Gina Belafonte (born September 8, 1961) is an American actress, film and stage producer, and civil rights activist. The youngest daughter of singer, actor, and activist Harry Belafonte,[1] she has appeared in such films as Bright Lights, Big City, Tokyo Pop (both 1988), and BlacKkKlansman (2018). Belafonte served as a producer on Sing Your Song, a 2011 documentary film about her father. She co-founded The Gathering for Justice, a nonprofit organization whose aim is to end child incarceration and eliminate the racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and is the CEO of Sankofa.org, a nonprofit founded by her father.[1]

Gina Belafonte
Born (1961-09-08) September 8, 1961 (age 63)
New York City, New York, US
Occupations
  • Actress
  • producer
  • activist
FatherHarry Belafonte

Early life

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Belafonte was born on September 8, 1961, at Mount Sinai Hospital[2] in New York City, New York, to Harry Belafonte and his then-wife Julie Robinson Belafonte.[1] As a young child, she visited Africa as well as the West Indies.[3] At age six, Gina Belafonte attended the Ethical Culture School in New York City alongside her brother David.[4]

Partial filmography

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Film

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Year Film Role Notes Ref(s)
1984 Beat Street Elizabeth [5]
1988 Bright Lights, Big City Kathy [6][7]
Tokyo Pop Holly [6][8]
1989 Drawing the Line: A Portrait of Keith Haring Narrator Short documentary film [9]
1996 Kansas City Hey-Hey Club Hostess
1998 Operation Splitsville Bernice
2011 Sing Your Song Self Documentary film; also producer [10]
2016 Courting Des Moines Senator Gina Piccollo
2018 BlacKkKlansman Gina B.
2024 The Lost Holliday Meredith Clayton-Perrineau

Television

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Year Film Role Notes
1987 All My Children Polly 1 episode
1991–1993 The Commish Carmela Pagan 33 episodes
1997 Duckman Wanda Voice role; episode: "Aged Heat 2: Women in Heat"
Johnny Bravo Newscaster / Computer Voice roles; episode: "Hip Hop Flop/Talk to Me, Baby/Blanky Hanky Panky"

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Gina Belafonte". Sankofa.org. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  2. ^ "Stork Visits Belafontes". The Black Dispatch. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. September 22, 1961. p. 5. Retrieved May 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Belafontes Are a Closely Knit Family". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. September 3, 1967. p. C-6. Retrieved May 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Ingle, Martha (January 5, 1968). "Belafontes Not 'Mixed' Couple --Just Perfectly Matched Pair". Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. p. 1-C. Retrieved May 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Breaking Smiles". Jet. Vol. 66, no. 2. March 19, 1984. p. 42. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Briefly". Anderson Independent-Mail. Anderson, South Carolina. November 29, 1987. p. 4. Retrieved May 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Gina Belafonte: Film Execs Think That She's Too Light". Jet. Vol. 74, no. 3. April 18, 1988. p. 53. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  8. ^ Baltake, Joe (April 19, 1988). "A sweet heart beat to 'Tokyo Pop'". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. B9. Retrieved May 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Reading Public Museum (2006). Keith Haring: Journey of the Radiant Baby. Bunker Hill Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 978-1593730529.
  10. ^ Dargis, Manohla (January 12, 2012). "Movie Review | 'Sing Your Song' – Struggle and Song Define a Life". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2024.

Further reading

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