Tamara Tunie

TAMARA TUNIE makes history in the CBS Daytime series BEYOND THE GATES, the first soap opera to center on an affluent Black family. Tamara stars as Anita Dupree, matriarch of the family. Once a famous singer, Anita worked hard for her success and then raised two daughters with her now-retired Senator husband. But underneath her glamorous and refined exterior is a fierceness she gained from her humble beginnings in Chicago.

This show brings Ms Tunie full circle to her roots on CBS where she began her career on the legendary Daytime Drama AS THE WORLD TURNS as the longstanding character Jessica Griffin on the CBS Daytime Drama for which she received two NAACP Image Award nominations and two Soap Opera Digest award nominations.

Tamara recently played the role of Cissy Houston, mother of the great American icon Whitney Houston, in I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY, reuniting her with CAVEMAN’S VALENTINE and EVE’S BAYOU director, Kasi Lemmons.

Ms. Tunie first gained an international following in the role of medical examiner “Dr. Melinda Warner” with a now landmark 23 seasons on Dick Wolf’s legendary NBC series LAW AND ORDER: SVU.

She was a series regular on the Netflix cult favorite, COWBOY BEBOP, and appeared on two seasons of the Apple-TV futuristic-drama SEE as “The Bank” opposite Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard. One of the distinct hallmarks of Ms. Tunie’s remarkable career is a long examination of American culture and its unique social and power dynamics. Beginning with such films as Oliver Stone’s WALL STREET with Michael Douglas, Harold Becker’s CITY HALL with Al Pacino, Taylor Hackford’s DEVIL’S ADVOCATE with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron, to Robert Zemeckis’ FLIGHT opposite Denzel Washington, with whom she also starred on Broadway as “Calpurnia” in JULIUS CAESAR,

Ms. Tunie’s attraction to content with depth and meaning is apparent. This thread continues with the Sundance TV series THE RED ROAD, where Tamara starred as the challenged Native-American tribal chief “Marie Van Der Veen” opposite Jason Momoa which marked a departure from the sophisticated and powerful women she is known for playing, portraying “Under-Secretary of State, Eunice Clayton in Hugo Blick’s BBC/Netflix psychological thriller BLACK EARTH RISING which scrutinizes the West’s complicity in the destabilization of Africa and AMC’s DIETLAND, where she explored the underbelly of the American Beauty-Industrial Complex as “Julia,” manager of the mysterious “beauty closet.”

Ms. Tunie’s award-winning stage works include the World Premiere of AMERICAN SON, a searing examination of race and class in which she originated the role of “Kendra Ellis-Connor;” her Obie-Award winning turn as “Marvelous” in Danai Gurira’s FAMILIAR, which grapples with identity, assimilation, tradition, and the clashing of ideals of an African-Immigrant family; and most recently she starred in the world premiere of BERNARDA’S DAUGHTERS, where she portrayed matriarch “Florence Delva” with “oracular grandeur,” another contemporary play that “mines” the effects of gentrification, police brutality and what it means to be “American,” in a Haitian-American family in Brooklyn.

Ms. Tunie triumphed on the London stage at the Old Vic in the critically-acclaimed production of Mike Bartlett’s THE 47TH, in which she starred as Kamala Harris opposite Bertie Carvel’s Donald Trump in an imagining of a presidential run-off between the two. Under the direction of Rupert Goold, Tunie received glowing notices: “Tamara Tunie is magnetizing in her performance,” “the charismatic Tamara Tunie,” “utterly convincing,” “sturdy under fire.”

She starred on Broadway with Denzel Washington in Shakespeare’s JULIUS CAESAR and has also shared the Broadway stage with the legendary Lena Horne in the Broadway musical LENA HORNE: THE LADY AND HER MUSIC. She starred in David Merrick’s revival of OH KAY with Brian Stokes Mitchell. Ms. Tunie toured Europe with BUBBLIN’ BROWN SUGAR and portrayed Helen of Troy in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s production of TROILUS AND CRESSIDA in Central Park. In addition, she played “Maggie” in the FIRST all African American production of Tennessee Williams’ CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at Theatre Virginia in Richmond. After September 11th, she co-starred with many veterans of Broadway, including Audra Mc Donald and Lillias White, in the 20th anniversary benefit concert of DREAMGIRLS.

Ms. Tunie recently directed workshops of the upcoming stage plays DOROTHY DANDRIGE, MARIAN, and is directing the premiere of STOMPIN AT THE SAVOY, at Delaware Theatre Company Spring 2025.

She also directed and co-wrote the world premiere of JAZZLAND at The Harlem School of the Arts.

Behind the camera, she both produced and directed her first feature film entitled SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER starring Justin Kirk and Estella Warren. Shot on the streets of New York City, the film follows a woman who forms a support group for abandoned patients when all their therapists go on vacation in August, and finds true love.

Ms. Tunie’s first “role” as Broadway producer, was on the team responsible for the Tony Award-winning musical SPRING AWAKENING. She also produced August Wilson’s Tony Award nominated RADIO GOLF, and MAGIC VS BIRD. She produced the world premiere of FROG KISS at Virginia Stage Company in Norfolk Virginia.

Ms. Tunie is a Founder of Black Theatre United. She is Chair Emerita of the Board of Directors of Figure Skating in Harlem, a non-profit organization that supports academic excellence and teaches life skills to young girls in the Harlem community through the art and discipline of figure skating. She serves on the Board of Directors at Harlem Stage/The Gatehouse and The City Theatre Company in Pittsburgh. She, also, serves on the Advisory Board of Hearts of Gold, a not for profit that supports women and their children in New York City shelters, and helps them transition out of the system.

In 2005, Mayor Bloomberg awarded Ms. Tunie the “Made in New York Award” from the City of New York for her support and commitment to Film, Television and Theater in Manhattan.

Ms. Tunie holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Carnegie-Mellon University and now serves on the Executive Committee of its Board Trustees.

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