Dawnn Lewis (born August 13 1961) is an American actress, perhaps 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 her character was married to one of the main characters on A Different World, her character disappeared from "A Different World" without explanation, like Chuck Cunningham of Happy Days.
She had an 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.
Lewis portrayed Deloris Van Cartier in Peter Schnieder's Sister Act the Musical, 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.
Dawnn Lewis was born August 13, 1961. She is remembered mostly from her role as Jalessa Vinson on "Different World, A" (1987). Dawnn composed the theme song with Bill Cosby and Stu Gardner that was used for the series. She left the show in 1992 to join the cast of "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" (1992) as Robin Dumars. From 1995-1996, she continued a career in acting, doing mostly voice-overs, which included characters on "Spider-Man" (1994), "Bruno the Kid" (1996), and "C-Bear and Jamal" (1996). In 1998, she helped write the movie Black Jaq (1998) (TV). She continues to make guest appearances on various shows.
