Though she took filmmaking classes at Minneapolis Community College, she got her degree in communications from the University of Minnesota, then went on to the American Film Institute. She was a member in good standing of the Northern Warehouse Artists' Cooperative, an experimental housing development for low-income artists located in warehouse district of downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. Her children are AjaBleu, 14 and Butterfly, 6 (as of 2004). Starred with Denzel Washington twice, in The Manchurian Candidate (2004) and John Q (2002). Bears a strong and uncanny resemblance to actress Cicely Tyson, who portrays her mother in the movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) . She won "The Best Supporting Actress" award at the 19th Annual Cable Ace Awards in 1997 for her portrayal as "Jeanette" in The Ditchdigger's Daughters (1997) (TV).
