Tina Andrews
Encyclopedia
Tina Yvonne Andrews is an American
actress
, television producer
, screenwriter
, author
and playwright
.
, in which her major skill was in Drama
. She spent many years acting on such shows as Days of our Lives
, where she played the character Valerie Grant from 1975 to 1977. Her character's role was in the first interracial romance ever shown on daytime television. She also acted in Roots
as Aurelia, the girlfriend of the character Kuna Kinte. From this role, she met and became professional partners with Alex Haley
, the author of the original book. Haley hired Andrews to work with him on the miniseries Alex Haley's Great Men of African Descent, which aired on PBS. Haley also mentored Andrews' literary work.
Andrews is married to Stephen Gaines, an award-winning producer in theatre, and documentary filmmaker.
. In 2001, she became the first African American
to win the Writers Guild of America
award for Original Long Form, for writing the 2000 miniseries Sally Hemings: An American Scandal. Her win was tied with Phil Alden Robinson
and Stanley Weiser
for the 2000 movie Freedom Song
. The miniseries also earned Andrews the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding TV Movie, Miniseries or Special, that same year. She also won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literary Nonfiction and the Literary Award of Excellence from the Black Writers Conference in Memphis
in 2002, for her book Sally Hemings: An American Scandal: The Struggle to Tell the Controversial Truth. She has also won the 2003 MIB/Prism Filmmaker Image Award, and she received a proclamation from the City Council of New York in 2003.
the miniseries about Sally Hemings
for sixteen years. The book was originally published by Malibu Press (ISBN 097012953X/ISBN 9780970129536). She also has a novel called The Hollywood Dolls, which will also be published by Malibu Press, in Autumn 2009. She wrote an essay for The First Time I Got Paid For It: Writers Tales From the Hollywood Trenches, in 2002.
series Days of our Lives
from 1975 to 1977. She also played Angie Wheeler in The Sanford Arms
, in 1977, Aurelia in Roots
, and Valerie on Falcon Crest
in 1983. She has also made guest appearances as characters on many shows, including The Odd Couple, Sanford and Son, Good Times
and The Brady Bunch
. She also performed in films such as Conrack
and Carny
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
, television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
.
Biography
Andrews was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She attended the New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, in which her major skill was in Drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
. She spent many years acting on such shows as Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
, where she played the character Valerie Grant from 1975 to 1977. Her character's role was in the first interracial romance ever shown on daytime television. She also acted in Roots
Roots (TV miniseries)
Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 36 Emmy Award nominations, winning nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings with the finale still...
as Aurelia, the girlfriend of the character Kuna Kinte. From this role, she met and became professional partners with Alex Haley
Alex Haley
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an African-American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the coauthor of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.-Early life:...
, the author of the original book. Haley hired Andrews to work with him on the miniseries Alex Haley's Great Men of African Descent, which aired on PBS. Haley also mentored Andrews' literary work.
Andrews is married to Stephen Gaines, an award-winning producer in theatre, and documentary filmmaker.
Awards and nominations
Andrews received a 1999 nomination at the Acapulco Black Film Festival for Best Screenplay, for the 1998 movie Why Do Fools Fall in LoveWhy Do Fools Fall in Love (film)
Why Do Fools Fall in Love is an American romantic drama, directed by Gregory Nava and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film is a biographical film of the brief but intense life of R&B/Rock & Roll singer Frankie Lymon, lead singer of the pioneering rock and roll group Frankie Lymon & the...
. In 2001, she became the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
to win the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
award for Original Long Form, for writing the 2000 miniseries Sally Hemings: An American Scandal. Her win was tied with Phil Alden Robinson
Phil Alden Robinson
Phil Alden Robinson is an American film director and screenwriter whose films include Field of Dreams, Sneakers and The Sum of All Fears.-Life and career:...
and Stanley Weiser
Stanley Weiser
Stanley Weiser is an American screenwriter. He was born in New York City. He is a graduate of the NYU Film School. His screen credits include Wall Street and W., both directed by Oliver Stone. He also wrote the 20th Century Fox animal rights film, Project X. He is credited for creating the...
for the 2000 movie Freedom Song
Freedom Song
Freedom Song is a 1982 live album by Oscar Peterson, recorded in Japan.-Track listing:# "'Round Midnight" – 6:41...
. The miniseries also earned Andrews the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding TV Movie, Miniseries or Special, that same year. She also won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literary Nonfiction and the Literary Award of Excellence from the Black Writers Conference in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
in 2002, for her book Sally Hemings: An American Scandal: The Struggle to Tell the Controversial Truth. She has also won the 2003 MIB/Prism Filmmaker Image Award, and she received a proclamation from the City Council of New York in 2003.
Literary works
Tina Andrews wrote the 2001 nonfiction book Sally Hemings: An American Scandal: The Struggle to Tell the Controversial Truth, which tells about her work writing and producingTelevision producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
the miniseries about Sally Hemings
Sally Hemings
Sarah "Sally" Hemings was a mixed-race slave owned by President Thomas Jefferson through inheritance from his wife. She was the half-sister of Jefferson's wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson by their father John Wayles...
for sixteen years. The book was originally published by Malibu Press (ISBN 097012953X/ISBN 9780970129536). She also has a novel called The Hollywood Dolls, which will also be published by Malibu Press, in Autumn 2009. She wrote an essay for The First Time I Got Paid For It: Writers Tales From the Hollywood Trenches, in 2002.
Acting credits
Andrews played Valerie Grant in the hit soap operaSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
series Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
from 1975 to 1977. She also played Angie Wheeler in The Sanford Arms
The Sanford Arms
The Sanford Arms is an American sitcom that aired from September to October 1977 on NBC. The series is an attempted continuation of the sitcom Sanford and Son.After six seasons, Redd Foxx left Sanford and Son to star in a variety show for ABC...
, in 1977, Aurelia in Roots
Roots (TV miniseries)
Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 36 Emmy Award nominations, winning nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings with the finale still...
, and Valerie on Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
in 1983. She has also made guest appearances as characters on many shows, including The Odd Couple, Sanford and Son, Good Times
Good Times
Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...
and The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
. She also performed in films such as Conrack
Conrack (1974 film)
Conrack is a 1974 film based on the 1972 autobiographical book The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy, directed by Martin Ritt and starring Jon Voight in the title role, alongside Paul Winfield, Madge Sinclair, Hume Cronyn and Antonio Fargas...
and Carny
Carny (film)
Carny is a 1980 drama film about a waitress who joins a travelling carnival. It stars Gary Busey, Jodie Foster, and Robbie Robertson. It also includes an early role for Fred Ward.-Plot:...
.
Further reading
- Sally Hemings An American Scandal: The Struggle to Tell the Controversial Truth (autobiography) Publisher: Malibu Press, 2001. ISBN 0970129548/ISBN 9780970129543
- First Time I Got Paid for It: Writers Tales from the Hollywood Trenches, pages 4–8 (autobiography) Publisher: Di Capo Press, 2002. ISBN 0306810972/ISBN 9780306810978