Loretta Devine
Renowned stage, film and Emmy-winning television actress Loretta Devine voices the role of Hallie Hippo, an enthusiastic and caring stuffed hippo, who also serves as a receptionist and nurse at Doc’s backyard clinic, in Disney Junior’s Emmy-nominated animated series “Doc McStuffins.” Devine has received two NAACP Image Awards for her portrayal as Hallie in the series.
Devine began her career on stage and first garnered national attention playing the role of Lorrell, one of the three original “Dreamgirls” in Michael Bennett’s classic award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. She followed that performance with a fiery portrayal of Lillian in Bob Fosse’s critically acclaimed stage production “Big Deal.” Subsequent work in George C. Wolfe’s “Colored Museum” and “Lady Day at Emerson Bar and Grill” cemented Devine’s status as one of the most talented and versatile stage actresses.
On screen, Devine has earned rave reviews for her film roles, including a poignant turn as a single mother opposite Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett and Gregory Hines in “Waiting to Exhale,” for which she won an NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress. Devine also won an NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Penny Marshall’s “The Preacher’s Wife.” Her other feature film credits include the Academy Award-winning film “Crash” and the hit movie “Dreamgirls,” as well as appearances in the successful “Urban Legend” franchise, “I Am Sam,” “Kingdom Come,” “What Women Want,” “Punks,” “Hoodlums,” “Down in the Delta,” “Death At A Funeral,” “For Colored Girls,” “Jumping the Broom,” “Stanley and Iris” and “Madea’s Big Happy Family.” Devine received an IFP Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress for her work in the 2004 film “Women Thou Art Loosed.” She was also the voice of Delta the chocolate brown toy poodle in Disney’s “Beverly Hills Chihuahua.”
On television, Devine can be seen in her Emmy winning role as Adele, the chief’s wife, on ABC’s hit medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy.” She has had recurring roles on ABC’s “Eli Stone” and David E. Kelly’s Fox series “Boston Public,” receiving three NAACP Image Awards for her role in the latter. Her additional television credits include Lifetime’s “The Client List,” ABC Family’s “The Great State of Georgia” and NBC’s “A Different World.” Additionally, Devine provided the voice of Muriel Stubbs in “The PJ’s,” an animated series created by Eddie Murphy and produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment.
Devine graduated from the University of Houston and later received a Master of Fine Arts in Theater Arts from Brandeis University. She currently resides in Los Angeles.