Loretta Devine is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles as
Marla Hendricks in the Fox drama series Boston Public, and for her recurring
role as Adele Webber on the Shonda Rhimes' Grey's Anatomy, for which she
won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2011.
In film, Devine appeared in Waiting to Exhale, The Preacher's Wife, I Am Sam,
Urban Legend, Crash, Woman Thou Art Loosed, For Colored Girls, This
Christmas and Jumping the Broom. Early life
Devine was born in Houston, Texas. Her mother, Eunice O'Neal, was a beautician,
and her father, James Devine, worked as a laborer. She grew up in the Acres
Homes area of Houston. She was very active on the pep squad, and performed
in talent shows at George Washington Carver High School. Devine graduated
from the University of Houston in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and
Drama and Brandeis University in 1976 with a MFA in Theater. Devine was
initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha the Epsilon Lambda Chapter.
Career Devine appeared in the 1978 flop A
Broadway Musical, which closed after one performance. She captured attention in
Dreamgirls, a Broadway musical loosely based on the history of The Supremes, in
which she originated the role of Lorrell Robinson. Minor roles for Devine
followed in films such as Little Nikita and Stanley & Iris. She has a cameo
performance in the film version of Dreamgirls. She was a repertory
character in the play The Colored Museum with Vickilyn Reynolds. Devine and
Reynolds both went on to play sisters in the short-lived TV series Sugar and
Spice. During the period between the play and the series, Devine appeared in
the first season of the TV series A Different World as Stevie Rallen,
dormitory director at fictional Hillman College.
In 1995, she landed a major role as Gloria Matthews in Waiting to Exhale,
opposite Whitney Houston, Gregory Hines, and Angela Bassett. The role earned her
an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture,
as did her next movie, The Preacher's Wife, her second movie with Houston and
Hines. She later co-starred opposite Alfre Woodard in Down in the Delta and
Funny Valentines. From 2000 to 2004, Devine starred as
high school teacher Marla Hendricks on the Fox drama series Boston Public.
Devine won three more Image Awards for her work in the series. She also
continued to work in film, playing prominent roles in Urban Legend, Urban
Legends: Final Cut, and I Am Sam. Devine earned yet another Image Award
nomination and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her work in the
2004 film Woman Thou Art Loosed. She also appeared in the 2005 film Crash. In
2007, she appeared in This Christmas, and in the next year had a series
regular role on the ABC comedy-drama Eli Stone. Devine also was part of the
ensemble casts of two Tyler Perry-directed films For Colored Girls
and Madea's Big Happy Family. Devine had a recurring role in the
Shonda Rhimes drama series Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Richard Webber's wife,
Adele. In 2011 she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a
Drama Series for her performance. She was nominated for a second time for her
performance in 2012. Devine also won Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding
Female Actor in a Feature Role for Grey's Anatomy in 2012. In 2011, she
also starred on the short-lived ABC Family comedy State of Georgia. In 2012,
she played Hallie, a nurse, on Playhouse Disney's Doc McStuffins. Later that year
she began starring in the Lifetime series The Client List, playing the role
of Georgia Cummings, the owner of the massage parlor where the lead character
Riley Parks works. The series was cancelled after two seasons.
Filmography = Film=
= Television= Stage appearances
Minister, Godsong, La MaMa E.T.C., New York City, 1978
(Broadway debut) Dionne, Hair, Biltmore Theatre, 1977
Soloist, Langston Hughes, AMAS Repertory Theatre, 1977
Title role, Karma, Richard Allen Center, New York City, 1977
Gloria, Verandah, New Dramatists, 1977 Soloists, Seasons Reasons, Henry Street
Settlement Playhouse, New York City, 1977
Yenta lady, A Broadway Musical, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City,
1978 Loretta, Miss Truth, Apollo Theatre, New
York City, 1978 Bones, Circle in the Square Theatre, New
York City, 1978 Ms. Dabney, Mahalia, Henry Street
Settlement Playhouse, 1978 Virtue, The Blacks, Richard Allen
Center, New York City, 1978 Young Mary, Comin' Uptown, Winter Garden
Theatre, New York City, 1979 Jewel, Lion and the Jewel, Lincoln
Center, New York City, 1980 Precious, Dementos, City Center, New
York City, 1980 Lorell Robinson, Dreamgirls, Imperial
Theatre, New York City, 1981 The Casting of Kevin Christian, Shepherd
Street Art Gallery, 1983 Mermaid, Gotta Getaway!, Radio City
Music Hall, New York City, 1984 Janeen Earl-Taylor, Long Time Since
Yesterday, Henry Street Settlement Playhouse, New York City, 1985
Lilly, Big Deal, Broadway Theater, New York City, 1986
Lala, Wigs, and model, The Colored Museum, Public Theaters/Susan Stein
Shiva Theater, New York City, 1986 Delia, Spunk, Mark Taper Forum, Los
Angeles, 1990 Billie Holiday, Lady Day at Emerson's
Bar and Grill, Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, CA, then Little Theatre, Phoenix,
AZ, 1991 Holly Day, Rabbit Foot, Los Angeles
Theatre Center, Los Angeles, 1991 Charlesetta, East Texas Hot Links, The
Met, Los Angeles, 1991 Soloist, Rodgers, Hart, Hammerstein
Tribute, Embassy Theatre, 1991 Soloist, Big Moments on Broadway,
Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington, DC, 1991
Also appeared as Cissy, Woman from the Town and in A Midsummer Night's Dream
and The Hot Mikado in 1990. See also
History of the African-Americans in Houston
References External links
Loretta Devine at the Internet Movie Database
Loretta Devine at the Internet Broadway Database
Loretta Devine at the Internet Off-Broadway Database