Lena Waithe is an American writer, actress and producer who made headlines as the first African American woman to be awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 2017. The winning episode “Thanksgiving” in Season 2 of Masters of None was loosely endorsed by her personal coming out influencedhistory. Since then, she has used her influence to create more work opportunities for talented artists of color and queer in the industry. She is active on social media with more than 600,000 followers on Instagram and more than 200,000 followers on Twitter.

Born name

Lena Diane Waithe

nickname

Lena D. Waithe, Katraukus

Sun sign

Trails

Place of birth

Chicago, Illinois, United States

nationality

training

Lena studied at Turner-Drew Elementary Language Academy and Chute Middle School in Illinois. She went on to attend Evanston Township High School .

She graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2006 with a degree in Cinema and Television Arts.

occupation

Author, producer, actress

family

• Father – He died when Lena was a teenager.
• Mutter – Ethel Laverne
• Siblings – She has an older sister.

Manager

Lena is represented by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment in California.

To build

Average

Height

5 feet 9 inches or 175 cm

weight

68 kg or 150 lbs

girlfriend/spouse

Lena dated –

1. Alana Mayo (2015 – Present) – Lena started dating content executive Alana Mayo in 2015. Their first encounter was a business meeting and their romance slowly blossomed as Alana had never met a woman. The loving couple got engaged in 2017 on Thanksgiving Day in Tokyo. As an engagement gift, Alana gave her a pair of exclusive Etonic, Akeem the Dream sneakers because they knew Lena’s fondness for sneakers.

race/ethnicity

Schwarz

She is of African American descent.

hair colour

Schwarz

eye color

dark brown

sexual orientation

Lesbian

distinguishing features

Dreadlocks

brand promotion

Lena has done endorsement work for the following brands –

• Nike 2018
• DirecTV (2018) (Narrator)
• AT & T (2018) (Voice-over)
• Apple (2018)
• Magazine (2018)
• Netflix (2018)
• Sir Vincent Designs

Religion

Christianity

Known for

Became the first woman of African American descent to receive a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the Netflix show Masters of None in 2017

first movie

Lena made her big screen debut in Steven Spielberg’s 2018 science fiction film Ready Player One as Aech/Helen.

First TV show

She made her first TV show appearance in 2013 as a guest on the news program TakePart Live .

Lena Waithe favorite things

• TV Show – The Comeback (HBO)
• Angela Bassett Line from The Jacksons: An American Dream miniseries – I don’t want you. I do not want you. I don’t want you, no, mo.

Lena Waithe Facts

1. She was raised in Chicago by her single mother and maternal grandmother. Her father divorced her mother when she was 3 years old and died when she was 14.
2. As a child, she grew up watching television and films. From the age of seven she aspired to be a television writer and found strong support from her family.
3. Her Emmy Award -winning episode, “Thanksgiving,” Master of None drew inspiration from her personal life. In the episode, her character Denise comes to her mother as gay and she used her personal experiences to authentically write the episode.
4. She was named as one of the “10 Comedians to Watch” by Variety magazine in 2014.
5. The character of Denise on Master of None was originally written as a white, sincere woman with the possibility of being the love interest for the main character. However, after meeting Lena, the role was rewritten to make it more like her.
6. Lena is the creative mind behind the drama series Das Chi that appears on Show Time . The show is a coming-of-age story about growing up African American on the south side of Chicago, her hometown.
7. On November 8, 2017, Our Magazine .
8. Lena said goodbye to her dreadlocks in August 2018. She later revealed that it made her feel free, happy, and cheerful.
9. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.