Andrea Desiree Lewis (born August 15, 1985) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

actress and singer known for her role as

Hazel Aden '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...

in the long-running TV series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''.

Television and film

Lewis appeared with Diahann Carroll in the biopic ''The Natalie Cole Story''. She also acted with

Naomi Judd Naomi Judd (born Diana Ellen Judd; January 11, 1946 – April 30, 2022) was an American singer and actress. In 1980, she and her daughter Wynonna (born Christina Claire) formed the duo known as The Judds, which became a very successful country ...

in ''

A Holiday Romance ''A Holiday Romance'' (released in the UK under the title ''A Song for the season'') is a 1999 American made-for-television Christmas romantic drama film directed by Bobby Roth and starring Naomi Judd, Andy Griffith, and Gerald McRaney. This f ...

'', which was a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

special. In 1998, she played Cassandra in ''

Down in the Delta ''Down in the Delta'' is a 1998 American-Canadian drama film, directed by Maya Angelou in her sole film directorial effort and starring Alfre Woodard, Al Freeman, Jr., Esther Rolle (in her final film appearance before her death), Loretta Devine, ...

''. In 2001, she played Brigette in an episode of '' Soul Food: The Series'' on Showtime, returning in 2003 for one episode, playing Dana. She also began her role as Hazel Aden in ''Degrassi: The Next Generation''. In 2002, she played

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her acti ...

's best friend Carla Hall in the made-for-television movie ''

Cadet Kelly ''Cadet Kelly'' is a 2002 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano. The film premiered with 7.8 million viewers. It is Duff's second starring film role, her first being ''Casper Meets Wendy''. This was Disney ...

''. In 2003 and again in 2006, she was nominated in the category of Best Young Ensemble Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) for her role in ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' at the Young Artist Awards. In 2006, after five seasons, her character graduated and Lewis left ''Degrassi'' to "do something new". In 2009, she appeared in the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

's musical film ''

Spectacular! ''Spectacular!'' is a 2009 musical comedy-drama film that aired on Nickelodeon and YTV. It stars Canadian singer Nolan Gerard Funk, Australian singer Tammin Sursok, Victoria Justice and Simon Curtis with Matthew Bennett, Andrea Lewis, Shannon ...

''. She played Robin, a member in a high school choir, Spectacular, broadcast on February 16, 2009. In 2011, she played a minor role in the musical ''Hairspray'' which travelled around Canada. In 2012, she started the entertainment company Jungle Wild Productions to produce diverse and original television, film, and digital content showcasing women, people of colour, and people in LGBT communities. In 2013, she created and starred in her own web series called ''Black Actress'', which can be seen on Issa Rae's YouTube channel. ''Black Actress'' includes candid confessionals by actresses such as Amber Riley, Garcell Beauvais,

Jenifer Lewis Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films ''Beaches'' (1988) and '' Sister Act'' (1992). Le ...

, and

Naturi Naughton Naturi Cora Maria Naughton (born May 20, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Naughton is best known as one-third of the R&B group 3LW and for her acting roles in the films '' Fame'' and '' Notorious'', in which she played rapp ...

, who share their experiences in the acting profession. In 2016, she created and starred in the web series ''Beyond Complicated'', which can be found on Lewis' YouTube Channel.

Personal life

One of two children, Lewis is the daughter of Caribbean-born parents. Her mother is from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and her father is from St. Vincent. Lewis resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. She is a close friend of

Christina Schmidt Christina Schmidt, sometimes credited as Chrissy Schmidt, is a Canadian actress and model. Biography Schmidt was born and raised in the Kitchener- Waterloo area and currently resides in Bradford, Ontario. She took acting classes with televis ...

with whom she co-starred with in ''Degrassi''. She is also good friends with her ''Spectacular!'' castmates Victoria Justice and

Avan Jogia Avan Tudor Jogia (; born February 9, 1992) is a Canadian actor. He first received recognition for portraying Danny Araujo in the television film '' A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story'' (2006). After moving to the United States in his late te ...

. Lewis and her best friend, Shannon T. Boodram, started their own blog, ''Those Girls Are Wild'', which includes comedic skits performed by the two. On October 28, 2021, via Instagram, Lewis announced her marriage to music executive and producer

Felix Howard Felix Howard (born January 14, 1973) is a songwriter, record producer, A&R and publisher. A former model as a child, Howard was photographed by Jamie Morgan and styled by the world renowned Ray Petri for the cover of ''The Face'' magazine. In ...

Discography

On September 20, 2005, her first album, ''Float Away'', was released in Canada only. On October 10, 2010, Lewis released a second album, ''5-4-3-2-1'' for free on her blog.

Albums

Singles

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Andrea 1985 births Living people 21st-century Black Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian actresses Actresses from Ontario Black Canadian actresses Canadian child actresses Canadian expatriate actresses in the United States Canadian film actresses Canadian musical theatre actresses Canadian people of Jamaican descent Canadian stage actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian women pop singers People from Pickering, Ontario