Robi Reed (born Robin Lynn Reed) is an American casting director"Casting director Robi Reed-Humes wins Emmy Award"
''Jet'', September 30, 1996 and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

. She has over 50 films and television shows to her credit, including '' The Best Man'', ''

Soul Food Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...

'', ''

For Colored Girls ''For Colored Girls'' is a 2010 American drama film adapted from Ntozake Shange's 1975 original choreopoem ''for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf''. Written, directed and produced by Tyler Perry, the film featu ...

'', '' Love Jones'', '' Set It Off'', ''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in ...

'' and '' Girlfriends''. She began her career working with the

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

- director

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

. His 1988 release, '' School Daze'', was her first film as a casting director."Role Players: Hollywood's Black Casting Execs"
"Blackamericaweb.com", February 20, 2012 She went on to cast Lee's ''

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of ...

'', ''

Do the Right Thing ''Do the Right Thing'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, and Samuel L. Jac ...

'', ''

Mo' Better Blues ''Mo' Better Blues'' is a 1990 American musical comedy-drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also wrote, produced, and directed. It follows a period in the life of fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam (played ...

'', ''

Crooklyn ''Crooklyn'' is a 1994 American semi-autobiographical film produced and directed by Spike Lee and co-written with his sister Joie and brother Cinqué. Occurring in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, during the summer ...

'', '' Clockers'' and ''

Jungle Fever ''Jungle Fever'' is a 1991 American romantic drama film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee. The film stars Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, ...

''.Leonard E. Burnett Jr. and Andrea Hoffma
"Robi Reed-Humes"
"Black is the New Green", 2010 Reed is currently the vice president of talent and casting for original programming at

Black Entertainment Television Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

(BET), where she oversees talent and casting for scripted and

non-scripted Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

shows.

Career

Reed has had a hand in the careers of many top Hollywood stars and has worked to open doors for

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

actors for over 20 years. She has cast

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film ''Ray'', for which he won the A ...

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show ''Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

and others in major roles. She is credited with jumpstarting Halle Berry's film career in 1991 by offering her a role alongside Samuel L. Jackson in Lee's ''

''. She also cast

Derek Luke Derek Nathanial Luke (born April 24, 1974) is an American actor. He won the Independent Spirit Award for his big-screen debut performance as the titular character in the 2002 film '' Antwone Fisher'', directed and produced by Denzel Washington. ...

to star in his first leading role in the 2002 film '' Antwone Fisher''. In 1997, Reed earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting in a Drama for her work on '' The Tuskegee Airmen'' ( HBO). She received a second Emmy nomination in 1998 for her work in casting HBO's '' Don King: Only in America'' and a third nomination in 1999 for HBO’'s ''

A Lesson Before Dying ''A Lesson Before Dying'' is Ernest J. Gaines' eighth novel, published in 1993. It was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The novel is based on the true story of Willie Francis, a young Black Americ ...

''. Reed is the first African-American to be nominated and win an Emmy for casting.

Early life

Reed was born in

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 census, Mount Vernon had a population of 73,893, making it th ...

, but grew up in Los Angeles where she was exposed to Hollywood at a young age."Robi Reed Bio"
Reed for Hope Foundation By the age of 15, she knew she wanted to do casting after accompanying her younger brother, a child actor, to auditions. Reed was fascinated with film and TV and always read the cast and crew credits from beginning to end. She was determined to know every actor, actress, producer, director and casting agent in Hollywood. She made it her business to learn everything there was to know about the film and TV industry by quizzing herself using index cards to test her knowledge and ability to recall names, parts and projects. That determination landed Reed her first job as an

assistant production office coordinator Assistant may refer to: * Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones * Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration * Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google * ''The Assistant'' (TV se ...

on the film, ''

The Falcon and the Snowman ''The Falcon and the Snowman'' is a 1985 American spy drama film directed by John Schlesinger. The screenplay by Steven Zaillian is based on the 1979 book ''The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage'' by Robert Lin ...

'', starring

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama '' Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televis ...

and

Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in '' Ordinary Peopl ...

Education

Reed earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

speech communication Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if they are ...

and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

from

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association a ...

. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Personal

Reed is the mother of two children, a son named Noah and a daughter Summer. In 2012, she launched the Reed for Hope Foundation, a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that aims to build alliances with other charities and organizations in the fight against the spread of

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

and other life-threatening diseases. Each year, Reed hosts her annual Sunshine Beyond Summer Celebration where she brings together close friends, associates and peers to have a good time in the spirit of serving the community. It is held every year at the private residence of a selected supporting benefactor, which has included the homes of

, the former Los Angeles mayor,

Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr.; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary ...

,"Robi Reed Hosts 10th Annual Sunshine Beyond Summer Celebration"
''Eurweb'', September 5, 2012 and

Judge Greg Mathis Gregory Ellis Mathis (born April 5, 1960), known professionally as Judge Mathis, is a former Michigan 36th District Court judge, television court show arbitrator, author, television producer, and Black interests motivational speaker/activist. ...

."Emmy Award-Winning Casting Director and Talent Executive Robi Reed Launches Reed for Hope Foundation"
''Black Gives Back'', September 6, 2012 The event started in 2002 as an intimate gathering of friends coming together for Reed's annual end-of-summer barbecue. Today, the event has grown beyond those humble beginnings into a much-anticipated summer event. The Black AIDS Institute had been the charitable beneficiary of Reed's event since its inception and, now, all proceeds benefit the Reed for Hope Foundation.

Filmography

Films

Television series and mini-series

Television movies

Awards and nominations

Additional awards

*Trumpet Award **1993 - Won for Casting (''Heat Wave'') *NAMIC Vision Awards ** 2007 - Won Legacy Award *Bronze Lens Award ** 2010 - Honored as Legendary 'Behind the Scenes' Superstar *

Black Reel Awards The Black Reel Awards, or BRAs, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) to recognize excellence of African Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the Af ...

** 2011 - Won for Best Ensemble (''

'')

References

External links

Reed for Hope FoundationSunshine Beyond Summer Celebration
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Robi Living people Emmy Award winners Year of birth missing (living people)