Lynn Butler-Smith was born on the 6th May 1953, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana USA, and as Lynn Whitfield is an actress and producer, perhaps best known for her role as Josephine Barker in the biographical drama “Josephine Barker” (1991); Whitfield was awarded an Emmy for her performance and also received a Golden Globe nomination. Being a successful actress has significantly increased her net worth. Whitfield’s has been an active member of the entertainment industry since 1981.
Have you ever wondered how rich Lynn Whitfield is, as of mid-2016? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Lynn Whitfield’s net worth is as high as $3 million, most of her wealth having been earned thanks to acting, but Whitfield has also worked as a producer.
Lynn Whitfield Net Worth $3 Million
Lynn Whitfield is the eldest of four children of Valerian Smith, a dentist, and Jean, a finance agency officer. Whitfield’s father encouraged her in acting, as he was one of the founders of the Community Theater in Baton Rouge. Lynn graduated from Howard University, and then began to perform on stage with the Black Repertory Company in Washington, D.C.
Her debut on television came in 1981 when she appeared as Jill Thomas in three episodes of NBC’s police drama “Hill Street Blues”. Whitfield’s introduction to film was in the comedy “Doctor Detroit” (1983), starring Dan Aykroyd. Movies such as “The Slugger’s Wife” (1985) directed by Hal Ashby, “Silverado” (1985) starring Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Rosanna Arquette and Kevin Costner, and “Jaws: The Revenge” (1987) soon followed, and improved her net worth considerably. Lynn also had two bigger roles on TV in the medical drama “HeartBeat” (1988), and “The Women of Brewster Place” (1989), with Oprah Winfrey.
Whitfield became widely known for her title role in the HBO TV film “The Josephine Baker Story” (1991), directed by Brian Gibson. She appeared the same year in the series “Equal Justice”, and later starred in “Stompin’ At The Savoy” (1992), “Taking The Heat” (1993), “State Of Emergency” (1994), and “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” (1996), with Martin Lawrence, which only further increased her net worth. In the late ’90s, Lynn had parts in several movies including “The Planet of Junior Brown” (1997), “The Wedding” (1998), “The Color of Courage” (1998), and “Deep in My Heart” (1999).
Whitfield was cast in numerous roles in 2000s movies such as Chris Rock’s “Head of State” (2003), “Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story” (2004) starring Jamie Foxx, and Tyler Perry’s “Madea’s Family Reunion” (2006). The ageless actress continued to appear in films like Andrew P. Jones’ “Kings of the Evening” (2008), Nicholas DiBella’s “King’s Faith” (2013), “The Dempsey Sisters” (2013), and “My Other Mother” (2014). Most recently Whitfield appeared in three episodes of the TV series “How to Get Away with Murder” (2014-2015), the movie drama “Prayer Never Fails” (2016), and she is currently a series regular in “Greenleaf” (2016-present ), which has also added a substantial amount to her net worth.
During her career she has earned several prestigious awards; beside those aforementioned, she also won the Black Reel Award in category Best Actress in a Network/Cable Television for her work on “Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story” (2004), and she also has five Image Awards in several categories for her works on such productions as “The Josephine Baker Story” (1991), “I’ll Fly Away” (1991), “Touched by an Angel” (1994), “The Planet of Junior Brown” (1997), and “Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story” (2004), among many other awards and nominations.
Regarding her personal life, Lynn Whitfield has been married twice; her first spouse was Vantile Whitfield from 1974 to 1978, and she later married the director Brian Gibson in 1990, their marriage lasting until 1992. The couple has a daughter together.
