Deborah Joy Winans Wiki Bio
American actress and singer Deborah Joy Imani Winans was born in Detroit, Michigan USA, on 6 September 1983, making her zodiac sign Virgo. She’s had roles in nearly 10 movies and TV series, and is perhaps best known for her playing of Charity Greenleaf-Satterlee in the popular drama series “Greenleaf”, created by Craig Wright, and which starred Kim Hawthorne, Merle Dandridge and Desiree Ross. It follows the members of the Greenleaf family and their Memphis megachurch, the series aired from 2016 to 2020 and won five of its 16 award nominations.
Education and early life
Deborah was raised in Detroit alongside her brothers Juan, Ian and Carvin Jr, by their parents Deborah Kerr Winans and Carvin Winans, who are both gospel musicians.
Deborah fell in love with singing at a very early age, mostly because she looked up to her parents, as well as to her grandparents David and Dolores Winans, who were the first Winans to become gospel singers. Somewhere along the way, Deborah became more interested in acting than singing, but her parents remained supportive of her dreams.
She matriculated from a local high school in Detroit in 2002, and then enrolled at Wayne State University, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2006; she also spent a month studying at Moscow Art Theatre School. Deborah continued her education at California Institute of the Arts, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting in 2008.
Roles in movies
It took Deborah eight years following her graduation from Wayne State University to launch her acting career; she worked various jobs during this time, finding ways to financially support herself.
Her debut film role was playing Park Goer in the 2014 drama “Fragile World”, written and directed by Sandy Boikian, and which starred Chloe Russell, Noelle Perris and Benjamin Keepers. It follows a delusional interior decorator who’s fallen for a stranger, without knowing whether or not he’s real.
The year 2014 also saw Deborah star as Mia in the short war action “Fighting the Battle”, and in 2015, she was cast to play Cece in the biographical drama “Whitney”, directed by Angela Bassett, and which starred Yaya DaCosta, Arlen Escarpeta and Yolonda Ross. It follows the life of the late American singer and actress Whitney Houston, and the movie won one of its eight award nominations.
Don’t Waste Your Pretty 🥰🥰 #FebruaryLove #MeetJeanné #TVOne https://t.co/OzfMwmtTdB pic.twitter.com/5skBc1bque
— Deborah Joy Winans (@DeborahJWinans) January 14, 2021
Deborah went on to play the lead character Keisha in the 2020 short drama “Last Words”, and the year 2021 saw her portray Jeanne in the drama “Don’t Waste Your Pretty”, directed by Tamara Bass, and which starred Norma Alvarez, Rico Ball and Raney Branch. It follows a group of friends as they’re helping each other cope with their work and love problems.
Also in 2021, Deborah played the lead character Monica in the family drama “Color of Love”, directed by Don McBrearty, and which also starred Michael Brown and Sarah Abbott. It tells the true story of Monica, a single mother who wants to adopt, but is constantly being rejected because she’s black and wants to adopt white children; the movie was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best TV Movie.
Deborah also attracted a lot of attention with her portrayal of the lead character Kristina Marshall in the 2021 romantic drama “A Sisterly Christmas”, directed by Jerry LaMothe, and which also starred Lisa Michelle Conelius and Neil Whitely; it follows two sisters during their luxury holiday vacation.
Deborah’s had only one other role: she portrayed Nicole Davenport in the 2022 thriller “Hello”, directed by Tamara Bass, and which starred Mahdi Cocci, Autumn Dial and Horace Dodd. It follows a flight attendant who’s fallen in love with her ‘perfect’ man, but has learned that there are strange motives behind his interest in her.
Roles in TV series
Deborah’s had no other TV series roles besides “Greenleaf”.
Other credits
Deborah sang the song “I’ve Been Saved” in the 2017 episode “Revival”, and the song “Shine the Light” in the 2017 episode “And the Sparks Fly Upward” of the series “Greenleaf”.
She’s been featured in many TV specials, such as the 2018 “49th Annual GMA Dove Awards”, the 2019 “20th Super Bowl Gospel Celebration”, and the 2019 “OWN’s Baking Christmas: Unwrapped”.
Some of the talk-shows in which Deborah’s made a guest appearance include “The Real”, “Morning Express with Robin Meade”, and “Talking Dead”.
Love life and husband
Deborah’s quite secretive when it comes to talking about her love life, but has revealed that she’s today a happily married woman. She’s been married to American lawyer and community activist Terrence Williams for many years now, but the two haven’t revealed when they met or when they exchanged vows; most of Deborah’s fans believe that they were introduced by a mutual friend in 2009, and that they married in 2013, but this remains unconfirmed.
They have a son Terrence David Williams together, who was born in October 2021.
Deborah hasn’t spoken about the men whom she dated prior to meeting Terrence – she’s married to Terrence Williams as of November 2022, and has a son with him.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck_p9FmAKET/
Interesting facts and hobbies
Deborah’s an Instagram star, as there are over 150,000 people following her on the social media network today, and she’s posted close to 700 pictures and videos, most of her recent pictures featuring her baby boy.
She’s revealed that she had a difficult pregnancy, and that the pain she suffered was ‘the worst pain of her life’.
Deborah loves summer, and enjoys spending the days in Miami, Florida, as she loves to sun tan at the beach and swim in the ocean.
Two of Deborah’s favorite actresses are Whoopi Goldberg and Cicely Tyson, while some of her favorite movies include “A Day Late and a Dollar Short”, “Call Me Claus” and “Eddie”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Deborah’s age is 39. She has brown eyes and long curly black hair, weighs around 175lbs (80kgs), and is 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall.
Deborah’s net worth’s been estimated at over $400,000, as of November 2022.
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