Penny Johnson Jerald (born March 14, 1961) is an American actress. She played Beverly Barnes on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

comedy series ''

The Larry Sanders Show ''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. Created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein, the show ran for six seasons and List of The Larry Sanders Show episodes, ...

'', Kasidy Yates on the syndicated

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', Sherry Palmer on the Fox series '' 24'', Captain Victoria "Iron" Gates on the ABC comedy-drama series ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

'', and Dr. Claire Finn on the Fox/

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science-fiction series '' The Orville'', and the voice of Sarafina in ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

''.

Early life

Johnson was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, one of seven siblings. She aspired to be an actress as a child. She first attended Western High School before transferring to Park School of Baltimore. Johnson trained at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, where her classmates in 1982 included Megan Gallagher, Jack Kenny, Jack Stehlin, and Lorraine Toussaint.

Career

Jerald began her career with small guest roles. She made her screen debut on an episode of ''

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever and direc ...

'' in 1983. Her first major role on television was Vivian Conway in '' The Paper Chase'' from 1984 to 1986. She appeared in ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'' in 1986 and '' Do the Right Thing'' in 1989. She portrayed Virginia "Vicki" Harper on short-lived sitcom ''

Homeroom A homeroom, tutor group, form class, or form is a brief administrative period that occurs in a classroom assigned to a student in primary school and in secondary school. Within a homeroom period or classroom, administrative documents are distri ...

'' in 1989. In 1992, Jerald landed the role of unflappable personal assistant, Beverly Barnes, on ''

''. For her work on ''Larry Sanders'', Jerald received a CableACE Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 1996. Two years later, she earned an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

nomination in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She continued playing Beverly until the show ended in 1998. Throughout the 1990s, Jerald guest starred in several television series, including '' Parker Lewis Can't Lose'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' Grace Under Fire'', '' Cosby'' and ''

Family Law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

''. She appeared as Lavinia in television film '' Class of '61'' and portrayed Lorraine in '' What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993). Following ''Larry Sanders'', Jerald appeared in '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' playing freighter captain Kasidy Yates, the love interest for the series's main character Benjamin Sisko, a recurring role which she played from 1995 to the show's end in 1999. In 1997, she played Laura Simon in the film '' Absolute Power''. She also had a recurring guest role on '' ER'' as Lynette Evans from 1998 to 1999. She then appeared as Roscoe Dellums in the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

–winning TV movie '' The Color of Friendship''. Jerald also guest starred on ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'', ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...

'', ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Ma ...

'' and ''

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''. Jerald's most-recognized role came in 2001 when she appeared in the Kiefer Sutherland-led Fox series, '' 24'', playing Sherry Palmer, the wife of

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

David Palmer. Jerald believed it was the first role to test her acting ability, claiming the majority of her previous characters were "easy-going." She appeared in all but two of the first season episodes and multiple episodes of the second and third seasons. She received a

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2003 alongside her ''24'' co-stars. In 2003, Jerald portrayed

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in '' DC 9/11: Time of Crisis'', a TV movie about the

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in 2001. She reprised the role in the miniseries '' The Path to 9/11'', which aired September 10–11, 2006. Jerald also guest-starred on the sitcom ''

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

'', playing Shelly's mother Beverly in four episodes. She portrayed Rebecca Parrish in three episodes of sci-fi series ''

The 4400 ''The 4400'' (pronounced "the forty-four hundred") is a science fiction television series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with BSkyB, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network in the United States and Sky On ...

'' in 2007. Jerald had a recurring role on ABC midseason drama '' October Road'' for the 2007–08 season. She made guest appearances on episodes of '' Tyler Perry's House of Payne''. Jerald gave voice to Amanda Waller in animated series '' Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles'' in 2015. Jerald joined the cast of ABC's ''

'' in its fourth season as the new captain of the 12th Precinct, Victoria "Iron" Gates, replacing Ruben Santiago-Hudson's deceased character Roy Montgomery as captain of the precinct. In 2015, Jerald announced on

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that she had been let go from the series, and was herself "saddened" and "surprised" by the news. Regarding Jerald's exit from the series, ''Castle'' showrunner Alexi Hawley stated it was "very difficult" writing her out of the series. She was later cast in the role of Dr. Claire Finn in the Fox/

science-fiction series '' The Orville''. In 2019, Jerald provided the voice of Sarafina in ''

'', a remake of the 1994 film.

Personal life

She married Gralin Jerald in 1983. Jerald also teaches acting workshops and produces and directs for Outreach Christian Theater Company, which she and her musician husband founded in 1994. The couple have a daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jerald, Penny Johnson 1961 births Living people 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses American Christians American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Juilliard School alumni Actresses from Baltimore Park School of Baltimore alumni