# Salli Richardson

Salli Elise Richardson-Whitfield (born Salli Elise Richardson, November 23, 1967) is an American actress and television director. Richardson is known for her role as Angela in the film A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994) and for her role as Dr. Allison Blake on the Syfy comedy-drama series Eureka (2006–2012).
She is also known for her voice acting as Elisa Maza on the Disney animated series Gargoyles (1994–1996), and as Viveca Foster on the CBS series Family Law (1999–2002). Richardson also has appeared in a number of other films such as The Great White Hype (1996), Antwone Fisher (2002), Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004) and I Am Legend (2007). She had leading roles in the independent films Pastor Brown (2009), Black Dynamite (2009) and I Will Follow (2010). In the 2010s, Richardson started working as a television director.

## Early life

Richardson was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her mother is of African American ancestry (with distant Cherokee roots), and her father was of English and Italian descent. She played tennis in high school at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, and launched her acting career in the Kuumba Workshop theater there; she graduated in 1985.

## Career
### Acting

Richardson "began her acting career in the theater before transitioning to roles in television and film". In film, she played small roles in Prelude to a Kiss, Mo' Money, Posse, and later had major roles in Sioux City and A Low Down Dirty Shame. From 1994 to 1996 she voiced the character Elisa Maza on the animated series Gargoyles. She had many guest-starring roles in numerous television shows, such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, New York Undercover, The Pretender, Stargate SG-1, NYPD Blue, House, Bones, Criminal Minds, NCIS and Castle.
Richardson starred opposite Dixie Carter and Kathleen Quinlan in the CBS legal drama series, Family Law, from 1999 to 2002. She had recurring roles as Nancy Adams on Rude Awakening, and as Laura on CSI: Miami. She starred opposite Denzel Washington in the 2002 drama film Antwone Fisher. She also appeared in the 2004 horror film Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, and starred opposite Will Smith in 2007's post-apocalyptic film I Am Legend. She later had a leading role in the independent dramas Pastor Brown (2009), and in I Will Follow (2010) directed by Ava DuVernay. She also starred in The Sin Seer with Isaiah Washington, set for 2015 release.
From 2006 to 2012, Richardson starred as Department of Defense agent (and later head of Global Dynamics) Allison Blake in the Syfy comedy-drama series Eureka. Her second pregnancy was written into the storyline of the series. After the series' cancellation, she was cast as the lead in the Lifetime drama pilot The Secret Lives of Wives. In 2014, Richardson was cast in a recurring role on Lifetime's The Lottery as the first lady of the United States, but she lost it to Shelley Conn; She also has a role on BET's Being Mary Jane as an old friend of the lead character. In 2015, Richardson was cast in the ABC Family series, Stitchers. The series was canceled after three seasons in 2017.

### Directing

Richardson has also worked as a director of episodic television, her latest being episodes 5 and 6 of the first season of Wheel of Time for Amazon. Following her directorial debut on two episodes of her show Eureka, in 2016 she directed two episodes of Ava DuVernay's drama series for Oprah Winfrey Network, Queen Sugar (on which her husband Dondre Whitfield appears as a series regular). In 2016, Richardson also directed an episode of the historical action-drama Underground for WGN America. In 2017, she directed two episodes of BET drama Rebel, and Shonda Rhimes' Scandal. Her comedy directing credits include Survivor's Remorse, I'm Dying Up Here, Black-ish and Dear White People. In 2018, she also directed the 16th episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fifth-season episode "Inside Voices". Her other notable directing credits include Chicago Med, Luke Cage, Black Lightning, The Punisher, American Gods, See and Altered Carbon.
In 2019, Richardson received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series nomination for her work directing Luke Cage. Also in 2019, she won a Black Reel Award for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for directing Black-ish. In September 2020, she signed a project development deal with HBO. Richardson produces and had had directed episodes of HBO period drama The Gilded Age and Adam McKay's untitled Lakers project. Also in 2020, she directed the Zoom Where It Happens special The One with the Diverse Cast, a Friends one-night reboot starring Sterling K. Brown, Uzo Aduba, Ryan Michelle Bathe, Aisha Hinds, Kendrick Sampson and Jeremy Pope.

## Personal life

On September 8, 2002, she married long-time boyfriend and fellow actor Dondre Whitfield. She and Whitfield have one daughter and one son.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1991 | Up Against the Wall | Denise |
| 1992 | Prelude to a Kiss | Bridesmaid No. 2 |
| 1992 | Mo' Money | Pretty Customer |
| 1992 | How U Like Me Now | Valerie |
| 1993 | Posse | Lana |
| 1994 | I Spy Returns (Television film) | Nicole Scott |
| 1994 | Sioux City | Jolene Buckley |
| 1994 | A Low Down Dirty Shame | Angela |
| 1994 | Lily in Winter (Television film) | Ada Covington |
| 1995 | Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken | Elisa Maza (voice) |
| 1995 | Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored | Miss Alice |
| 1996 | Soul of the Game (Television film) | Lahoma |
| 1996 | The Great White Hype | Bambi |
| 1997 | True Women (Television film) | Martha |
| 1998 | Butter | Blusette Ford |
| 1999 | Lillie | Lillie |
| 2002 | Book of Love: The Definitive Reason Why Men Are Dogs | Karen |
| 2002 | Antwone Fisher | Berta Davenport |
| 2002 | Baby of the Family | Nelli McPherson |
| 2003 | Biker Boyz | Half & Half |
| 2004 | Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid | Gail Stern |
| 2007 | I Am Legend | Zoe Neville |
| 2009 | Black Dynamite | Gloria |
| 2009 | Pastor Brown | Jessica "Jesse" Brown |
| 2010 | I Will Follow | Maye |
| 2012 | We the Party | Principal Reynolds |
| 2013 | Playin' for Love | Talisa McCoy |
| 2013 | Teachers (Television film) | Christine |
| 2015 | The Sin Seer | Nia |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1992 | Silk Stalkings | Shelley | Episode: "Wild Card" |
| 1993 | Space Rangers | - | Episode: "Fort Hope" |
| 1993 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Fenna/Nidell | Episode: "Second Sight" |
| 1994 | Roc | Diane Hubbard | Episode: "The Last Temptation of Roc" |
| 1994 | New York Undercover | Tammy Barrett | Episode: "Eyewitness Blues" |
| 1994–97 | Gargoyles | Elisa Maza (voice) | Main cast |
| 1997 | Stargate SG-1 | Drey'auc | Episode: "Bloodlines" |
| 1997 | Between Brothers | Vanessa | Episode: "The Player" |
| 1998 | The Pretender | Cynthia Sloan | Episode: "Gigolo Jarod" |
| 1998–99 | Mercy Point | Kim Salisaw | Main cast |
| 1999 | The Jamie Foxx Show | Camille Turner | Episode: "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" |
| 1999–2002 | Family Law | Viveca Foster | Main cast |
| 2000 | Secret Agent Man | Rachel | Episode: "WhupSumAss" |
| 2000–01 | Rude Awakening | Nancy Adams | Recurring cast: season 3 |
| 2003 | CSI: Miami | Laura | Recurring cast: season 1 |
| 2004 | Line of Fire | Erica Logan | Episode: "The Senator" |
| 2004 | Second Time Around | Amanda | Episode: "Coupling Up" |
| 2004 | NYPD Blue | Bobbi Kingston | Episodes: "My Dinner with Andy" & "I Like Ike" |
| 2005 | House | Sharon | Episode: "Sports Medicine" |
| 2005 | 1-800-Missing | Kelly | Episode: "Sisterhood" |
| 2005 | The War at Home | Vanessa | Episode: "Guess Who's Coming to the Barbecue" |
| 2006 | Bones | Kim Kurland | Episode: "Aliens in a Spaceship" |
| 2006–12 | Eureka | Allison Blake | Main cast |
| 2009 | Criminal Minds | Tamara Barnes | Episodes: "Hopeless" & "The Eyes Have It" |
| 2011 | The Secret Lives of Wives | Reed | TV pilot |
| 2012 | The Finder | Athena Brookes | Episode: "Life After Death" |
| 2012–13 | The Newsroom | Jane Barrow | Guest: season 1, recurring cast: season 2 |
| 2013–15 | NCIS | Carrie Clark | Guest Cast: season 11-13 |
| 2014 | House of Lies | Sandra Joy | Episode: "Power(less)" |
| 2014 | Castle | Elizabeth Weston | Episode: "The Greater Good" |
| 2015 | Being Mary Jane | Valerie | Recurring cast: season 2 |
| 2015–17 | Stitchers | Maggie | Main cast |
| 2016 | Rosewood | Dr. Aubrey Joseph | Episode: "Wooberite & the Women of Rosewood" |
| 2018 | Black Lightning | Rebecca Montez | Episode: "The Book of Consequences: Chapter Four: Translucent Freak" |
| 2020 | Altered Carbon | Commission Leader | Episode: "Broken Angels" |

### Directing

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2011 | Grace | Short film, also writer |
| 2011–13 | Eureka | Episodes: "Worst Case Scenario" & "Omega Girls" |
| 2015 | Different Position | Short film |
| 2016 | Post Life | Short film |
| 2016 | Queen Sugar | Episodes "So Far" and "All Good" |
| 2017 | Underground | Episode: "Nok Aaut" |
| 2017 | Rebel | Episodes: "Conceal and Carry" and "Black Not Blue" |
| 2017 | Scandal | Episode: "Tick Tock" |
| 2017 | Stitchers | Episode: "Kill It Forward" |
| 2017 | Survivor's Remorse | Episodes: "Reparations" and "Closure" |
| 2017 | Lethal Weapon | Episode: "Birdwatching" |
| 2017–19 | Shadowhunters | Episodes: "A Kiss from a Rose" & "Dust and Shadows" |
| 2018 | Chicago Med | Episode: "Lock It Down" |
| 2018 | Star | Episode: "Take It to Church" |
| 2018 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Episode: "Inside Voices" |
| 2018 | I'm Dying Up Here | Episode: "Between Us" |
| 2018 | Luke Cage | Episode: "I Get Physical" |
| 2018 | Love Is_ | Episode: "Not Valentine's Day" |
| 2018 | Black Lightning | Episode: "The Book of Consequences: Chapter Four: Translucent Freak" |
| 2018–19 | The Magicians | Episodes: "The Side Effect" & "Six Short Stories About Magic" |
| 2019 | Black-ish | Episode: "Black Like Us" |
| 2019 | The Punisher | Episode: "Flustercluck" |
| 2019 | All American | Episode: "Legacy" |
| 2019 | Chilling Adventures of Sabrina | Episode: "Chapter Fourteen: Lupercallia" |
| 2019 | American Gods | Episode: "The Ways of the Dead" |
| 2019 | Doom Patrol | Episode: "Hair Patrol" |
| 2019 | The Chi | Episode: "Lean into It" |
| 2019 | Dear White People | Episodes: "Volume 3: Chapter IX " and "Volume 2: Chapter V" |
| 2019 | Pearson | Episode: "The Former City Attorney" |
| 2019 | See | Episode: "House of Enlightenment" |
| 2019 | Reprisal | Episode: "dammit" |
| 2019 | Treadstone | Episode: "The Seoul Asylum" and "The McKenna Erasure" |
| 2020 | Altered Carbon | Episodes: "Broken Angels" and "Experiment Perilous" |
| 2021 | The Wheel of Time | Episodes: "Blood Calls Blood" and "The Flame of Tar Valon" |
| 2022–present | The Gilded Age | 4 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2022–2023 | Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty | 5 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2025 | Task | also executive producer |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
| 2014 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Actress, TV Movie/Limited Series | Pastor Brown | Nominated |
| 2019 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series | Black-ish (for "Black Like Us") | Won |
| 2024 | Gracie Awards | Director – Drama | Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty | Won |
| 2024 | Gracie Awards | Producer – Entertainment | The Gilded Age | Won |
| 2022 | Hugo Awards | Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form | The Wheel of Time (for "The Flame of Tar Valon") | Nominated |
| 2010 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series | Eureka | Nominated |
| 2024 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | The Gilded Age | Nominated |
| 2024 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (for "BEAT L.A.") | Nominated |