Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir
    The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir
    The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir
    Ebook349 pages5 hours

    The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir

    By Jenifer Lewis

    4.5/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    National Book Club Conference ‘Book of the Year’ Award Winner

    From her more than three hundred appearances for film and television, stage and cabaret, performing comedy or drama, as an unforgettable lead or a scene stealing supporting character, Jenifer Lewis has established herself as one of the most respected, admired, talented, and versatile entertainers working today.

    This “Mega Diva” and costar of the hit sitcom black-ish bares her soul in this touching and poignant—and at times side-splittingly hilarious—memoir of a Midwestern girl with a dream, whose journey took her from poverty to the big screen, and along the way earned her many accolades.

    With candor and warmth, Jenifer Lewis reveals the heart of a woman who lives life to the fullest. This multitalented “force of nature” landed her first Broadway role within eleven days of her graduation from college and later earned the title “Reigning Queen of High-Camp Cabaret.”

    In the audaciously honest voice that her fans adore, Jenifer describes her transition to Hollywood, with guest roles on hits like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Friends. Her movie Jackie’s Back! became a cult favorite, and as the “Mama” to characters portrayed by Whitney Houston, Tupac Shakur, Taraji P. Henson, and many more, Jenifer cemented her status as the “Mother of Black Hollywood.”         

    When an undiagnosed mental illness stymies Jenifer’s career, culminating in a breakdown while filming The Temptations, her quest for wholeness becomes a harrowing and inspiring tale, including revelations of bipolar disorder and sex addiction.

    Written with no-holds-barred honesty and illustrated with more than forty color photographs, this gripping memoir is filled with insights gained through a unique life that offers a universal message: “Love yourself so that love will not be a stranger when it comes.”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateNov 14, 2017
    ISBN9780062410429
    Author

    Jenifer Lewis

    Jenifer Lewis (deemed a “national treasure” by TV Guide.com) has appeared in more than three hundred television and film roles. She currently stars on the hit ABC show black-ish. She lives in Los Angeles with her bichon frise, Butters Lewis, and has a drag queen named Shangela living in her basement.

    Related to The Mother of Black Hollywood

    Related ebooks

    Entertainers and the Rich & Famous For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The 14 Most Fascinating Details In Mariah Carey's Revealing New Book

      Sep 29, 2020

      In Mariah Carey's new memoir, the Grammy-winning artist makes one thing clear: She sees "no benefit to protect people who didn't protect me." Throughout "The Meaning of Mariah Carey," released Tuesday, Carey writes about the people in her life who ha

      4 min read

    • Article

      Beyoncé

      Dec 19, 2016

      Beyoncé
      6 min read

    • Article

      'Well-Read Black Girl' Turns Books Into Community

      Dec 2, 2018

      With her new anthology, Glory Edim says she wants to "capture the energy and vibrancy of what it means to be a black woman in the literary space."

      6 min read

    • Article

      Why We Write

      Feb 7, 2018

      STEPHANIE STOKES OLIVER has spent her career in magazine and book publishing. Formerly the fashion and beauty merchandising editor at Glamour, founding editor in chief of Heart & Soul, and editor in chief of Essence.com, she most recently served as v

      7 min read

    • Article

      Too Much Seinfeld

      Nov 30, 2017

      Too Much Seinfeld
      8 min read

    • Article

      Roundtrip For One

      Nov 1, 2019

      Roundtrip For One
      5 min read

    • Article

      Last Orders

      Jul 28, 2021

      Last Orders
      5 min read

    • Article

      Diary of Remorse

      Sep 6, 2022

      I was plagued by remorse, but my remorse seemed inspired by insignificant dumb things—things not really worthy of bona fide remorse. That didn’t make it any less painful or plague-worthy, as I was still riddled with disgrace on a minute-by-minute bas

      20 min read

    • Article

      It Happened To Me…

      Feb 23, 2023

      It Happened To Me…
      5 min read

    • Article

      Speedboat

      Mar 24, 2022

      Nobody died that year. Nobody prospered. There were no births or marriages. Seventeen reverent satires were written – disrupting a cliché and, presumably, creating a genre. That was a dream, of course, but many of the most important things, I fi nd,

      14 min read

    • Article

      I REMEMBER… Barry Humphries

      Mar 15, 2022

      I REMEMBER… Barry Humphries
      5 min read

    • Article

      Adventure On The HIGH SEAS

      Jun 17, 2020

      Adventure On The HIGH SEAS
      10 min read

    • Article

      Deep Impact

      May 31, 2020

      Deep Impact
      9 min read

    • Article

      Adventure On The HIGH SEAS

      Jun 17, 2020

      Adventure On The HIGH SEAS
      10 min read

    • Article

      Addicted To Books

      Jun 1, 2022

      The plaque on the door of my hotel room said ‘Superior Room’. Once inside, I searched for evidence for this rather grandiose claim. None was apparent, though there was a chocolate on the pillow. And the toilet paper had been folded into a neat point

      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Mother of Black Hollywood

    4.5/5

    37 ratings8 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      It was magnificent! I recommend everyone who is a fan to read!
    • 5/5
      If I could put a thousand stars I would!!!!! I loved her book, her words, her style..... SO much to say, but only so much space! Her transparency let me realize a lot about even my own self that I never thought to think about or feel!!!! Thank you Miss... No Muva Lewis!!!
    • 5/5
      Whether or not you're a fan, it's a must read!
    • 5/5
      Fantastic book! I laughed, cried, laughed and cried again! I recommend listening to the audio book
    • 5/5
      Give this woman her flowers! A bomb ass book full of truth & admissions of the gods & the bads. I read/listened to this pretty fast, and I'd read it again! Funny and gives a good look into who she is at her core.
    • 3/5
      This review is specifically of the audiobook version read by the author.Did you know that the default setting for loan time on a digital audiobook with the NC Digital Library is 1 week unless you go into your settings an change it in advance? Yeah, me neither. Renewal is not an option when there's a hold list, but you can get back on it and wait and wait and wait for your turn again. It can be a long wait to pick back up at Chapter Ten. Check your digital library settings folks.On to the book ...The performance is rich and wonderful. This is a rare case where I strongly approve of the book being read by the author. She's a performer. Theater performers make the best audiobook narrators. In fact, I was first drawn to this book by a video shared with me of Ms. Lewis reading a section of the book.The story itself has strong pros and equally strong cons, thus the middle-of-the road rating. When she speaks to her personal experience—whether of abuse or love, trauma or friendship—this book is at its best. I applaud her courage in sharing her personal story of mental illness. I, like she, hope that her story will encourage others to seek they help they need. I loved the tiny tidbits about her travels and hiking. I wish there had been more about that. She's also hilarious. I laughed to tears more than once. What made the book drag for me were two things. First, the endless list of names. There's a character in the original Death Race 2000 who refers to everyone as a "dear friend of mine". I was reminded so often of that. So many names. Celebrity memoir isn't really my thing. I got this because she's funny. So maybe they are all like that. Maybe they all could lose some 30 pages if all the unnecessary names and lavish praise of each name were edited out. Maybe the fans of the genre expect that and would be disappointed if it were omitted. But for me it was mind-numbing.The second issue I had was one of cohesion and flow. The story jumped in time quite a bit. I had a difficult time telling where I was at in her life. Especially since the time references were often given in term of movies and TV series being made. I don't watch enough of either to really be able to use that to give a sense of time. I had a difficult time understand the timeline of her life due to this. If you have a fuller familiarity with the media involved (and you probably do), this may not be as much of an issue for you.
    • 4/5
      OMG…I’m so glad I listened to this book in audio. Jenifer Lewis didn’t want to do a tell all book, but wanted to focus on her personal struggles and triumphs within herself. Dealing with Bipolar Disorder can be (as Ms Lewis puts it) “like your own personal jail cell” especially if unmedicated. My sister is also diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and has manic episodes, lashing out at family and loved ones. I saw so many parallels between Ms. Lewis and my sister. I appreciated her honesty, humor, and humility, and actually gave me some eyesight into a person dealing with this disorder. I adore her acting skills and her magnified persona. Jenifer Lewis is definitely “The Mother of Black Hollywood”.
    • 5/5
      "Ain't nobody promised you a rose garden without nasty thorns!" Let me preface by saying I didnt read this, I listened to it. The audiobook is phenomenal. It is narrated by "The Mother" herself and she left nothing to the imagination. She was very open in this memoir. Her dialogue, her side notes, her comments were real and hilarious. I laughed with her, I shed a few tears. And most of all, I learned a few lessons. If you cannot handle profanity and "in your face" language then dont even attempt it. I highly recommend this memoir.

    Book preview

    The Mother of Black Hollywood - Jenifer Lewis

    9XUK㗈'{$ }lO Bl'߯>7trM,ތup'W}*X$w뫢9uiשGaOs\[ηvE<O]!~y[1"5*Tq(o=[b_W'8Q.bŶnx/O ?{_'FkW7|;iP?7[񢫡*a^]qSl]e;{=693<Lli徍W^zH`첏^:bvO cBScO㸮a@̷xz Dza2>TB6yvX9_THl -+|u%f/%2 Al|cS`HI.MC<+sUGS( NG,X; {WkoUKUэ0".𭊴ſm>tՄkDWS7=(c ^y$a5%zh/>\/#C6X,`7aU,bK?FB%REy`ݩECb41RqhynOضsykg*q%oyA`d1)0"\eUH렔 BF ~NZwZ%wXmzWN*^C2!蔁*yg-/6PNR cĠ⹱L @ I]ADcE+W#2mi"{/*ѯЍ*ˁkHybKuQq8e< kʢ0p"ET֋:}`|ث߹_e$xX' &W,[7-=(iڭGJ96R1 ￞ƴvtcPSB =%aF fn@j,W>M$/\얌ظX e(6$F&xR:$#=c( gжbYj^+7r ^B4aXf!Iu.% 3PtT|IpHQ9iq>V\]-,$>V#Uht\y&#>70 qPΗUx C4@Dw0@Ǯ $uN7xmn *sCP X;*8C~Mp"a (Q1>ڔn=Y3{0 `bO} rX{?$|.%Jhk.18TU{FքV'̰eoaҽ*DU|Rm$r} D߷A qa.QhE.K3ɞ&RWHl*ݍff[Se.ZXzALs}f|=-X jEr:aCO$ECn18z* BԲOh'n3t>v5?a IALVc5'|=5 !T$Ŏ=8%}yq${X"l04,@l =Mspl4j(1,,kRx;8B2{D_?v+/Kڹ@.*eE _ 71Np _ү926).tm,K|pBU^|Y_C"gnl39ϗ3J켊c~#Y+DsO{˿@m|=T`PEJǯ䎠4f9snflAZ  BP%h'C_xwm~0fRm&Ԑ.qe/WA}2+ 16DL=YocpkuR~jF{9rYg&8nʀ11yٳSY 'h+U<'f8HINizp=Qqr%.x%\w*ӳ*ց%neDr,g5?b"ՒT, /V<ۄQBF$Y\OAqj5D"QNƦc? b?(GCz:[H*'@AԻq VaZ85\%k|`k\pM43i+cH&kdT6vpA:j$!(d}TjXCm4/Ces4o6aY"+.V𧱏o;HWc4wA;080 WŚN E)a3ϒPe|X:8Nh-n2Z)eJ-R]EE S46 ut}e bdċkD+GTc"<Z#.PƭH<2+W0jqWJo !"LtO3⾒7I;0Tj3Ӧ%0yfv5gP~OgAh襀 ۳8:hڃ6pZ8Vȫ$0 %k ZJEǬj;ë1{'*UsگI?T(9ʁDU2y.G J\ڭ9EIƬⵎy)KIn$Az9*q}Jl3ԋD1CҊaʚR%oU})pb$a6W4c_<:z᯸hK>n7=n8ƒ+6 <,b+]7hc)aA=jyo?ccNS#[YZefi$P7jꧾ܇[Gr5`hYzAikmo%Y!C{|y,}@EMg0-e׀mAJT~FYhIP&VC纘RX~=sojgR݌.n_Xq/uĒVس R%P!Tua<+F_Ðk\u88R+'NuNe9$[5@yҍFfhcӅs4OIxO4]-B%36@"5uO3g+K뇆/iP-Y&eo*D@3jNN Q0 6'vr1dtklI\T9=h!V |ڗLdGȅF~H5y N$5Nʓ>T&/SbIlE}'}R2`ꋆq[Ay2 m; e LiM T0@6zZXNIny`BKt] ~@ab-` ZTﶡ&;.>_CcJRlEE I`1) 9K}1žo۰Wdҳ> aH.9aHj/oٍ=(s Dxud++t`܎YSkD."$Q:^zԍC^"Gl2%:ED㡔VڒQ>1 VFf 8o7Jq\\YDxЗ{uA|1V`'&2HK,6.U޳LKitԄ^VӞR=Xf? 5uZF$qcu좁1s:F¤G* t0Vj&rcCO"`W[^}%@^%{a,X/)FIƀg, }d$d DA"UOQ*XT\Z6q][[ LosR+_eK u^9tj"*5Yɥ\D:ZB)w"޴tbMy,Y$ ߍIXRvƵV2w* -(P0J^G:ی^ϡw,"AU8Ck0Irjʦ#$K8r̚5o5@8 t%'=7s7h"K Þ} r^khu]c!w;@`xL iGUn@ѥdQ~c>¸T v+)`B-ॶa4k2eIFݝuACh*.DŽAϞ#NPE\0Vj:?> `8@_@$>¾PWN5grd^B}_V1I4wJd\Di' q|4(%~J{e2ָ6kYESB2 ( P'Ȍ u'JHb s2A/i0/ OS|.NkuLnlm$\EKXjKf}z4WQ@*$=[N}x7s a-BRfBm#E+t3iYÔ4@BBPqbkgy^oa[ȷJ\5&.Nʲ - O-+Y[uOJ=5KkSB l \`4pokVlxC4WOJ=[+QO}8v +<}h˽x#cP7WP@ 63r5qmf*KZ}VHfh؎tG ׹!oRF3-:]X+aҚ|fQI`?kY`U<# 2ept qYbR)[ʯ2s Ѓegk̤tc#w? '6|+U:.i~$Q8ͻ4Բ/ɉҗ[GmDLg4Ef#JfdU Y?ߌy N!֯JjiT)Y2F8"L'eYKyI'4U- C }=S%F<" >  =jd(%^59S%'_bn=duɆEt4 Y<.n0hn2 };֪2]Ɏ&`u ו{ *q ?=JY]5nlq*Sq=k⬊U:LU:'3Qnt=(LuvE5̌u;Օg,i={얉w?U+( B*bzDs]4eBgnt+X S$ 3#l!F:VGOnMta oce9Eء #8]F;;8+;A|!Yg;-7mfL2RdN'lj;MP {#/AܞsaҴ43Dv60X׾kh.aC+Q0cb=su`&w D-A*\<`.=-GmX>="=Za7F$;LapMW)W֊3غKnS-H-ط=u݃[5?7vXe42&\IҒ,ZP-Hztf,4̝2Zg@s*^FC[`˲yR-EY;mO/v ftV%ʉ8U udG&yܝm] yV^-7%kV*Fъ0XTl^H NJ|$n HHsQ[cb %{ҩURN΀dI], 'ũb lJSHA\ʔlҞ}n-r?0]_6bredނ0Kyµll>bdXlz;5N(3+Mb7KMw|N~ Շܜd4/qvF邍ٻډ';ARs:-sK /̅p)gΥ 9ñ#߾=ag!G`w'&ߔZ߷E-Uip<771S4:O;'L ݣV>h51ivY-\r3gvo J`` Xi=`U˾/)0΀[h[_n;΄jk3ьOBP XIW߄}HӃy`a " 4Lڱbeb[6|R$>Mfel"km$?esE bBtR l%dZVV{%rڍ#6*${!v C<,agm5*UNBrARk!k+W`IJ q{ApS6Kܶ(Ivt6+]-6[oéznUZn^.:x =t$ )VYNT 'WntRf 1H_`D@xY&yP&M"Q-r]O^HpeⴰxڵvdsUT*S&ɾOF.^8F$BhB똜끶HЫ"]i6Aq;";) b >I (yǠ5J\x50qMkrW%/wiaDv2H-_Hw9LN_Ctd_ 뀏qr2#搷/3qنN&0~NNhtij]Plg:&)Ôm j tJJ:rZM㍓==,f#/
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1