Tonya Pinkins (born May , ) is an American television, film and
theater actress and author known for her portrayal of Livia Frye on
the soap opera All My Children and for her roles on Broadway. She has
been nominated for three Tony Awards (winning one), and has won Obie,
Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, AUDLECO, Garland, L.A. Drama
Critics Circle, Clarence Derwent, and NAACP Theater Awards. She has
been nominated for the Olivier, Helen Hayes, Noel, Joseph Jefferson,
NAACP Image, Soap Opera Digest, and Ovation Awards. She won the Tony
Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Jelly's Last
Jam.Pinkins was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was a police
officer and insurance salesman, and her mother is a former postal
worker. She has two brothers, Eric and Thomas Swoope, and a sister
Tamera Swoope.Pinkins was interested in the arts from a young age. At
Whitney Young Magnet High School, she participated in the theater
program and also studied acting at the Goodman Theatre Young People's
Program. She attended Carnegie Mellon University's BFA Musical Theatre
program, but was cast in Merrily We Roll Along and decided to pursue
her career, instead.Pinkins later returned to college, earning an
undergraduate degree in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago
in , followed by a year at California Western School of Law in San
Diego.
theater actress and author known for her portrayal of Livia Frye on
the soap opera All My Children and for her roles on Broadway. She has
been nominated for three Tony Awards (winning one), and has won Obie,
Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, AUDLECO, Garland, L.A. Drama
Critics Circle, Clarence Derwent, and NAACP Theater Awards. She has
been nominated for the Olivier, Helen Hayes, Noel, Joseph Jefferson,
NAACP Image, Soap Opera Digest, and Ovation Awards. She won the Tony
Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Jelly's Last
Jam.Pinkins was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was a police
officer and insurance salesman, and her mother is a former postal
worker. She has two brothers, Eric and Thomas Swoope, and a sister
Tamera Swoope.Pinkins was interested in the arts from a young age. At
Whitney Young Magnet High School, she participated in the theater
program and also studied acting at the Goodman Theatre Young People's
Program. She attended Carnegie Mellon University's BFA Musical Theatre
program, but was cast in Merrily We Roll Along and decided to pursue
her career, instead.Pinkins later returned to college, earning an
undergraduate degree in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago
in , followed by a year at California Western School of Law in San
Diego.
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