Angela Lewis

There’s nothing like a black woman who is a boss, robust, compassionate but doesn’t back down from disorder in a healthy manner. Women can do it all and still make time for themselves. Self-care is essential when balancing work, social,…

Words Marshelle R. Sanders

2,009 words · 12 min read

THE FULL STORY

2,009 words · 12 min read

IN THIS STORY

Angela Lewis

People

12-minute read

Angela landed her first television role on the HBO critically acclaimed drama series "The Big C" as the role of Laura Linney's nurse. Now she is back for the fifth season of FX’s hit crime drama “Snowfall,” created by the late Academy Award-nominated writer and director John Singleton. The drama series explores the crack cocaine epidemic in 1980s Los Angeles. Snowfall’s fourth season reigns as FX’s most-watched series of 2021, inclusive of all forms of linear and streaming viewing.

Angela returns as Louise 'Louie' Saint, the girlfriend of Jerome Saint (Amin Joseph) and the aunt of Franklin Saint (Damson Idris). She is also the owner of Louie's nightclub. She played a role in helping build Franklin's drug empire while her boyfriend, ‘Jerome,’ is the refuge to the family business.

This season, ‘Aunt Louie Saint’ can be seen as a tough-as-nails drug business commander rising to make her name in the game.

Being A Leader in The Game

Even though the show is based on events in the 1980s, being a leader in life is an experience no matter what the occupation is. Angela plays a role in the show that takes on a decisive leadership role, but she also explains how being a leader is an option.

“I feel like being a leader is a choice. More than being a leader, it’s important to follow your calling. And I feel that it's important to be still and listen to your inner self. When you hear that part of yourself speak to you, it will tell you which way to go and how to move. Often, that action is inspired, and people love to be inspired.”

Supporting Your Relationship with Your Partner

In the show, Aunt Louie and Jerome Saint feature how a relationship is not always picture-perfect, but they still communicate, love, respect, and support each other. Off the set, Angela is married to actor J Mallory McCree, and they also have contributed these values to each other.

“Support is everything. Louis and Jerome are not married (spoiler alert, watch season 5). They have a common-law marriage. I think that speaks volumes to their relationship because I feel like, you know, you don't have to be legally married to have a support system. The stronger your relationship is before marriage, the more likely you are to be able to survive and thrive in marriage because marriage is hard work. There's got to be something that you and your partner are sharing everything, understanding that I got to check in with my partner before I make this move.”

Angela also stated that to grow in a relationship, both partners have to grow in their way mutually.

“It has to be like, I’m growing, and I need you, my partner, to be growing too. If you don't have that foundation, that understanding that kind of we’re going to work on our relationship, you're not going to survive marriage. That is where support is embedded that you are my partner, I love you, and I want to see you thrive. Now that doesn't mean that I necessarily have to give up my dreams, and what about boundaries? A lot of the work is how do you as individuals grow and still grow as a couple together, and that takes work. It takes practice because you as the individual are evolving.”

Women Are Standing Up for Themselves

In season 5, Aunt Louie has a few confrontations with her nephew, Franklin, as she stands up for what she believes is right for her and Jerome’s business and independence. Often, women have to take a stand toward men, and society regarding their beliefs, rights, and communication in general.

Angela stated, “You have to stand up for yourself because nobody else will do it for you. I've had to learn that lesson many times. I don't think that that's a negative thing. It’s something we have to learn. I think it's super important, and I continue to learn to be on this journey of self-discovery and self-articulation. It’s important to say what you want and what you don't want. It's important to understand how you're saying it.”

Detroit is Home

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Angela credits her drive and success to the city of Detroit and the public-school education she received attending Cass Tech High School, where she was active in theater and found a role model in teacher Marilyn McCormick. Her very supportive family had provided her with saxophone and dance, jazz, and tap lessons, which molded her into a performer.

“My parents took me to the theater and to see, you know, musicals and plays. I sang in the church choir and school choir; I played parts in school plays in church plays. I did all the things that confused me. My mom had an interest in the theater. She liked going to the theatre, and she took me with her; she saw that I liked it and became invested in the arts early.”

While growing up in Detroit, Angela also noticed the not-so-good parts of the black community, which deepened her understanding of the different aspects of black culture.

“Detroit is Detroit. There are some beautiful things about Detroit. You get to see forms of different communities from the very successful black people and old money in black money. These people excel in whatever is there, you know, you got black teachers and black sanitation workers and black attorneys and black judges and black mayors, and in and then you have the other sites where you have black homeless and prostitutes. We would see crack files on the ground. It was a very complex and layered experience, and I think I'm a better person for it. Hopefully, I can pass on the things that I learned to my daughter, and I can heal the things that need to be healed so that she doesn't have to experience some of the traumas that I have experienced.”

NYC, Here I Come

After high school, Angela went to the University of Michigan, where she majored in theater. She received a degree in Theater Performing and moved to New York City to pursue her acting career soon after.

“I had a drama teacher named Marilyn McCormick. She’s retired now, but she took her students on trips to different performing arts colleges and universities. We would take trips to New York to see Broadway plays or other shows that some of our former students were in. I just immediately fell in love with it. It was so big, and the energy was amazing, and the black culture there, Caribbean accents, and New York was closer to Detroit. It was easier to get back home if I needed to, and I felt more connected to New York.” Angela was soon booking lead roles on the stage for Off-Broadway plays "History of the Word" and "Milk Like Sugar,” which became the winner of the 2012 Obie Award for Playwriting and the 2011 San Diego Critics Circle Craig Noel Award for Outstanding New Play.

Los Angeles is the New Move

Angela lived in New York for 13 years before moving to Los Angeles. Before she was married, her now-husband pushed the idea of moving to Los Angeles for their future. She was so used to living in New York that it wasn’t ideal, but she changed her mind once she got into the California sunshine and a play at the La Jolla Playhouse.

“That was my first time in LA in California. And I just was like, this is amazing. Okay, I'm willing to try it. Let's do it. We got married, and then we moved to LA. I was like, God, the weather here is great; it makes a huge difference in your outlook on life. It’s just a beautiful place to be.”

Give, and It Will Be Given Back to You

Angela also gives back to The Cancer Society of America, Black & Missing, and Leukemia Lymphoma Society between her film and TV projects.

“I believe in tithing. I believe that 10% of your monies and 10% of your time should go to bigger things than you. I've been doing tithing my whole life, and they were organizations that I felt were doing good for other people.”

Angela still contributes to other organizations and wants to help make a difference. Even if she doesn’t do the groundwork with those organizations, she still contributes to helping with their mission. There is one central organization that she is actively on the ground working in the black maternal health space.

“I fully believe that women need support now; black women need support. I’m currently partnering with companies like Birth Queen and the Irth app, “birth without bias.” It is a company where any woman of color who's pregnant now until when your child is the age of two, they're asking you to go to the app and log in and do reviews for the places where you have birth support or your OB for your doula, daycare so that other women that come in behind you or who are right with you have a resource to see these are the people that are for us physically.

Angela has started a nonprofit organization called Moon Child Creative, and the first program is titled birth village. She is in the process of branding her company logo, getting a website, and more to share with black women once it is launched.

“Our numbers are so low like so many of us are dying during labor and immediately after, and it's such a miraculous time and even more of a tragedy, you know, and I want black women to survive and thrive.”

Health is Wealth

Lewis spends time enjoying yoga, weightlifting, and dance classes. She decided to become a pesca vegan during her pregnancy with her daughter, 2-year-old Brooklyn, and this healthy lifestyle also helps her make fun food recipes for her family.

“I am pesca (Pescatarian) vegan. In my second trimester, I incorporated seafood because I was still relatively new to the vegan journey. My appetite was immense; I could not eat more lentils (laughs). I have kept it in my diet afterward, but I went vegan because I knew that I wanted to get pregnant. And I didn't know when that was going to happen. I had just booked the show Snowfall and got my mind right; okay, I'm ready to have a baby.” Angela took on the challenge to make sure her body was a temple while preparing for motherhood. She reminisced that she was babysitting before being in production on Snowfall. The child’s mother was babysitting had a book about getting ready to get pregnant, and it talked about the effects of food on our bodies.

“It didn’t say to become vegan. It tells you how meat and dairy affect your digestive system and your whole body in general. I didn't want to say to the baby energy what I didn't want; I said okay, baby, wherever you are. When you're ready, be ready. I will make myself ready. When I put that out into the universe, some of the messages coming back to me were, prepare your space.”

Production Company BLU Remedi

As Angela is completing her new organization, acting while being a wonderful wife and mother, she adds that she and her husband have created a production company that will be released soon. I have a new production company called Blu Remedi that I started with my husband and three other partners. We have some exciting things bubbling on the stove that I can't talk about just yet. But I am excited and encourage people to look out for Blu Remedi. We got some good stuff happening.”