Alfre Woodard is a performer.
Alfre Woodard ( born November 8 , 1952 ) is an American film , stage , and television actress , producer , and political activist . After her breakthrough role in the Off-Broadway play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf ( 1977 ) , she made her film debut in Remember My Name ( 1978 ) . In 1983 , she won major critical praise and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Cross Creek . In the same year , Woodard won her first Primetime Emmy Award for her performance in the NBC drama series Hill Street Blues . She also starred as Dr. Roxanne Turner in the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere , for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1986 , and for Guest Actress in 1988 .