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Jenifer Lewis is an actor whose career spans decades and encompasses everything from major Broadway productions to big-budget Hollywood films. Lewis has made a name for herself as a versatile entertainer and is often referred to as the “Mother of Black Hollywood” due to her habit of often playing maternal figures in her projects. These days, Lewis is still hard at work, making waves on the hit television show Black-ish, and has amassed a net worth that is truly enviable. 

Jenifer Lewis attends 2019 Essence Black Women In Hollywood Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on February 21, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California.
Jenifer Lewis | Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Jenifer Lewis is a triple-threat entertainer 

Lewis was born in Missouri in 1957. The youngest of seven children, Lewis began performing when she was a toddler, singing in her local church choir.

Lewis attended an arts-focused college in Missouri but eventually decided to head to New York City to start her acting career. Not long after her move, she began landing jobs in various stage productions.

Throughout the ’80s and into the early ’90s, Lewis worked in stage shows and on her musical career. But by the mid-90s, Lewis had made the transition to mostly television work.

A few of Lewis’ biggest movies during the early phase of her career included Poetic Justice, The Preacher’s Wife, The Brothers, The Cookout, and What’s Love Got to Do With It. She developed a reputation for often playing maternal characters, but her talent extends far beyond playing mothers and aunts.

By the early 2000s, Lewis had become one of the most sought-after performers in the entertainment business. 

What is Jenifer Lewis best known for?

In 2014, Lewis landed her most popular role to date — as Ruby Johnson in Black-ish. Lewis has received critical acclaim for her role in the series, winning multiple awards and becoming the face of the series. She has earned many new fans thanks to her work in Black-ish, even fans who weren’t alive when she first entered the entertainment industry. 

In her off time, Lewis is a tireless advocate for mental health awareness and has been open with her fanbase regarding her own struggles with bipolar disorder. Speaking about how hard it has been to be diagnosed bipolar, Lewis said: “when I have the opportunity to use the media to encourage people to get to get treatment for mental illness, I do. Bipolar disorder is like high blood pressure or lupus or sickle cell or cancer or any other disease. It is a disorder.”

The actor has also talked about struggling with sex addiction in her past, writing extensively about how she was able to overcome her addiction: “Just as alcoholism isn’t really about the liquor, my addiction wasn’t really about the sex. It was about the unresolved psychological problems that caused me pain. Sex was simply my painkiller.”

What is Jenifer Lewis’ net worth?

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Over the years, Lewis has built a career that is worthy of envy — with credits from Broadway and television, Lewis is a triple-threat who has worked hard for every inch of her success. From her roots in Missouri to her current high-powered Hollywood status, Lewis is still flying high and has amassed quite an impressive fortune to show for it all. According to CelebrityNetWorth, Lewis has a net worth of around $2 million, which is more than enough to live a very comfortable life in Hollywood.