Profile Text
Waithe – 2017 BET Awards – Arrivals – Microsoft Theater, 777 Chick Hearn Court – Los Angeles, CA, USA – Photo Credit: / PRPhotos.com
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Date of Birth: May 17, 1984
Ethnicity: African-American, some African-Barbadian, remote Native American
Lena Waithe is an American screenwriter, producer, and actress. Her father was Lawrence David Waithe.
A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2022) stated that Lena’s mtDNA is Indigenous [Native] American.
Lena’s paternal great-grandfather was Winston Waithe. Winston was born in Barbados, the son of Edward Albert Waithe. Edward came to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1905, and was joined by Winston in 1921. Her roots are in Christ Church, Barbados, where her great-great-great-great-grandfather, Primus Waithe, was a slave.
Lena’s maternal grandmother was named Tressie Hall.