Lisa Gay Hamilton fell in love with acting at an early age, having been exposed to theater since she was a teenager. After graduating from the Tisch School of the Arts, she trained at Juilliard, where she earned her BFA in 1989. Her early career revolved around the stage, with her portrayal in the play Valley Song earning her an Obie Award and a Drama Desk nomination.
At the time Hamilton also appeared in several films and television shows. Her first major film role was in the Oprah-produced Beloved, in 1998; she also starred in the Clint Eastwood-directed True Crime and, later, the 2008 release The Soloist. Her best-known television role was in the legal drama The Practice, which she joined in 1997. She later starred in the TNT series Men of a Certain Age.
Hamilton recently married historian Robin D.G. Kelley. Apart from acting, she teaches at the California Institute of the Arts.
- AFI Fest, Documentary Award, 2003 (for Beah: A Black Woman Speaks)
- Locarno International Film Festival, Best Actress, 2005 (for Nine Lives)
FILM:
- Krush Groove (1985)
- Reversal of Fortune (1990)
- Naked in New York (1993)
- Drunks (1995)
- Palookaville (1995)
- Twelve Monkeys (1995)
- Nick and Jane (1997)
- Lifebreath (1997)
- Jackie Brown (1997)
- Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (voice, 1998)
- Beloved (1998)
- True Crime (1999)
- The Sum of All Fears (2002)
- Ten Tiny Love Stories (2002)
- The Truth About Charlie (2002)
- Nine Lives (2005)
- Honeydripper (2007)
- Deception (2008)
- The Soloist (2009)
- Mother and Child (2009)
- Take Shelter (2011)
- Beastly (2011)
TELEVISION:
- Way Cool (regular, 1991)
- All My Children (regular, 1994)
- One Life to Live (regular, 1996)
- The Practice (regular, 1997-2003)
- Men of a Certain Age (regular, 2009-present)