Demetria Dyan McKinney (born August 27, 1979) is an American actress and singer. From 2006 to 2012, during its original run, she starred in the TBS sitcom ''

Tyler Perry's House of Payne ''House of Payne'' is an American sitcom television series created and produced by Tyler Perry that premiered in syndication on June 21, 2006. The series revolves around a multi-generational family living under one roof in Atlanta led by patriarc ...

'', a BET revival of the show was announced in 2020. Her other series regular roles include TV One sitcom ''

The Rickey Smiley Show ''The Rickey Smiley Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on TV One and premiered September 18, 2012. The series stars Rickey Smiley, J. Anthony Brown, Noree Victoria, Demetria McKinney, Lil' JJ, Ajiona Alexus, Gabriel Burgess, Ro ...

'', Bounce TV prime time soap opera '' Saints & Sinners'' and

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

horror drama ''

Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

'', as well as '' Motherland: Fort Salem'' on Freeform. Her stage credits include playing

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...

in the Rhythm and Blues Opera ''

I Dream ''I Dream'' is a British children's musical television comedy programme aimed at teenage audiences, which aired in 2004. It was set at an esteemed performing arts college near Barcelona, Spain, and focuses on 13 teenagers who are invited to enr ...

'' (2010), as well as the role of Deena Jones in ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,Gro ...

'' (2012). In 2017, McKinney played

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

in the TV One film '' Bobbi Kristina''. She released her debut album ''Officially Yours'' in 2017.

Career

Acting

McKinney has performed in a number of

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmmak ...

's stage plays, including ''Meet The Browns'', ''

Why Did I Get Married ''Why Did I Get Married?'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film adaptation written, produced, directed, and starring Tyler Perry. It was inspired by Perry's play of the same name. The film also stars Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Malik Yoba, Shar ...

'' and ''Madea's Family Christmas''. She starred as Janine Shelton-Payne on the TBS comedy series ''

'' from 2006 to 2012. She was nominated for a 2009 National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) Vision Award for Best Performance in a Comedy, in recognition of her work on ''House of Payne''. She returned for the ''House of Payne'' spin-off ''

The Paynes ''The Paynes'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on January 16, 2018, on the Oprah Winfrey Network. The show was created, written, and directed by Tyler Perry and serves as a sequel to his previous series, '' Tyler Perry's House o ...

'' in 2018. McKinney has guest starred on '' Necessary Roughness'', ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliott ...

'', ''

Devious Maids ''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, Pau ...

'', ''

Chicago Med ''Chicago Med'' is an American medical drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead, and is the third installment of Wolf Entertainment's ''Chicago'' franchise. The series premiered on NBC on November 17, 2015. ''Chicago Med'' ...

'', and ''

Being Mary Jane ''Being Mary Jane'' is an American drama television series created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union, that debuted January 7, 2014 on BET. The 90-minute-pilot for the series aired on July 2, 2013. The series follows the professiona ...

''. She also appeared on

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

's ''

The Real Housewives of Atlanta ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen season ...

'', as a recurring cast member during the seventh season, and a guest star on the eighth season. From 2012 to 2014, McKinney had a series regular role on the TV One comedy series, ''

''. In 2016, she was cast as Tamara Austin in the

Bounce TV Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel fe ...

prime time television soap opera '' Saints & Sinners''. In 2017, she was cast opposite

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991 and '' USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Va ...

and

Robinne Lee Robinne Lee (born July 16, 1974) is an American actress and author. She made her screen debut in the 1997 independent film '' Hav Plenty'', and later has appeared in films ''National Security'' (2003), ''Deliver Us from Eva'' (2003), '' Hitch'' (2 ...

in the Syfy horror drama ''

''. The series was canceled after one season. Also in 2017, McKinney starred in the TV One movie '' Bobbi Kristina'' as

, the late icon and mother to Bobbi Kristina. McKinney had a recurring role in the BET drama series '' The Quad'' from 2017 to 2018. She also played a leading role in the 2018 Christmas themed romantic film ''A Stone Cold Christmas''. In 2019, she starred in the Urban Movie Channel family drama series '' A House Divided'' alongside

Paula Jai Parker Paula Jai Parker is an American actress. She is best known for her supporting roles in the films ''Friday'' (1995), '' Sprung'' (1997), '' Why Do Fools Fall in Love'' (1998), ''Phone Booth'' (2002), '' Hustle & Flow'' (2005), and '' Idlewild'' (20 ...

. She was later cast in the Freeform drama series '' Motherland: Fort Salem''. In 2022, she began starring on

The Winchesters ''The Winchesters'' is an American dark fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series developed by Robbie Thompson and is a Spin-off (media), spinoff from and prequel to ''Supernatural (American TV series), Supernatural''. The se ...

Singing

McKinney has performed in a number of musicals. In 2010, she performed in the Rhythm and Blues opera ''

''. She appeared in ''

'' and performed with

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), ''Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a su ...

in 2012, and lent vocals to R&B singer Anthony David's album ''Love Out Loud''. In 2015, her single "Trade It All" charted on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Adult R&B Songs The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...

. In 2017, McKinney released her debut album ''Officially Yours''. She received a nomination for the

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist. Winners and nominees Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold. 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s References {{DEFAULTSORT:Naacp Ima ...

. From this album, she released three singles: "Is This Love", "Happy" and "Easy" which peaked at #4 on the

chart.

Personal life

McKinney faced homelessness at the age of 17 and has one child. She was in a decade long on-off relationship with TV producer Roger Bobb. McKinney called off their engagement in 2016, then later on announced she was dating music producer Eric Philips.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKinney, Demetria African-American actresses Living people 1979 births Filipino emigrants to the United States American actresses of Filipino descent African-American female models Female models from New Mexico African-American models 20th-century African-American women singers Actresses from Albuquerque, New Mexico 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers