Lorraine Toussaint

Lorraine Toussaint's 30 plus year career has spanned film, theater, and television. She recently won the Critic's Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama series for her role as Yvonne "Vee" Parker on the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black.

Born in Trinidad, Toussaint came to the United States when she was 10. She graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts and went on to attend Juilliard. In 1989 came her film debut, opposite Burt Reynolds, in Breaking In. She has starred in numerous other films, including a turn in 2012's Middle of Nowhere, written and directed by Ava DuVernay, which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination. She also starred in DuVernay's critically acclaimed film Selma in 2014. 

Toussaint landed her first recurring television role in 1993's Where I Live. She starred in Lifetime's first original drama series, Any Day Now, from 1998 - 2002, earning five nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series from the NAACP Image Awards. Other shows Toussaint has appeared on include Crossing Jordan, Law & Order, Fraiser, CSI, Ugly Betty, and Friday Night Lights. Most recently, Toussaint starred in the ABC series Forever, and has appeared in a recurring role on ABC Family's The Fosters. In a critically acclaimed, Critic's Choice Award-winning performance, she was the main antagonist on season 2 of Orange is the New Black.