30
Kecia Lewis
Singer and Actress
After four decades on the stage, 2024 was a banner year for Kecia Lewis. The 59-year-old singer and actress who made her Broadway debut at age 18 in the 1981 musical “Dreamgirls," found her way back to the stage this year, playing music teacher Miss Liza Jane in the acclaimed musical “Hell’s Kitchen,” inspired by Alicia Keys’ life growing up in New York City. Her performance won Lewis her first Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role at the 2024 awards, making her the first Black actress to win in the category since Renée Elise Goldsberry’s performance in “Hamilton” in 2016.
While she’s enjoying her time in the spotlight, Lewis is always happy to share what she knows by mentoring her younger co-stars. “She’s an earthy and royal woman and she brings a sense of powerful groundedness to every room she walks in,” her “Hell’s Kitchen” co-star Maleah Joi Moon told the AP, “I knew from our first conversation that I wanted to learn as much as I could from her.”
Lewis is preparing to star alongside Tracy Morgan in "The Neighborhood" spinoff, "Crutch" on Paramount+.