ADD VIOLA Tina Andrews is an international award-winning writer, producer, director, as well as author, playwright, and multi-media visual artist.  Andrews has also been one of Hollywood's busiest script doctors. Her nonfiction book, Sally Hemings An American Scandal: The Struggle to Tell The Controversial True Story, won the NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Literary Nonfiction" and the Literary Award of Excellence from the Memphis Writers Conference. The book was based on her award-winning CBS miniseries, Sally Hemings: An American Scandal, which she wrote and executive produced. It was the highest rated, most watched miniseries of its season garnering Andrews the Writers Guild of America Award for "Outstanding Longform Television," and the NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding TV Movie, Miniseries or Special." CBS bought the miniseries based on Andrews’ play The Mistress of Monticello, which Andrews originally wrote and directed at the Chicago Dramatists Workshop. Andrews’ work in film and television has led to other accolades, including a Proclamation from the City Council of New York City.

 

Currently, Andrews is adapting her new novel: Princess Sarah, Queen Victoria's African Goddaughter (The Malibu Press) into a feature-length motion picture. The novel examines the unknown life of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, an African princess who was rescued from beheading in Dahomey by a British naval officer, brought to London and became goddaughter to Queen Victoria on whom she had an enormous influence. The film will become Tina's directorial debut to be shot in London and Belgium. Tina, and her production company TAO Entertainment Group, will produce.

 

Currently, Andrews is the Executive Producer and writer of a new six-hour CBS miniseries: MLK: An American Conspiracy being produced by TAO Entertainment Group, in association with Todd Black and Escape Artists (Roman J. Israel, Fences). She has also adapted her historical fiction novel, Charlotte Sophia: Myth, Madness, and the Moor, into an HBO Max series Buckingham. It will chronicle Britain's Queen Charlotte Sophia who was of African descent. Andrews first adapted the novel into the play, Buckingham which she directed to sold-out audiences at Santa Monica's acclaimed Highways Performance Space; and in New York at the Southampton Cultural Center. The East Hampton Press called the play "...beautiful and brilliant writing..."; "...told magnificently and with much wit," and The Southampton Press said it was "...destined for the Broadway stage..." The play is being prepped for an eventual regional run to be followed by a commercial run in Manhattan which Tina will direct.

 

Andrews wrote and executive produced the CBS miniseries, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, and wrote the Warner Bros. film, Why Do Fools Fall in Love starring Halle Berry. She also wrote, produced and directed the popular Showtime animation series Sistas 'n the City; and has an essay in the book, The First Time I Got Paid for It: Writers Tales From The Hollywood Trenches (Public Affairs). Tina has published essays in the Los Angeles Times, The WGA's Written By and Creative Screenwriting magazines, among others.

 

After New York University where she majored in theater, Tina performed as an actress in over 100 film and television roles including Conrack, starring Jon Voight, Carny starring Jodie Foster, and originated the seminal role of "Valerie Grant" on Days of Our Lives (NBC) in daytime television's first interracial romance. But it was the role of "Aurelia"—the love interest of "Kunta Kinte"—in the acclaimed miniseries, Roots, which led to an incredible relationship with her literary mentor, author Alex Haley. Together they collaborated on the PBS miniseries, Alex Haley's Great Men of African Descent. It led to Tina's' first script sale to Columbia Pictures.

 

Tina has been a guest on Oprah, CBS This Morning, Frontline (PBS) and more.  She has lectured on writing at New York University, University of Southern California, UCLA, Indiana University and the University of North Carolina. She serves on the board of directors of the Writers Guild Foundation, the famed Southampton Cultural Center; and on the advisory board of Highways Performance Space in the acclaimed 18th St. Arts Complex in Santa Monica, CA.

 

Tina has directed the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris, and Venus in Fur by David Ives at the renowned Guild Hall Theater in East Hampton. Her play, The Mistress of Monticello—which she also directed, based on her award-winning CBS miniseries—had a successful run at the Southampton Cultural Center. Additionally, Tina directed her one-woman show: Coretta: Promise to The Dream, in which she starred as Coretta Scott King also at the Southampton Cultural Center, where she is a Playwright-in-Residence. Among many other accolades throughout her career, Tina had been named one of 50 To Watch by Variety.

 

Tina divides her time between New York, Los Angeles and London.