LaTanya Richardson Jackson is a critically acclaimed actress of the stage and screen. In 2014, Richardson Jackson received a Tony Award Best Actress nomination for her performance as “Lena Younger” in the Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.” She also received the Distinguished Performance Drama League Award nomination.
Most recently, Richardson Jackson starred on Broadway as “Calpurnia” in Aaron Sorkin’s critically acclaimed adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” alongside Jeff Daniels, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Dakin Matthews, and directed by Bartlett Sher.
In 2018, Richardson Jackson narrated the feature length documentary “Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart” on playwright Lorraine Hansberry, who penned the iconic “A Raisin in the Sun.” The world premiere took place at the Toronto International Film Festival and the documentary premiered on PBS’ “American Masters.” She also appeared in a recurring arc as Diane Pierce in Shondaland’s “Grey’s Anatomy” on ABC, as well as Mama Mabel in the Netflix Original Series “Luke Cage.”
In 2016, Richardson Jackson starred in the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park’s production of “Taming of the Shrew” as “Baptista” under Phyllida Lloyd’s direction, in honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. She also starred in “Show Me a Hero,” HBO’s six-hour miniseries from “The Wire” co-creator David Simon and directed by Oscar winner Paul Haggis. For her performance, she received the NAACP Image Award Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.
Richardson Jackson’s extensive theatre credits include “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” (Broadway), “For Colored Girls…,” “Spell #7,” “Casanova,” “Unfinished Women” (Public Theater), “Stop Reset” (Signature Theatre), and August Wilson’s “Century Cycle” (Kennedy Center), among others. In 2016, she was honored with the NAACP Theater Awards Trailblazer Award in recognition of her pioneering theatrical contributions.
Richardson Jackson’s additional film and television credits include “Juanita,” “The Fighting Temptations,” “U.S. Marshals,” “Freedomland,” “Losing Isaiah,” “Mother and Child,” “Damages” and Sidney Lumet’s critically acclaimed “100 Centre Street.”
Richardson Jackson has received numerous awards for her philanthropic work including The United Negro College Fund and the N.Y. Keeper of the Dream Award. This year she was honored by the LadyLike Foundation, which is a faith based non-profit organization whose purpose is to educate, empower and inspire young women living in underprivileged communities. In 2016, she and her husband Samuel L. Jackson were honored by the Children’s Defense Fund for their longstanding commitment to the organization and their “Leave No Child Behind” mission.
Richardson and her husband Samuel L. Jackson established the Samuel L. & LaTanya R. Jackson Foundation to carry out their commitment to a range of philanthropic issues in the United States and Africa. A graduate of Spelman College, she has served on their Board of Trustees and presently serves on the Advisory Board of their Women’s Center. She serves on the advisory council of Atlanta’s True Colors Theatre, the Ebony Repertory Theatre of Los Angeles, and is currently a board member of the American Theatre Wing and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
LaTanya Richardson Jackson and her husband Sam have one incredible, Emmy Nominated daughter, the beautiful Zoe Dove.