Tonya Pinkins
Encyclopedia
Tonya Pinkins is an American
actress and author known for her portrayal of Livia Frye on the soap opera
All My Children
and for her roles on Broadway
, for which she won a Tony Award
.
in Chicago, followed by graduate work at Carnegie Mellon's music theater program, and a year of law school in California.
Pinkins is probably most admired for her stage work. She won a Tony Award
for her performance as Sweet Anita in Jelly's Last Jam
and was nominated for her role in Play On. Her additional Broadway
credits include Merrily We Roll Along
, Chronicle of a Death Foretold
, The Wild Party
, House of Flowers
, and most recently playing the title role in Caroline, or Change
, for which she was again nominated for a Best Leading Actress in a Musical Tony.
She has performed in several Off Broadway productions, including the comic role of Mopsa, the Shepherdess, in The Winter's Tale
produced by the Riverside Shakespeare Company
at The Shakespeare Center
in 1983. She has also had a prolific television career making guest appearances on such television shows as Law & Order
, The Cosby Show
, Cold Case, Criminal Minds
, and The Guardian
among others.
During the mid 1980s Pinkins created the role of Heather Dalton on the CBS soap, As the World Turns
. In 1991 she was cast as Livia Frye in All My Children
. Pinkins left All My Children
in 1995 but returned to her role in 2003. She was later put on contract with the show from March 2004 until June 2006, when she was downgraded to recurring status. She has played Amala Motobo on the popular television show 24
. She has appeared in several films in supporting roles, including Enchanted, Premium
, Romance & Cigarettes
, and Above the Rim
among others.
In 2004, Pinkin's first solo recording My Shining Hour: the Music of Harold Arlen was released on CD. Pinkins has also performed this series of songs by Harold Arlen
in a one-woman cabaret show numerous times.
In 2006, her self-help book Get Over Yourself!: How To Drop The Drama And Claim the Life You Deserve was released by Hyperion Publishers.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and author known for her portrayal of Livia Frye on the soap opera
Soap 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,...
All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
and for her roles on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, for which she won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
.
Biography
Pinkins was born in 1962 in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was a police officer and insurance salesman and her mother is a former postal worker and current CTA driver. She has two brothers, Eric Swoope and Thomas Swoope and a sister Tamera Swoope. Pinkins also has three nephews Angelo Swoope 23, Jeremy Swoope 24 and Varnell Turner 27 and one niece, Marquita Swoope 26. She was interested in the arts from a young age. In high school, she studied acting at the Goodman Theatre Young People's Program. Aged 18, she briefly attended college but decided to drop out in order to pursue her acting career. She later returned to college, earning an undergraduate degree from Columbia CollegeColumbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is one of the largest art colleges in the United States with nearly 12,000 students pursuing degrees within 120 undergraduate and graduate programs...
in Chicago, followed by graduate work at Carnegie Mellon's music theater program, and a year of law school in California.
Pinkins is probably most admired for her stage work. She won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for her performance as Sweet Anita in Jelly's Last Jam
Jelly's Last Jam
Jelly's Last Jam is a musical with a book by George C. Wolfe, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and music by Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson...
and was nominated for her role in Play On. Her additional Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
credits include Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along is a play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It concerns a man who has lost the idealistic values of his youth. Its innovative structure presents the story in reverse order, with the character regressing from a mournful adult to a young man whose future is filled with...
, Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a novella by Gabriel García Márquez, published in 1981...
, The Wild Party
The Wild Party (LaChiusa musical)
The Wild Party is a musical with a book by Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe and music and lyrics by LaChiusa. It is based on the 1928 Joseph Moncure March narrative poem of the same name...
, House of Flowers
House of Flowers (musical)
House of Flowers is a musical by Harold Arlen and Truman Capote , based on his own short story, first published in Breakfast at Tiffany's as one of three extra pieces besides the titular novella...
, and most recently playing the title role in Caroline, or Change
Caroline, or Change
Caroline, or Change is a through-composed musical with book and lyrics by Tony Kushner and score by Jeanine Tesori that combines spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music, and Jewish klezmer and folk music....
, for which she was again nominated for a Best Leading Actress in a Musical Tony.
She has performed in several Off Broadway productions, including the comic role of Mopsa, the Shepherdess, in The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
produced by the Riverside Shakespeare Company
Riverside Shakespeare Company
The Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City was founded in 1977 as a professional theatre company on the Upper West Side of New York City, by W. Stuart McDowell and Gloria Skurski...
at The Shakespeare Center
The Shakespeare Center
The Shakespeare Center was the home of the Riverside Shakespeare Company, an Equity professional theatre company in New York City, beginning in 1982, when the then six-year-old theatre company established its center of theatre production and advanced actor training at the 90 year-old West Park...
in 1983. She has also had a prolific television career making guest appearances on such television shows as Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
, Cold Case, Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
, and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
among others.
During the mid 1980s Pinkins created the role of Heather Dalton on the CBS soap, As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
. In 1991 she was cast as Livia Frye in All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
. Pinkins left All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
in 1995 but returned to her role in 2003. She was later put on contract with the show from March 2004 until June 2006, when she was downgraded to recurring status. She has played Amala Motobo on the popular television show 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
. She has appeared in several films in supporting roles, including Enchanted, Premium
Premium (film)
Premium is a 2006 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Pete Chatmon.-Cast:* Dorian Missick as Cool* Zoe Saldana as Charli* Hill Harper as Ed* Eva Pigford as Farrah* Tonya Pinkins as Marva* Sean Nelson as Austin Price...
, Romance & Cigarettes
Romance & Cigarettes
Romance & Cigarettes is a 2005 American musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Turturro. The film stars an ensemble cast, including James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Aida Turturro, Christopher Walken,...
, and Above the Rim
Above the Rim
Above the Rim is a 1994 drama directed by Jeff Pollack. The screenplay was written by Pollack and journalist-turned-screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper , from a story by Pollack and Benny Medina....
among others.
In 2004, Pinkin's first solo recording My Shining Hour: the Music of Harold Arlen was released on CD. Pinkins has also performed this series of songs by Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
in a one-woman cabaret show numerous times.
In 2006, her self-help book Get Over Yourself!: How To Drop The Drama And Claim the Life You Deserve was released by Hyperion Publishers.