Kasi Lemmons (/ˈkeɪsi/; born Karen Diane Lemmons, February 24, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, and actress. She made her directorial debut with Eve's Bayou (1997), followed by The Caveman's Valentine (2001), Talk to Me (2007), Black Nativity (2013), Harriet (2019), and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022). She also directed the Netflix limited series Self Made (2020) and an episode of ABC's Women of the Movement (2022). She is also known as an actress, having started her career with roles in commercials with McDonald's and Levi's. She made her film debut in Spike Lee's School Daze (1988). She continued acting in Vampire's Kiss (1989), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and Candyman (1992). Film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon described her as "an ongoing testament to the creative possibilities of film". Description above from the Wikipedia article Kasi Lemmons, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 24, 1959 (67)
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Actor, director and writer
- 28 on MovieCove · 41 credits in all
What are Kasi Lemmons' films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 0 · Earnest 11
A split, not a type: Light 1 · Serious 5 · Dark 7
Grounded 5 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 3
A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 4 · Intense 7
Steady 2 · Shifting 8 · Whiplash 3
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 1
Casual 1 · Engaged 10 · Full focus 2
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 8
A split, not a type: Resolved 7 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 3
Roles they play
Usually the Mentor: 2 of 3 analyzed roles.
- Allyas Rachel in The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990)
- Mentoras Bernadette Walsh in Candyman (1992)
- Mentoras Nina Blackburn in Fear of a Black Hat (1993)
Moods and endings
- Happy4
- Bittersweet5
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous4
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Kasi Lemmons' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 15 of their 28 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Kasi Lemmons' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
41 credits, 28 with a MovieCove page; 10 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
The Projectionist(2026)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Blanchard: Fire Shut Up in My Bones (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
Harriet(2019)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all filmsBeauty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Shots Fired(2017)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all shows
Luke Cage(2016)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all shows
Black Nativity(2013)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Disconnect(2012)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Talk to Me(2007)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Waist Deep(2006)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
The Caveman's Valentine(2001)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Eve's Bayou(1997)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
'Til There Was You(1997)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Gridlock'd(1997)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Dr. Hugo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Zooman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Drop Squad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Override (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
ER(1994)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
Fear of a Black Hat(1993)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Hard Target(1993)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Walker, Texas Ranger(1993)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all shows
Candyman(1992)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Afterburn(1992)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Before the Storm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
The Five Heartbeats(1991)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
The Silence of the Lambs(1991)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Vampire's Kiss(1988)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
A Man Called Hawk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
School Daze(1988)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
The Gift of Amazing Grace (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
The Equalizer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Murder, She Wrote(1984)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows
The Cosby Show(1984)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all shows
11th Victim (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Another World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
I Miss My Mom & Dream of Our New Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 92nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 41 titles, 40 of them dated from 1964 to 2026; peak year 1992.
Biggest box office
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Highest rated
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Most popular right now
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (2020)
Film career
Peak 1992 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1988Screen debut· School Daze
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
Awards
Won an Independent Spirit Award in 1998, Best First Feature.
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Kasi Lemmons' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 64th percentile, the median of all 21; across their 13 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 68th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up10
- 50th to 74th8
- 25th to 49th8
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
15 of their 28 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser15
- Mixed9
Reviewers score the acting 77/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles; fans 84, detractors 42. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Kasi Lemmons' work okay for kids?
Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Kasi Lemmons work with?
People who share at least 2 of Kasi Lemmons' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Terence Blanchard shares the most, 5.
Actors
- Vondie Curtis-HallShared titles: The Projectionist (2026), Black Nativity (2013), Eve's Bayou (1997)See all 3 shared titles with Vondie Curtis-Hall
- Clarke PetersShared titles: Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022), Harriet (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Clarke Peters
- Cynthia ErivoShared titles: One Perfect Shot (2022), Harriet (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Cynthia Erivo
- Tamara TunieShared titles: Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022), The Caveman's Valentine (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Tamara Tunie
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Terence BlanchardShared titles: One Perfect Shot (2022), Harriet (2019), Talk to Me (2007), The Caveman's Valentine (2001), Eve's Bayou (1997)See all 5 shared titles with Terence Blanchard
- Terilyn A. ShropshireShared titles: Black Nativity (2013), Talk to Me (2007), The Caveman's Valentine (2001), Eve's Bayou (1997)See all 4 shared titles with Terilyn A. Shropshire
- Amy VincentShared titles: The Caveman's Valentine (2001), Eve's Bayou (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Amy Vincent
Producers
- William HorbergShared titles: Black Nativity (2013), Talk to Me (2007)See all 2 shared titles with William Horberg
- Eli SeldenShared titles: The Caveman's Valentine (2001), Eve's Bayou (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Eli Selden
- Julie YornShared titles: The Caveman's Valentine (2001), Eve's Bayou (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Julie Yorn
- Michael BennettShared titles: The Caveman's Valentine (2001), Eve's Bayou (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Bennett