Gina Belafonte

Gina Belafonte
Born (1961-09-08) September 8, 1961 (age 63)
New York City, New York, US
Occupations
  • Actress
  • producer
  • activist
FatherHarry Belafonte

Gina Belafonte (born September 8, 1961) is an American actress, film and stage producer, and civil rights activist. The youngest daughter of singer, actor, and activist Harry Belafonte,[1] she has appeared in such films as Bright Lights, Big City, Tokyo Pop (both 1988), and BlacKkKlansman (2018). Belafonte served as a producer on Sing Your Song, a 2011 documentary film about her father. She co-founded The Gathering for Justice, a nonprofit organization whose aim is to end child incarceration and eliminate the racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and is the CEO of Sankofa.org, a nonprofit founded by her father.[1]

Early life

Belafonte was born on September 8, 1961, at Mount Sinai Hospital[2] in New York City, New York, to Harry Belafonte and his then-wife Julie Robinson Belafonte.[1] As a young child, she visited Africa as well as the West Indies.[3] At age six, Gina Belafonte attended the Ethical Culture School in New York City alongside her brother David.[4]

Partial filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes Ref(s)
1984 Beat Street Elizabeth [5]
1988 Bright Lights, Big City Kathy [6][7]
Tokyo Pop Holly [6][8]
1989 Drawing the Line: A Portrait of Keith Haring Narrator Short documentary film [9]
1996 Kansas City Hey-Hey Club Hostess
1998 Operation Splitsville Bernice
2011 Sing Your Song Self Documentary film; also producer [10]
2016 Courting Des Moines Senator Gina Piccollo
2018 BlacKkKlansman Gina B.
2024 The Lost Holliday Meredith Clayton-Perrineau

Television

Year Film Role Notes
1987 All My Children Polly 1 episode
1991–1993 The Commish Carmela Pagan 33 episodes
1997 Duckman Wanda Voice role; episode: "Aged Heat 2: Women in Heat"
Johnny Bravo Newscaster / Computer Voice roles; episode: "Hip Hop Flop/Talk to Me, Baby/Blanky Hanky Panky"

References

  1. ^ a b c "Gina Belafonte". Sankofa.org. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  2. ^ "Stork Visits Belafontes". The Black Dispatch. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. September 22, 1961. p. 5. Retrieved May 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Belafontes Are a Closely Knit Family". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. September 3, 1967. p. C-6. Retrieved May 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Ingle, Martha (January 5, 1968). "Belafontes Not 'Mixed' Couple --Just Perfectly Matched Pair". Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. p. 1-C. Retrieved May 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Breaking Smiles". Jet. Vol. 66, no. 2. March 19, 1984. p. 42. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Briefly". Anderson Independent-Mail. Anderson, South Carolina. November 29, 1987. p. 4. Retrieved May 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Gina Belafonte: Film Execs Think That She's Too Light". Jet. Vol. 74, no. 3. April 18, 1988. p. 53. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  8. ^ Baltake, Joe (April 19, 1988). "A sweet heart beat to 'Tokyo Pop'". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. B9. Retrieved May 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Reading Public Museum (2006). Keith Haring: Journey of the Radiant Baby. Bunker Hill Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 978-1593730529.
  10. ^ Dargis, Manohla (January 12, 2012). "Movie Review | 'Sing Your Song' – Struggle and Song Define a Life". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2024.

Further reading