Lonette McKee

Born in Detroit, Michigan on July 22, 1954, Lonette McKee is an American film, television and theater actress, music composer, producer, songwriter, screenwriter and director. She is most known for her role as Sister Williams in the original 1976 musical-drama film Sparkle.

McKee began her career in the music business in Detroit as a child prodigy. She started writing music/lyrics, singing, playing keyboards and performing at the age of seven. At age fourteen, she recorded her first record, which became an instant regional pop/R&B hit. McKee wrote the title song for the film Quadroon when she was just fifteen. Several years later, McKee was launched to stardom with her critically acclaimed performance in Sparkle. She has written and produced three solo LPs, including Natural Love which was produced for Spike Lee's Columbia "40 Acres and A Mule" label in 1992. McKee also scored the music for the well-received cable documentary on the Lower Manhattan African Burial Ground, as well as numerous infomercials. She has toured extensively throughout the world for concert performances which include the JVC Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall. McKee has studied film directing at The New School in New York and apprenticed directing with filmmaker Spike Lee. She also studied singing with Dini Clark and ballet with Sarah Tayir, both in Los Angeles.

McKee won critical acclaim for her Broadway debut performance in the musical The First in 1981, co-starring in the role of Jackie Robinson's wife Rachel. She later became the first African American to play the coveted role of Julie in the Houston Grand Opera's production of Show Boat in 1983 on Broadway, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Actress in a Musical. Her tragic portrayal of jazz legend Billie Holiday in the one-woman musical drama, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill won critical acclaim, standing ovations, and a 1987 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. McKee is currently developing plans to establish a performance arts center in the New York tri-state area. McKee performs her one-woman memoir with music on stages throughout the country. She is now working to produce her first feature film Dream Street, which she wrote and will direct.

McKee was married to youth counselor Leo Compton from 1983 until 1990. She later lived in an Upper East Side brownstone with her companion, musician Bryant McNeil. The two had met while they were working together on McKee's Natural Love album. McKee currently teaches a master acting workshop at Centenary College of New Jersey, where she serves as an adjunct professor in the Theater Arts department.