Jasmine Guy - wikipedia Jasmine Guy Jasmine Guy Guy, 2010. ( 1962 - 03 - 10 ) March 10, 1962 ( age 56 ) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Alma mater North Atlanta High School Occupation Actress singer dancer director Years active 1982 -- present Known for Whitley Marion Gilbert -- Wayne -- A Different World Roxy Harvey -- Dead Like Me Home town Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Spouse ( s ) Terrence Duckett ( m. 1998 ; div. 2008 ) Children Awards NAACP Image Award -- ( 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 ) Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series ( A Different World ) Musical career Genres R&B pop new jack swing Labels Warner Bros. Associated acts Full Force Jeffrey Osborne Timmy Gatling James Ingram Chuckii Booker Website iamjasmineguy.com Jasmine Guy ( born March 10, 1962 ) is an American actress, director, singer and dancer. Guy is known for her role as Dina in the 1988 film School Daze and as Whitley Gilbert - Wayne on the NBC Bill Cosby spin - off A Different World, which originally ran from 1987 to 1993. Guy won four consecutive NAACP Image Awards from 1990 through 1993 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on the show. Contents 1 Early life 2 Acting career 2.1 Television roles 2.1. 1 A Different World 2.2 Film roles 2.3 Stage 3 Music 4 Personal life 5 Filmography 6 Discography 6.1 Albums 6.2 Singles 7 References 8 External links Early Life Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Black - American father and Portuguese - American mother, Jasmine was raised in the affluent historic Collier Heights neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, where she attended what was then called the Northside Performing Arts High School, later renamed North Atlanta High School. Her mother, the former Jaye Rudolph ( born 1930 ), was a former high - school teacher, and her father, the Reverend William Guy ( born 1928 ), was pastor of the historic Friendship Baptist Church of Atlanta, which served as an early home to Spelman College ; he was also a college instructor in philosophy and religion. At the age of seventeen, Jasmine moved to New York City to study dance at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. Acting career Television roles Guy began her television career with a non-speaking role, as a dancer, in seven episodes of the 1982 television series Fame under the direction of choreographer Debbie Allen. Following a move to California, she appeared in a 1991 episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air as Kayla, one of Will Smith 's girlfriends. In 1992, Guy appeared in CBS 's Stompin ' at the Savoy alongside Vanessa Williams, again under the direction of Debbie Allen, and in 1993, she played the mother of Halle Berry 's character in the CBS TV mini-series Alex Haley 's Queen. This was based on Haley 's book Queen : The Story of an American Family, a companion volume to his earlier Roots : The Saga of an American Family, which itself had been converted to a television mini-series. In 1995, Guy appeared as Peter Burns 's love interest, Caitlin Mills, on two episodes of Melrose Place, and in 1996, she appeared on Living Single, playing a psychologist advising Khadijah, who had begun exhibiting symptoms of anxiety. She also played the recurring role of Kathleen, a fallen angel, in the CBS Network drama Touched by an Angel from 1995 to 1997. In 2002, Guy lent her voice to the PBS math - based animated series Cyberchase, performing Ava, the queen of the cybersite Symmetria, and made a cameo appearance on the Moesha spin - off The Parkers. In 2003, Ms. Guy read as Mary Estes Peters in the HBO documentary, Unchained Memories : Readings from the Slave Narrative, a documentary which premiered during Black History month. The slave narratives were based on the WPA slave interviews conducted during the 1930s with over two - thousand former slaves. Guy starred alongside Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin in the series Dead Like Me, created by Bryan Fuller. The show ran 29 episodes over two seasons, in 2003 and 2004, on Showtime. Guy played Roxy Harvey, a meter maid turned police officer and one of the core group of grim reapers around which the series was based. Guy was nominated for the 2005 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the role. She later starred in the feature - length series sequel Dead Like Me : Life After Death, which was released on video in 2009 before being shown on the Syfy channel. In 2009, Guy performed in The People Speak, a documentary that used dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn 's A People 's History of the United States. A broad look at civil rights issues in America, The People Speak was executive produced by and seen on The History Channel. In 2010, she was seen in the second season of the Lifetime comedy series Drop Dead Diva as a judge in the episode titled `` Last Year 's Model, '' and from 2009 to 2017, Guy had a recurring role in The CW 's series The Vampire Diaries. In that program, Ms. Guy played Sheila `` Grams '' Bennett, the grandmother of Bonnie ( Katerina Graham ), who proved to be a descendant of Salem Witches. Both shows were filmed in the Atlanta area. In late 2017, she appeared in the Lifetime Christmas movie Secret Santa. A Different World Main article : A Different World ( TV series ) More than 20 years after the series ' sixth and final season, Guy today remains best known for her starring role as Whitley Gilbert in the television sitcom A Different World. A spin - off from The Cosby Show and created by Cosby himself, the show aired from 1987 to 1993 on NBC. Guy wrote three episodes of the show and directed one, in addition to appearing in every episode : she started as a co-star, but ended up replacing the show 's original star Lisa Bonet, who left the series. Guy was nominated for and won four consecutive NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, from 1990 to 1993. Film roles Guy 's first appearance on the big screen came in 1988 in Spike Lee 's musical - drama film School Daze. Guy played the role of Dina, a member of the light - skinned, straight - haired African American women of Gamma Ray ( a women 's auxiliary to the Gamma Phi Gamma fraternity ). Filming on School Daze was completed just prior to her joining the cast of A Different World. The following year, Guy appeared as Dominique La Rue in Harlem Nights starring Eddie Murphy ( who also directed ) alongside Richard Pryor with Redd Foxx. In the 1989 film, Pryor portrays Harlem `` Sugar '' Ray, the owner of an illegal casino who contends with the pressures of vicious gangsters and corrupt policemen trying to drive him out of business in 1930s Harlem. Guy 's character was the girlfriend of Ray 's nemesis, who set out to seduce and kill Murphy. In 1997, she provided the voice of Sawyer Cat in the Warner Bros. animated film Cats Do n't Dance. In 2011, Guy appeared in the film October Baby. In 2015, she appeared in the film `` Big Stone Gap '' with Ashley Judd, Patrick Wilson, Jenna Elfman, Anthony LaPaglia, Jane Krakowski, and Whoopi Goldberg. She starred in the short film My Nephew Emmett, which won the Student Academy Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2018. Stage In 1987, Guy had a starring role in the off - Broadway hit musical Beehive, before traveling to France to appear in a similar musical review. Guy has performed in several Broadway productions and national tours, including as Crow in The Wiz, Mickey in Leader of the Pack, Betty Rizzo in Grease, and as Velma Kelly in Chicago. On April 6, 2009, Playbill reported on Guy 's return to the stage, starring in the True Colors Theatre Company production of Pearl Cleage 's Blues for an Alabama Sky. Directed by Andrea Frye, the show was a last minute addition to the company 's season and opened May 4 in Atlanta. Blues came on the heels of Guy 's held - over run in True Colors ' Miss Evers ' Boys, which co-starred TC Carson of Living Single. Guy directed the world premiere of the Rhythm and Blues Opera I Dream in July 2010 on the Alliance Stage of the Woodruff Arts Centre in Atlanta. Also in 2010, Guy was a member of the cast of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and the Alliance Theatre Company co-production of Pearl Cleage 's The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One - Hundred Years. The production ran Sept. 24 through Oct. 3 at the Festival in Montgomery, Alabama, before moving to Atlanta 's Alliance Theatre for performances Oct. 20 thru Nov. 14. In early 2011, Guy directed George C. Wolfe 's The Colored Museum for True Colors, and in June 2011, Ms. Guy costarred with Kenny Leon in their production of Sam Shepard 's play Fool For Love at The Balzer Theater at Herren 's in Atlanta, Georgia. In August 2010, Guy had joined the True Colors Theatre Company in an off stage role as the company 's Producing Director. In announcing the hire, True Colors said Guy 's full - time position would be both administrative and artistic, and both local and national. Guy continues to contribute to the company on stage as well. Music During the run of A Different World, Guy released her self - titled debut album in 1990. The album peaked at # 143 on the US Top 200 Album Chart and spawned three singles : `` Try Me '' ( US R&B # 14 ) ; `` Another Like My Lover '' ( US # 66, US R&B # 9 ) ; and `` Just Want to Hold You '' ( US # 34, US R&B # 27 ), with the last single cracking the main US Top 40 singles chart. Personal Life Guy married Terrence Duckett in August 1998, and the couple had one child, a daughter named Imani, born in 1999. But on April 8, 2008, People reported that Guy and Duckett were divorcing after ten years of marriage due to irreconcilable differences. Guy and her daughter subsequently took up residence in Guy 's childhood hometown of Atlanta. Guy endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for President in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Filmography Film roles Year Title Role Notes School Daze Dina 1989 Harlem Nights Dominique La Rue 1995 Klash Blossom 1997 Cats Do n't Dance Sawyer Voice role 1998 Madeline 1999 Guinevere Linda 1999 Lillie Sylvia 2000 The Law Of Enclosures 2000 Diamond Men Tina 2001 Dying on the Edge Micki 2006 The Heart Specialist − 2008 Tru Loved Cynthia 2009 Dead Like Me : Life After Death Roxy Harvey Direct to video Stomp the Yard : Homecoming Janice Direct to video 2011 Blossoms for Clara Clara Dukes Short 2011 October Baby Nurse Mary 2012 What About Us ? Arlene Gomes Short 2013 Scary Movie 5 Mrs. Brooks 2014 Big Stone Gap Leah Grimes Television roles Year Title Role Notes 1982 Fame Dancer 7 episodes 1986 The Equalizer Gloria Episode : `` Out of the Past '' At Mother 's Request Bank Teller TV movie 1987 -- 1993 A Different World Whitley Gilbert - Wayne Main role, 144 episodes 1989 Runaway Charlene `` Charlie '' TV movie A Killer Among Us Theresa Hopkins TV movie 1991 The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air Kayla Samuels Episode : `` Love at First Fight '' Stompin ' at the Savoy Alice TV movie 1993 Boy Meets Girl Lena TV movie 1993 Alex Haley 's Queen Easter Miniseries 1995 Going, Going, Almost Gone ! Animals in Danger TV movie ; voice role 1995 - 2000 Happily Ever After : Fairy Tales for Every Child Frog Princess Lylah / JoNae Voice roles ; 2 episodes America 's Dream Elna Du Vaul TV movie ; segment : `` The Boy Who Painted Christ Black '' 1997 Perfect Crime Capt. Darnell Russell TV movie 1995 Melrose Place Caitlin Mills 2 episodes 1995 NYPD Blue LaVonna Runnels Episode : `` Heavin ' Can Wait '' 1995 - 1997 Touched by an Angel Kathleen 3 episodes Living Single Dr. Jessica Bryce Episode : `` Shrink to Fit '' The Outer Limits Captain Teri Washington Episode : `` The Heist '' Lois & Clark : The New Adventures of Superman Angela Winters Episodes : `` The People vs. Lois Lane '' `` Dead Lois Walking '' 1997 Malcolm & Eddie Paige Episode : `` Two Men and a Baby '' 1999 Partners Amanda Episode : `` A Beautiful Day '' 1999 Any Day Now − Episode : `` Blue '' 1999 Ladies Man Allegra 3 episodes 2000 Linc 's Courtney Goode Episode : `` The Music in Me '' 2001 Feast of All Saints Juliet Mercier TV movie 2002, 2003 Cyberchase Ava, Queen of Symmetria / Ms. Fileshare 2 Episodes 2002 The Parkers Delilah Episode : `` Lights, Camera, Action '' 2003 -- 2004 Dead Like Me Roxy Harvey Main role, 29 episodes 2006 That 's So Raven Pistáche Episode : `` Checkin ' Out '' 2009 My Parents, My Sister & Me Keela Goldman Episode : `` Starting Over '' 2009 − 2014, 2017 The Vampire Diaries Sheila Bennett Recurring role, 15 episodes Drop Dead Diva Judge Nona Daniels Episode : `` Last Year 's Model '' 2012 Kasha and the Zulu King Ngazi TV movie 2014 Tyler Perry 's If Loving You Is Wrong Mattaline Episode : `` Game Night '' 2016 − 2017 K.C. Undercover Erica Recurring role, 6 episodes 2017 Superstition Aunt Nancy 3 episodes 2017 The Quad Ella Grace Caldwell 3 episodes Discography Albums Jasmine Guy ( 1990 ) Singles `` Try Me '' ( 1990 ) `` Another Like My Lover '' ( 1991 ) `` Just Want to Hold You '' ( 1991 ) `` Do n't Want Money '' ( 1991 ) References Jump up ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir ( 1998 ). All Music Guide to Soul : The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. Google Books. Retrieved September 24, 2017. Jump up ^ Intelius People Search Jump up ^ Leszczak, Bob ( 2001 ). `` From Small Screen to Vinyl : A Guide to Television Stars Who Made Records ''. Google Books. Retrieved September 24, 2017. Jump up ^ Thompson, Kevin D. ( 2008 - 07 - 30 ). `` Jasmine Guy : Flashback Friday - The star of `` A Different World '' on being Whitley, her impending divorce, and growing up biracial ``. Essence. Jump up ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/76/Jasmine-Guy.html ^ Jump up to : Bernstein, Fred ( 1987 - 11 - 09 ). `` After Years of Trying to Fit In, Actress Jasmine Guy at Last Finds Happiness in A Different World ''. People Magazine. pp. Vol. 28, No. 19. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 26. ^ Jump up to : Buck, Jerry ( 1988 - 01 - 17 ). `` Jasmine Guy Brings Life ro ' World ' ''. Tri-City Herald. p. 39. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 30. Jump up ^ `` Dreams Of Long Ago ''. Chicago Tribune. 1992 - 04 - 12. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2010 - 07 - 13. Retrieved 2010 - 07 - 28. CS1 maint : Archived copy as title ( link ) Jump up ^ Kinon, Cristina ( 2009 - 07 - 30 ). `` ' The People Speak ' about democracy on History Channel ''. Daily News. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 26. Jump up ^ DiNunno, Gina ( May 26, 2010 ). `` Drop Dead Diva Casts Jasmine Guy and Lauren Stamile ''. TVGuide.com. Jump up ^ Keck, William ( September 15, 2009 ). `` Jasmine Guy Vamps It Up ''. TV Guide Magazine. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2010. Jump up ^ Cadet, Danielle ( September 21, 2017 ). `` Whitley 's World : A Brief History of Bad and Boujee Black Girl Style ''. The Undefeated. ESPN. Retrieved September 25, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Holman, Curt ( 2010 - 01 - 28 ). `` Speakeasy with Jasmine Guy ''. Creative Loafing Atlanta. CL Inc. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Kevin Wilson 's MY NEPHEW EMMETT Joins Academy 's Live Action Short Film Shortlist ''. Broadway World. December 15, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2018. Jump up ^ Hetrick, Adam ( 2009 - 04 - 06 ). `` Jasmine Guy to Sing Blues for an Alabama Sky at True Colors ''. Playbill. Retrieved 2009 - 04 - 07. Jump up ^ Eldridge, Richard ( 2009 - 03 - 19 ). `` Peach Buzz : A Sexy, Sudsy ' Dream ' Assignment ''. Atlanta Journal - Constitution. Atlanta Journal - Constitution. Retrieved 2009 - 04 - 07. ^ Jump up to : Curt, Holman ( 2010 - 08 - 16 ). `` True Colors Theatre hires Jasmine Guy as full - time staffer ''. Creative Loafing. Creative Loafing Inc. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 30. Jump up ^ Creative Loafing Event Calendar Jump up ^ Terrell J. Starr ( @ Russian_Starr ) ( 16 Feb 2016 ). `` Whoa ! Whitley Gilbert is endorsing Bernie Sanders ! '' ( Tweet ) -- via Twitter. External links Official website Jasmine Guy on IMDb Jasmine Guy at the Internet Broadway Database Jasmine Guy at the Internet Off - Broadway Database WorldCat Identities BNF : cb141843966 ( data ) GND : 1018306188 ISNI : 0000 0001 1443 7228 LCCN : n92029348 MusicBrainz : c2d11922 - bbc6 - 4b27 - be79 - e4987970588e VIAF : 50878055 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jasmine_Guy&oldid=861786294 '' Categories : 1962 births 20th - century American singers 21st - century American singers 20th - century American actresses 21st - century American actresses African - American female singers American people of Portuguese descent American contemporary R&B singers Living people Actresses from Atlanta Actresses from Boston African - American actresses American television actresses American voice actresses American stage actresses American film actresses 20th - century women musicians 21st - century women singers Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Archived copy as title Articles with hCards Infobox person using alma mater Articles with IBDb links Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu تۆرکجه Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska اردو 7 more Edit links This page was last edited on 30 September 2018, at 00 : 51 ( UTC ). 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Question: who plays bonnie's grandma on vampire diaries
Answer: Guy