ...

. In 2020, Harper appeared in the Holiday romantic comedy film, ''Cooking Up Christmas'' for Oprah Winfrey Network, and was regular cast member during the first season of

Urban Movie Channel 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 ...

horror-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 ...

''. In 2021, she appeared in another made-for-television Holiday film, ''Kirk Franklin's A Gospel Christmas'' for Lifetime. Harper later was cast in a recurring roles in ''

Black Mafia Family The Black Mafia Family (BMF) is a drug trafficking and money laundering organization in the United States. It was founded in 1985, in Southwest Detroit by brothers Demetrius Edward "Big Meech" and Terry Lee "Southwest Tee" Flenory. By 2000 it h ...

'' and ''

Zatima ''Zatima'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Tyler Perry as a spin-off of '' Sistas''. It premiered on BET+ on September 22, 2022. The show has been renewed for a fourth season. Plot In this spin-off from ''Sistas'', Zac ...

''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Jen American television actresses American film actresses 20th-century African-American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses Living people Spelman College alumni Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Year of birth missing (living people)