Dawnn Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Carl and Joyce Lewis, who are of African-American and Guyanese descent,[6] She began singing at the age of four and acting at eleven. Lewis graduated at 16 from the High School of Music & Art in New York City, now known as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. Then she majored in musical theatre with a minor in journalism at the University of Miami, graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree, cum laude, in 1982. Lewis is best known for her role as
