If you’ve even semi-regularly consumed any popular content from the modern era, then chances are you’ve seen Dawnn Lewis before — or, at least, heard her voice. The actress has voiced numerous characters in “The Simpsons,” “Rick and Morty,” “The Boondocks,” “Regular Show,” “Futurama,” King of the Hill,” and so on. She’s also lent her voice to silver screen productions like “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” “Inside Out,” “Monsters University,” and more. Beyond voice acting work, Lewis has credits on series like “A Different World,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Veronica Mars,” “iZombie,” “This Is Us,” and even the acclaimed “Better Call Saul.”
Throughout her career, Lewis has spoken up about the difficulties that Black women continue to face in the realm of show business. “I believe we’ve taken several steps forward, that cannot be denied, but I also recognize that there is a ceiling that only a handful of us are allowed to press through,” she said in an interview with People.
If her career history wasn’t impressive enough, Lewis has also spent years working as the CEO and founder of the A New Day Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting and mentoring teenagers as they make the rocky transition into adulthood. As she told People: “I became committed to helping young people, underserved communities who don’t normally have access to people of my celebrity, for lack of a better word, to encourage them, to say someone sees them.”