Karimah Westbrook (born October 6, 1978) is an American actress, known for her roles in Save the Last Dance, The Rum Diary, and Suburbicon. She portrays Grace James on All American.
Biography[]
Karimah Westbrook is an American television and film actress. After crashing an audition and snagging a role in the Paramount box office hit Save the Last Dance (2001), she has never looked back. A Chicago native, the youngest of two, Westbrook was inspired by actress Whoopi Goldberg growing up. After falling in love with the theater, she realized she had a strong desire to perform and decided to pursue an acting career. She attended schools such as The Academy of Dramatic Arts-West.
In 2018, Karimah was cast as Grace James in the CW show, All American. Her inspiring and relatable performance earned her a Black Reel nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
She portrays Karen Scott in "After We Collided" the sequel to the box-office hit “After”, based on Anna Todd's best-selling book series. Karimah was cast following Jennifer Beals's exit from the first film in the series, as she was unable to return due to scheduling conflicts. However due to scheduling issues with All American she was unable to return for the final two installments of the After franchise. She announced Frances Turner as her successor in the role of Karen.
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Save the Last Dance | Alyssa | |
| 2002 | Random Acts of Violence | Monique | |
| 2003 | Baadasssss! | Ginnie | |
| 2004 | Knuckle Sandwich | Nora | |
| 2005 | The Tenants | Female Partygoer | |
| 2005 | American Fusion | Layla | |
| 2006 | Best Kept Secret | Cassandra | Short film, also writer and producer |
| 2007 | Studio | Jasmine Jackson | |
| 2008 | Truth Hall | Lashon | |
| 2008 | American Violet | Claudia Johnson | |
| 2010 | Louis | Alice Bolden | |
| 2011 | The Rum Diary | Papa Nebo | |
| 2012 | C'mon Man | Angel | |
| 2013 | Baby Girl | Yaya | Short film |
| 2016 | Caged | Karrisa Kline | Short film Chandler International Film Festival for Best Actress Connect Film Festival Best Ensemble Acting Award Nominated — IIFC Award for Best Ensemble Cast Featurette |
| 2017 | Suburbicon | Mrs. Mayers | |
| 2019 | Bolden | Alice Bolden | |
| 2020 | After We Collided | Karen |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | City of Angels | Joleigha Bass | Episode: "Nathan's Hot Dog" |
| 2001 | ER | Sara Morris | Episode: "April Showers" |
| 2001 | Moesha | Shania Levy | Episodes: "Graduation Day" and "All Grown Up" |
| 2001 | That's Life | Runner | Episode: "Larva" |
| 2001 | The District | Kara | Episode: "Foreign Affair" |
| 2003 | Strong Medicine | Sandy | Episode: "PMS, Lies and Red Tape" |
| 2003 | Girlfriends | Melanie Childs | Episodes: "The Wedding" and "Blood Is Thicker Than Liquor" |
| 2003 | 10-8: Officers on Duty | Sheila | Episode: "Lucy in the Sky" |
| 2006 | In Justice | Kendra Smith | Episode: "Another Country" |
| 2006 | Without a Trace | Missy | Episode: "White Balance" |
| 2010 | Mad Men | Sharon | Episode: "The Rejected" |
| 2010 | Look: The Series | Paige | Recurring role, 3 episodes |
| 2014 | The Fosters | Layla's Mother | Episode: "Mother" |
| 2014 | Masters of Sex | Delila | Episode: "Below the Belt" |
| 2015 | Aquarius | Aquarius | Episode: "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" |
| 2017 | Shameless | Sylvie | Episode: "Icarus Fell. And Rusty Ate Him." |
| 2018 | Truth Hall | LaShon | Unsold TV pilot |
| 2018—present | All American | Grace James | Series regular Nominated — Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, Drama Series (2019) |