Lisa Gay Hamilton (born March 25, 1964) is an American actress known for her role as attorney Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama The Practice.
Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Tina, a social worker, and Ira Hamilton, a realtor and construction worker. She graduated with a degree in theatre from New York University and earned her master's degree from The Juilliard School.
She directed the documentary film Beah: A Black Woman Speaks in 2003. This film, about pioneering black actress Beah Richards, dealt with Hamilton seeking out Richards, an African-American actress who had broken ground making inroads for black actresses, and who had performed in major films like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Richards also made a memorable late-career appearance on the TV series Designing Women.
Lisa's mother, Tina, is a retired social worker. Her father, Ira, is a self-employed construction worker & sells real estate. A sister, Heidi, is a lawyer. Lisa started acting as a child and played Flip Wilson in a 3rd grade performance. During junior high, she started traveling by train to Manhattan for private acting lessons and acted in summer drama camps. Her principal interest initially was to act in Shakepearean drama. She earned her degree from theatre from New York University and followed it up with a master's degree from Julliard. In 1993, she got her first break at the New York Shakespearean festival playing Isabella opposite Kevin Kline in "Measure for Measure". She was later turned down to play the role of Hester Prynne in a production of "The Scarlet Letter" because of race. Upset, she wrote a letter to 'The Village Voice' to protest legal racism. The play's playwright, Phyllis Nagy, responded with a criticism of her acting, which obviously made things worse.
