CCH Pounder
{{short description|American actress (born 1952)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = CCH Pounder
| image = CCH Pounder 003.jpg
| caption = Pounder in 2007
| birth_name = Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1952|12|25}}
| birth_place = Georgetown, British Guyana
| education = East Sussex College
Ithaca College (BFA)
| nationality = American
| spouse = {{marriage|Boubacar Kone|1990|August 2016|reason=died}}{{cite web|last1=Langenhennig|first1=Susan|title=CCH Pounder of 'NCIS: New Orleans' turns a downtown condo into her personal art showcase|url=http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2017/02/cch_pounder_of_ncisnew_orleans.html|website=NOLA.com|access-date=February 20, 2018|archive-date=February 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221035632/http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2017/02/cch_pounder_of_ncisnew_orleans.html|url-status=dead}}
| children = 3
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1979-present
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder (born December 25, 1952){{cite web |title=CCH Pounder |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/154627%7C0/Cch-Pounder |website=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=August 3, 2022}} is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Claudette Wyms in the FX police drama series The Shield (2002-2008), Mo'at in the Avatar (2009-present) franchise, and medical examiner Dr. Loretta Wade in NCIS: New Orleans (2014-2021). She has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles in The X-Files (1994), ER (1994-1997), The Shield, and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (2009).
Pounder portrayed recurring roles on television such as Irene Frederic in Warehouse 13 (2009-2014) and District Attorney Tyne Patterson in Sons of Anarchy (2013-2014). Pounder was also the voice of Amanda Waller in the animated series Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006), a role that she has reprised in various later DC Comics media.
In film, she appeared in All That Jazz (1979), Go Tell It on the Mountain (1984), Prizzi's Honor (1985), Bagdad Cafe (1987), Postcards from the Edge (1990), Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990), Benny & Joon (1993), Demon Knight (1995), Face/Off (1997), End of Days (1999), Orphan (2009), and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).
Early life
Pounder was born in British Guiana (now Guyana) on December 25, 1952.{{cite news|date=December 25, 2004|title=Today's Birthdays|page=12A|newspaper=The Lewiston Tribune}} Her full name of Carol Christine Hilaria was given in honor of her grandmothers and godmothers. She was raised on a sugar plantation that her father Ronald Arlington Pounder managed.{{cite news|last=Elber|first=Lynn|date=March 13, 1995|title=CCH Pounder's name and face are eyecatchers|newspaper=The Bryan Times}} Her mother Betsy Enid Arnella (née James) worked at the United States Embassy while the family lived in London, England.{{cite news|last=Buck|first=Jerry|date=March 23, 1990|title=Families' stories related in two-part CBS miniseries|newspaper=The Bulletin}} Pounder attended a Catholic boarding school in Sussex, England.
She enrolled at Hastings College of Arts and Technology where Pounder studied painting, but dropped out in her first year after moving to the United States.{{cite news|date=October 30, 1993|title=CCH Pounder in new... RoboCop 3|page=B4|newspaper=Baltimore Afro-American}} Her family had already settled in New York while she was attending school. Pounder graduated from Ithaca College in 1975.{{cite web|url=https://alumni.ithaca.edu/pages/alumni-weekend/alumni-award-winners/cch-pounder-75-|title=CCH Pounder '75|website=Ithaca College|access-date=November 9, 2022}} Pounder stated her parents did not support her choice to be an actress, with her mother instead wanting Pounder to be a newscaster.
Career
Pounder made her acting debut in the film All that Jazz (1979).{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/cch-pounder-1798220160|title=CCH Pounder|last=Murray|first=Noel|date=May 18, 2010|website=The A.V. Club|access-date=November 9, 2022}} She continued her career in New York City theater,{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/06/07/CCH-Pounder-never-mind-what-the-initials-stand/4190739425600/|title=CCH Pounder -- never mind what the initials stand...|last=Scott|first=Vernon|date=June 7, 1993|website=United Press International|access-date=November 9, 2022}} where she appeared in The Mighty Gents by playwright Richard Wesley, and Open Admissions on Broadway. She moved to Los Angeles in 1982."San Diego Westways by AAA, p. 61, May 2015 She starred in the film Bagdad Café,Pounder's role was later played by Whoopi Goldberg in a short-lived television sitcom and has made smaller appearances in many other films.
She focused primarily on her television career. In the early 1980s, Pounder first appeared in guest roles on Hill Street Blues, and then on several shows (The Cosby Show, L.A. Law, The X-Files, Living Single, and Quantum Leap) before landing a long-running recurring role as Dr. Angela Hicks on ER from 1994 to 1997. She also co-starred in the Tales From the Crypt feature film Demon Knight (1995). She then returned to guest appearances on other shows, including The Practice, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Millennium, The West Wing (where she was considered for the role of C. J. Cregg), and the short-lived sitcom Women in Prison.
File:CCHPounderLazAlonsoDec09.jpg co-star Laz Alonso in December 2009]]
From 2002 to 2008, she starred as Detective Claudette Wyms in the FX police drama The Shield.{{cite news|last=Barney|first=Chuck|date=September 1, 2008|title='The Shield' gears up for finale|page=D10|newspaper=Reading Eagle}} For this role she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2005 and an NAACP Image Award. She had previously been nominated for an Emmy in 1995 for guest starring in The X-Files and in 1997 for her supporting role on ER. She has also lent her voice to several video games and animated projects, including Aladdin and the King of Thieves, True Crime: Streets of LA, Gargoyles as Desdemona and Coldfire, and Justice League Unlimited as government agent Amanda Waller, which role she reprised for the animated film adaptation of the comic book Superman/Batman: Public Enemies{{cite web|url=http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Superman-Animated-Series-Superman-Batman-Public-Enemies/12216|title=Superman: The Animated Series DVD news: Announcement for Superman/Batman: Public Enemies|publisher=TVShowsonDVD.com|access-date=October 30, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030113144/http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Superman-Animated-Series-Superman-Batman-Public-Enemies/12216|archive-date=October 30, 2014}} as well as the video game Batman: Arkham Origins, its sequel Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, and another animated film that takes place in continuity with the games, Batman: Assault on Arkham.
Pounder was also one of the readers for the HBO film Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narrative (2003). She appeared on the Syfy series Warehouse 13 from 2009 until its finale on May 19, 2014. Pounder also was one of the stars of Fox's cancelled 2009 sitcom Brothers. Pounder was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her appearance in the BBC/HBO series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. She had a recurring role as DA Thyne Patterson on the FX crime drama series Sons of Anarchy (2013-14).{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2014/09/23/c-c-h-pounder-takes-her-wonderful-voice-to-ncis-new-orleans/|title=CCH Pounder takes her wonderful voice to 'NCIS: New Orleans'|last=Rosenberg|first=Alyssa|date=September 23, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=November 9, 2022}} She co-starred in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013). In Disney's The Lion Guard she voices Kongwe, the wise old turtle.
In 1996, Pounder served as a guest judge for the 1996 Miss USA Pageant, in South Padre Island, Texas.
Advocacy
File:CCH Pounder & Glenn Close 2006.jpg at the Peabody Awards 2006]]
As one of the founders of Artists for a New South Africa, Pounder has energized awareness of post-apartheid and HIV/AIDS issues.{{cite web|url=http://www.ansafrica.org |title=ANSA |publisher=Ansaafrica.org |access-date=October 30, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216184526/http://ansafrica.org/ |archive-date=December 16, 2014 }} In an interview, she said about the pandemic: "When it's this massive disease, and it's affecting things in 5,000 different ways, it requires great strength and power - and there is power in numbers. So we need to involve as many people as we can, like we do with ANSA. I call it my little engine that could. It is a remarkable, tiny organization with a huge outreach. We use actors and artists with the biggest voices so they can use every opportunity to talk about AIDS."{{cite web|url=http://www.aumag.org/coverstory/January06cover.html|title=A&U:America's AIDS Magazine|publisher=Aumag.org|access-date=October 30, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725020459/http://www.aumag.org/coverstory/January06cover.html|archive-date=July 25, 2013}}
Acting credits
| class="wikitable"
|+Key | style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Not yet released}} |Denotes works that have not yet been released |
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2"| 1979
| Nurse Blake | |
| Coriolanus
| Valeria | Video |
| 1980
| Mrs. Lewis | |
| 1982
| I'm dancing as fast as I can | Anne | |
| 1984
| Deborah | |
| 1985
| 'Peaches' Altamont | |
| 1987
| Brenda | |
| 1990
| Julie Marsden | |
| 1992
| The Importance of being earnest | Miss Prism | |
| rowspan="3"| 1993
| Dr. Garvey | |
| RoboCop 3
| Bertha | |
| Sliver
| Lieutenant Victoria Hendrix | |
| 1995
| Irene | |
| 1996
| Aladdin and the King of Thieves | The Oracle | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 1997
| Face/off | Hollis Miller | |
| rowspan=2| 1998
| Lucinda Davis | |
| Blossoms and Veils
| - | Short |
| rowspan="3"| 1999
| Ethel B. | |
| The big Day
| Pearl | |
| End of Days
| Detective Marge Francis | |
| 2001
| Judge | |
| rowspan="2"| 2002
| Tét Grenné | Sally | |
| Baby of the Family
| Nurse Bloom | |
| 2003
| Reader | |
| rowspan="2"| 2008
| Rain | Ms. Adams | |
| Breaking the Maya Code
| Narrator | Documentary |
| rowspan="3"| 2009
| Orphan | Sister Abigail | |
| Superman/Batman: Public Enemies |
| Avatar
| Mo'at | |
| 2010
| My Girlfriend's Back | Constance | |
| 2012
| Dulsay Mooreland | |
| 2013
| The mortal Instruments: City of Bones | Madame Dorothea | |
| 2014
| Amanda Waller |
| 2019
| Godzilla: King of the Monsters | Senator Williams | |
| 2022
| Mo'at | |
| 2023
| Rustin | |
| rowspan="2" |2025
| {{Pending film|The Naked Gun}} | | Post-production |
| {{Pending film|Avatar: Fire and Ash}}
| rowspan="3" | Mo'at | Post-production |
| 2029
| {{Pending film|Avatar 4}} | Filming |
| 2031
| {{Pending film|Avatar 5}} | Pre-production |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |
|---|
| 1981
| Jasmine | Episode: "The Second Oldest Profession" |
| 1982
| Wilna Tucker | Episode: "Little Boil Blue" |
| 1984
| Booker | Jane | Television film |
| rowspan=2| 1985
| Deborah | Episode: "Go Tell It on the Mountain" |
| The Atlanta Child Murders
| Venus Taylor | 2 episodes |
| rowspan=6| 1986
| Ernestine Littlechap | Episode: "Episode #1.1" |
| Resting Place
| Ada Johnson | Television film |
| As Summers Die
| Priscilla | Television film |
| Valerie
| Mrs. Davis | Episode: "Full Moon" |
| Cagney & Lacey
| Timmons | Episode: "Disenfranchised" |
| Hill Street Blues
| Ms. Jones | Episode: "Amazing Grace" |
| 1986-92
| L.A. Law | Judge Roseann Robin | Recurring cast (season 1), guest (season 5-6) |
| rowspan=2| 1987
| The Line | Anna Mae Demesy | Television film |
| On the Edge
| - | Television film |
| 1987-88
| Dawn Murphy | Main cast |
| rowspan=2| 1988
| Run Till You Fall | Janice | Television film |
| Leap of Faith
| Roberta | Television film |
| rowspan=5| 1989
| Renee Cook | Episode: "My Past Is My Own" |
| 227
| Lucinda Markle | Episode: "Babes in the Woods" |
| Third Degree Burn
| Julie Cartwright | Television film |
| Miami Vice
| Yvonne | Episode: "Too Much, Too Late" |
| No Place Like Home
| Prue | Television film |
| rowspan=5| 1990
| Fannie Lee Chaney | Television film |
| Common Ground
| Rachel Twymon | Episode: "Part I & Part II" |
| Quantum Leap
| Mama Harper | Episode: "Black on White on Fire" |
| Psycho IV: The Beginning
| Fran Ambrose | Television film |
| Cop Rock
| Willa Phelan | Recurring cast |
| rowspan=2| 1991
| Roxanne Tevis | Episode: "Darryl Devis" |
| True Colors
| Judge Fallows | Episode: "Presumed Guilty" |
| rowspan=2| 1992
| Assistant | Episode: "What About Bob?" |
| The Cosby Show
| Clair's friend | Episode: "Clair's Reunion" |
| rowspan="6"| 1993
| Daisy Bates | Television film |
| For Their Own Good
| Naomi Brinker | Television film |
| Lifepod
| Mayvene | Television film |
| The Disappearance of Christina
| Detective Davis | Television film |
| Return to Lonesome Dove
| Sara Pickett | Main cast |
| New Year
| Eudora Kellogg | Television film |
| rowspan="5"| 1994
| Birdland | Nurse Lucy | Main cast |
| South Central
| Dr. LeBrock | Episode: "Co-op" |
| Biker Mice from Mars
| Stonecutter | Episode: "Stone Broke" |
| The X-Files
| Agent Lucy Kazdin | Episode: "Duane Barry" |
| Robin's Hoods
| Vivian Castro | Episode: "Unto Thyself Be True" |
| 1994-95
| Judge Addison | 2 episodes |
| 1994-97
| ER | Supporting cast (season 1-4) |
| rowspan=4| 1995
| Zooman | Ash | Television film |
| White Dwarf
| Nurse Shabana | Television film |
| Living Single
| Nina Shaw | Episode: "Mommy Not Dearest" |
| Jack Reed: One of Our Own
| Mrs. Harris | Television film |
| 1995-96
| Desdemona |
| rowspan=2| 1996
| Dr. Marilyn Tower | Television film |
| If These Walls Could Talk
| Nurse Mrs. Ford | Television film |
| 1996-98
| Dr. Cheryl Andrews | Recurring cast |
| rowspan=2| 1997
| Things That Go Bump | Harriet Napolean | Television film |
| House of Frankenstein
| Dr. Shauna Kendall | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="4"| 1998
| Final Justice | Danielle Kline | Television film |
| Little Girl Fly Away
| Dr. Geddes | Television film |
| Histeria! |
| Ghost Cop
| Detective | Episode: "Pilot" |
| rowspan="4"| 1999
| Anchorwoman |
| NetForce
| FBI Director Sandra Knight | Television film |
| Detention
| Miss Powers | Voice, episode: "The Contest" |
| A Touch of Hope
| Lily Keyes | Television film |
| 1999-2000
| Officer Shirley | Voice |
| rowspan="5"| 2000
| Deborah O'Leary | Episode: "Celestial Navigation" |
| Rude Awakening
| Stacey | Episode: "Plastered" |
| The Outer Limits
| Stranger | Episode: "Decompression" |
| Cora Unashamed
| Ma Jenkins | Television film |
| Disappearing Acts
| Mrs. Swift | Television film |
| 2000-01
| Mayor |
| rowspan="5"| 2001
| Elaine Washington | 2 episodes |
| Crossing Jordan
| Libby Bell | Episode: "Mortality" |
| Boycott
| Television film |
| Strong Medicine
| Libby Bell | Episode: "Mortality" |
| The District
| Eilen Carmicheal | Episode: "To Serve and Protect" |
| 2001-10
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Carolyn Maddox | Recurring cast |
| 2002
| Millie Towns | Episode: "To DNA or Not to DNA" |
| 2002-08
| Claudette Wyms | Main cast |
| 2003
| Miss Kimber | Voice, episode: "The Shadow Eaters" |
| rowspan=2|2004
| Dr. Myers | Episode: "Prophet & Loss" |
| Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story
| Television film |
| 2004-06
| Amanda Waller |
| 2005
| Numb3rs | Lieutenant Lee Havercamp | Episode: "Vector" |
| 2006
| Queen Kadma | Voice, recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2007
| Narrator | Voice, episode: "Novel Reflections: The American Dream" |
| 2008
| The Tower | Evie | Television film |
| rowspan="2"| 2009
| The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency | Mrs. Curtin | Episode: "The Boy with an African Heart" |
| Brothers
| Adele Trainor | Main cast |
| 2009-14
| Mrs. Irene Frederic | Recurring cast |
| 2011
| Revenge | Warden Sharon Stiles | 2 episodes |
| 2013
| FBI Psychiatrist | Episode: "Warrior" |
| 2013-14
| District Attorney Tyne Patterson | Recurring cast (season 6-7) |
| rowspan="2"| 2014
| NCIS | Episode: "Crescent City" |
| Beware the Batman
| Marion Grange |
| 2014-21
| Dr. Loretta Wade | Main cast |
| 2015
| Archer | Claudette Kane | Voice, episode: "The Kanes" |
| 2018
| Kongwe |
| 2021
| Vinetta Clark | 2 episodes |
| 2023
| Savitri Mahabir | Miniseries |
| 2024
|Secretary General Lilian Joseph |
= Theatre =
| class="wikitable" | |||||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Playwright ! Venue ! class="unsortable"| Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Open Admissions | Mrs. Brewster | Shirley Lauro | Music Box Theatre, Broadway | {{cite web|url= https://playbill.com/production/open-admissions-music-box-theatre-vault-0000013340|title= Open Admissions (Broadway, 1984)|website= Playbill|accessdate= July 13, 2024}} |
= Video games =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Voice role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |
|---|
| 1997
| Fallout | Head Scribe Vree |
| 2003
| Chief Wanda Parks |
| rowspan="2" | 2013
| rowspan="2" |Amanda Waller | |
| Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
| |
| 2014
| rowspan="3" | Golden Queen | {{cite video game | scene=Closing credits, 8:40 in | title = Skylanders: Trap Team | developer = Toys for Bob | year = 2014 }} |
| 2015
|Uncredited |
| 2016
| {{cite video game | scene=Closing credits, 8:40 in | title = Skylanders: Imaginators | developer = Toys for Bob | year = 2016 }} |
Awards and nominations
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=December 2022}}
| class="wikitable sortable" | |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Work ! Result ! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} | |
|---|---|
| 1995
|Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series |{{nom}} | |
| 1996
|Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |rowspan="2"|ER |{{nom}} | |
| rowspan="4"|1997
|Primetime Emmy Award |Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |{{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2"|Audie Award
|rowspan="3"|Grow Old Along with Me, the Best Is Yet to Be |{{won}} | |
| Multi-Voiced Performance
|rowspan="2"{{nom}} | |
| Grammy Award | |
| rowspan="3"|1998
|NAACP Image Award |Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |ER |{{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2"|Audie Award
|rowspan="2"|Women in the Material World |rowspan="2"{{won}} | |
| Nonfiction, Abridged | |
| rowspan="2"|2002
|Best Supporting Actress in a Television Movie |{{nom}} | |
| NAACP Image Award
|Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |{{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2"|2003
|Best Actress - Television Series Drama |rowspan="3"|The Shield |{{won}} | |
| NAACP Image Award
|Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series |{{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2"|2004
|Satellite Award |Best Actress - Television Series Drama |{{won}} | |
| Black Reel Award
|Best Supporting Actress in a Television Movie |Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story |{{won}} | |
| 2004
|NAACP Image Award |Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series |rowspan="6"|The Shield |{{nom}} | |
| 2005
|Primetime Emmy Award |Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |{{nom}} | |
| 2006
|rowspan="4"|NAACP Image Award |rowspan="4"|Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series |{{nom}} | |
| 2007
|{{nom}} | |
| 2008
|{{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2"|2009
|{{nom}} | |
| Primetime Emmy Award
|Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series |The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency |{{nom}} | |
| rowspan=3|2010
|NAACP Image Award |Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series |{{nom}} | |
| rowspan="2"|Audie Awards | Audiobook of the Year
|rowspan=2|Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales |rowspan=2 {{won}} |rowspan=2|{{cite web | url=https://www.audiopub.org/2010-audies | title=2010 audie-awards | access-date=February 28, 2023 | archive-date=February 27, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227212603/https://www.audiopub.org/2010-audies | url-status=dead }}{{cite web | url=https://www.mandelasfavoritefolktales.com/landing-page/mandelas-favorite-folktales-performers/ | title=Mandelas Favorite Folktales – Performers | date=August 3, 2020 }} |
| Multi-Voiced Performance | |
| 2017
|rowspan="2"|NAACP Image Award |rowspan="2"|Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |rowspan="2"|NCIS: New Orleans |{{nom}} | |
| 2019
|{{nom}} |
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{Official website}}
- {{IMDb name}}
- {{TCMDb name}}
- {{IBDB name}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for CCH Pounder
|list =
{{Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Limited Series}}
{{Satellite Award Best Actress Television Series Drama}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pounder, Cch}}
Category:American film actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:American video game actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:Guyanese emigrants to the United States
Category:Guyanese people of African descent
Category:People from Georgetown, Guyana
Category:20th-century African-American actresses
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century African-American actresses