Anna Deavere Smith

Anna Deavere Smith is an African-American actress, playwright, and professor. She is best known for her roles as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy McNally in The West Wing (2000–06), hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus in the Showtime series Nurse Jackie (2009–15), and U.S. District Court Clerk Tina Krissman on the ABC show For the People (2018–19). Smith has received recognition for her work, including being awarded The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in 2013 and being selected as the Jefferson Lecturer by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2015. She is also the founding director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue at New York University. Born in 1950 in Baltimore, Maryland, Smith comes from an African-American family and has four younger siblings.