Jenifer Jeanette Lewis is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films
Beaches (1988) and
Sister Act (1992). Lewis is known for playing roles of mothers in the films
What's Love Got to Do With It (1993),
Poetic Justice (1993),
The Preacher's Wife (1996),
The Brothers (2001),
The Cookout (2004),
Think Like a Man (2012) and in the sequel
Think Like a Man Too (2014),
Baggage Claim (2013) and
The Wedding Ringer (2015), as well as in
The Temptations miniseries (1998).