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Lynn Whitfield
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Miami Vice Character
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Born
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May 6, 1953, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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Active
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1981-present
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Spouse/Children
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Vantile Whitfield (1974-77, divorced)
Brian Gibson (1990-92, divorced), 1 child |
Lynn Butler-Smith (born May 6, 1953) is an American actress, known by Lynn Whitfield, who appeared in the show Miami Vice as Odette Ribaud, a Haitian woman who was a friend of Gina Calabrese, used to work in the Arroyo house, raped by Nico Arroyo (played by Joaquim de Almeida), later killed herself in shame after her mother took $10,000 to withdraw her rape complaint in the episode "Bought and Paid For".
Career[]
Whitfield was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After performing in numerous black plays, including For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide...When The Rainbow Is Enuf, considered a landmark black play which she performed in 1982 on PBS, but her TV debut came a year earlier with three episodes of Hill Street Blues (with Dan Hedaya), then in 1983 she made her movie debut in Doctor Detroit (with John Kapelos), her other movie roles include The Slugger's Wife (with Cleavant Derricks), Silverado (with Richard Jenkins, Jeff Fahey, and Brian Dennehy), A Thin Line Between Love & Hate (with Malinda Williams), Stepmom (with Julia Roberts), Head of State (with Chris Rock & Ned Eisenberg), Madea's Family Reunion, Kings of the Evening (with Bruce McGill & James Russo), 24 Hour Love (with Williams), Act Like You Love Me (with Shari Headley), And Then There Was You (with Garcelle Beauvais), Lap Dance (with James Remar), North Star (with John Diehl), and her most recent movie appearance, 2023's The Retirement Plan (with Ron Perlman).
Her TV career includes roles in the series' Cagney & Lacey, Mike Hammer (episode with Samm-Art Williams), the TV movie The Josephine Baker Story (for which Whitfield won the Emmy for Best Lead Actress in a Special or Movie, with Ruben Blades), The Cosby Mysteries (with Saundra Santiago), Boston Legal, THe Cheetah Girls and The Cheetah Girls 2, six episodes of Cold Case, FlashForward, How to Get Away with Murder, and Hit The Floor before she received a regular role on Greenleaf. She also appeared in a 2023 episode of the reboot of Fantasy Island and her most recent TV appearance, in three episodes of the 2023 Showtime series The Chi.
Personal Life[]
Whitfield married Vantile Whitfield, an artistic director, in 1974, later divorced in 1976, after which she dated Don Johnson briefly. She then married Brian Gibson, a producer, writer & director in 1990, then divorced in 1992, and had a daughter, Grace (born 1991).