Dawnn Lewis

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Dawnn Lewis (born August 13, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York) is an actress, best known for her roles on sitcoms such as A Different World and in the first season of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.

In A Different World, Lewis appeared for the first five of the six season run as "Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor" (1987-1992). In Hangin' with Mr. Cooper Lewis appeared in the first of the five seasons as "Robin Dumars" (1992). She didn't appear on the two shows consecutively - she left A Different World to star in Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. Although she was married to one of the main characters on A Different World , she disappeared without explanation.

She had an unknown uncredited role in the movie The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag. She also cowrote the theme song to A Different World. Since then, she has appeared in numerous TV series (including Futurama as LaBarbara), sitcoms, and has done voice-over work. In 2000 Lewis played Blabberwort the Troll in the miniseries The 10th Kingdom.

Lewis appeared in a special week long segment of A Different World called the Hillman College Reunion airing on Nick At Nite, along with Lisa Bonet, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell, Cree Summer, and Sinbad.

She played Deloris Van Cartier in Peter Schnieder's musical version of Sister Act, which opened at the Pasadena Playhouse on October 24, 2006. Her most recent project is providing the voice of Storm in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. She can currently be seen as Melba Early in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls. She also voiced Granny Grim on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy

In 2006, Lewis released her debut CD entitled Worth Waiting For.