---
name: "Leslie Uggams"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/leslie-uggams"
fi1m_id: "leslie-uggams"
imdb_id: "nm0880081"
tmdb_id: 122750
wikidata_id: "Q534925"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "25 May 1943"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 70
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-10-05T14:28:06.154183+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Leslie Uggams

## Identity

Leslie Uggams

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/leslie-uggams
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** leslie-uggams
- **IMDb ID:** nm0880081
- **TMDB ID:** 122750
- **Wikidata ID:** Q534925
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Uggams, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q534925, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0880081/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/122750

Actor. Born 25 May 1943 in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 25 May 1943, Harlem, New York City, New York, USA
- **Active:** 1977–present
- **Also known as:** Leslie Marian Uggams
- **Frequently works with:** [Paul Wernick](https://film.one/person/paul-wernick.md), [Rhett Reese](https://film.one/person/rhett-reese.md), [Ryan Reynolds](https://film.one/person/ryan-reynolds.md), [Lauren Shuler Donner](https://film.one/person/lauren-shuler-donner.md), [Morena Baccarin](https://film.one/person/morena-baccarin.md), [Simon Kinberg](https://film.one/person/simon-kinberg.md), [David Leitch](https://film.one/person/david-leitch.md), [Josh Brolin](https://film.one/person/josh-brolin.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 70, as actor, over 7 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 83 (1), 2010s 65 (3), 2020s 71 (3)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 68 to 66 across 6 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 7 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Comedy 5, Action 4, Adventure 3, Drama 3, Action & Adventure 1, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1
- **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $2,981m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Uggams, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q534925, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0880081/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/122750

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Deadpool*](https://film.one/film/deadpool.md) (74), [*Deadpool 2*](https://film.one/film/deadpool-2.md) (72), [*Deadpool & Wolverine*](https://film.one/film/deadpool-and-wolverine.md) (60)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Fallout*](https://film.one/tv/fallout.md) (80)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*American Fiction*](https://film.one/film/american-fiction.md) (73)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Leslie Uggams

> Leslie Uggams makes blunt comedy work through deadpan timing and gives family drama feeling without asking for pity. We rate her most when the writing gives her more to do than deliver another rude line.

At the Ellison house on the shore in *American Fiction* (2023), Leslie Uggams plays Agnes Ellison as a woman with troubles of her own. She belongs to the gentler family drama running alongside Cord Jefferson’s publishing satire. We warmed to Agnes because Uggams plays her without asking for pity. Sterling K. Brown supplies the family scenes with a more conspicuous jolt, but her quieter contribution matters. It helps make this half of the film worth watching even when Jefferson cannot quite connect it to the other.

Her career makes the broad comedy less surprising than it might first appear. The singing and variety work of the 1960s preceded wider dramatic recognition as Kizzy Reynolds in *Roots* (1977), followed by steady work across stage, television and film. Blind Al in *Deadpool* (2016) brought renewed attention, this time for profane comedy opposite Ryan Reynolds. The appeal is easy to understand: she delivers obscenities deadpan, rather than behaving as though the language itself ought to earn applause.

*Deadpool & Wolverine* (2024) benefits from that comic partnership with Reynolds, though we are much less persuaded by the film around them. It is funny in patches and tiring in stretches, too busy making jokes about its studio to sustain the pleasure of its company. Uggams’s timing is a virtue, but there is only so much a supporting performance can do when the jokes themselves grow wearisome. We would rather see her given a character’s difficulties to play than rely on her delivery to make another profanity land.

Her Betty Pearson in *Fallout* (2024) places her in an ensemble whose cast earns considerable patience with a wandering plot. We recommend the series more readily than the superhero sequel, although it is *American Fiction* that makes us wish for more substantial dramatic parts for her. Jefferson’s film has problems joining its two stories, but the acting in the family scenes is not one of them. If Blind Al is the extent of your acquaintance, spend an evening with Agnes.

## Biography

Leslie Marian Uggams is an American actress and singer. Born on 25 May 1943 in Harlem, New York City, she began her career as a child performer in the early 1950s.

Uggams gained wider recognition for her role as Kizzy Reynolds in the 1977 television miniseries *Roots*, for which she received Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1968 for her performance in *Hallelujah, Baby!*.

In later years she appeared as Leah Walker in the series *Empire* and reprised the role of Blind Al in the films *Deadpool* (2016), *Deadpool 2* (2018) and *Deadpool & Wolverine* (2024). She played Agnes Ellison in the 2023 film *American Fiction* and Betty Pearson in the 2024 series *Fallout*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

- *Deadpool & Wolverine* (2024), Fi1m 60, as Blind Al — [page](https://film.one/film/deadpool-and-wolverine.md)
- *Fallout* (2024), Fi1m 80, as Betty Pearson — [page](https://film.one/tv/fallout.md)
- *American Fiction* (2023), Fi1m 73, as Agnes Ellison — [page](https://film.one/film/american-fiction.md)
- *Deadpool 2* (2018), Fi1m 72, as Blind Al — [page](https://film.one/film/deadpool-2.md)
- *Once Upon a Deadpool* (2018), Fi1m 50, as Blind Al — [page](https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-deadpool.md)
- *Deadpool* (2016), Fi1m 74, as Blind Al — [page](https://film.one/film/deadpool.md)
- *Roots* (1977), Fi1m 83, as Kizzy Reynolds Moore — [page](https://film.one/tv/roots.md)

## Complete filmography (48)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Deadpool & Wolverine* (2024), as Blind Al — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/deadpool-and-wolverine.md)
- *Fallout* (2024), series, as Betty Pearson — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/fallout.md)
- *American Fiction* (2023), as Agnes Ellison — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/american-fiction.md)
- *Dotty and Soul* (2023), as Dotty
- *Extrapolations* (2023), series, as Isabel Zucker
- *My Dad the Bounty Hunter* (2023), series, as Grandma (voice)
- *Nanny* (2022), as Kathleen
- *The Ravine* (2022), as Joanna
- *The Gilded Age* (2022), series, as Ernestine Brown
- *Show of Titles* (2021), as "Hallelujah, Baby!" Performer
- *The Bite* (2021), series, as Dr. Hester Boutella
- *Blithe Spirit* (2020), as Madame Arcati
- *Stars in the House* (2020), series, as Madame Arcati
- *Once Upon a Deadpool* (2018), as Blind Al — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-deadpool.md)
- *New Amsterdam* (2018), series, as Mamma Reynolds
- *Deadpool 2* (2018), as Blind Al — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/deadpool-2.md)
- *The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks* (2017), as Sadie
- *Deadpool* (2016), as Blind Al — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/deadpool.md)
- *Empire* (2015), series, as Leah Walker
- *Just the Three of Us* (2014), Actor
- *The Good Wife* (2009), series, as Suzanne Packer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *Nurse Jackie* (2009), series, as Vivian — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/nurse-jackie.md)
- *Toe to Toe* (2009), as Grandma
- *Family Guy* (1999), series, as Leslie Uggams (voice) — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/family-guy.md)
- *Live from Broadway: Hello, Dolly!* (1995), Actor
- *Sugar Hill* (1994), as Doris Holly
- *The Ice Capades with Jason Bateman and Alyssa Milano* (1989), Actor
- *A Different World* (1987), series, as Dr. Eileen Redding
- *The Cosby Show* (1984), series, as Kris Temple
- *Hotel* (1982), series, Actor
- *Sizzle* (1981), as Vonda
- *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), series, as Alexis Carter
- *Backstairs at the White House* (1979), series, as Lillian Rogers Parks
- *Julie Andrews: One Step Into Spring* (1978), Actor
- *The Love Boat* (1977), series, as Marion Blake, Callie Reason
- *Roots* (1977), series, as Kizzy Reynolds, Kizzy Reynolds Moore — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/roots.md)
- *Poor Pretty Eddie* (1975), as Elizabeth 'Liz' Wetherly
- *Easter Is* (1974), as (voice)
- *The Bobby Darin Show* (1973), series, Actor
- *Black Girl* (1972), as Netta
- *Skyjacked* (1972), as Lovejoy Wells
- *Swing Out, Sweet Land* (1970), as Saloon Singer
- *The Leslie Uggams Show* (1969), series, Actor
- *The Mod Squad* (1968), series, Actor
- *That's Life* (1968), series, Actor
- *The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.* (1966), series, as Natasha Brimstone
- *The Dean Martin Show* (1965), series, Actor
- *Two Weeks in Another Town* (1962), as Chanteuse

## Gallery

- ![Photo of Dick Van Dyke and Leslie Uggams from The Leslie Uggams Show. (1969)](https://film.one/media/person/11197/gallery-c33fa8998577.jpg) Photo of Dick Van Dyke and Leslie Uggams from The Leslie Uggams Show. (1969) — CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Dick_Van_Dyke_Leslie_Uggams_1969.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Jet magazine](https://film.one/media/person/11197/gallery-92b6ef44cbf6.jpg) Jet magazine — Various - Published by Johnson Publishing Company, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Jet_4_Mar_1954_pg_PA60.jpg/1280px-Jet_4_Mar_1954_pg_PA60.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jet magazine](https://film.one/media/person/11197/gallery-950742afdb7a.jpg) Jet magazine — Various - Published by Johnson Publishing Company, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Jet_4_Sep_1952_pg_PA61.jpg/1280px-Jet_4_Sep_1952_pg_PA61.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Leslie Uggams](https://film.one/media/person/11197/gallery-dbae237321df.jpg) Leslie Uggams — Image via TMDB
- ![Leslie Uggams](https://film.one/media/person/11197/gallery-11ff29c6ff94.jpg) Leslie Uggams — Image via TMDB
- ![Leslie Uggams](https://film.one/media/person/11197/gallery-0482475d69f4.jpg) Leslie Uggams — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won, 2 nominated

- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 2001: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (nominated)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical 1968: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (nominated)
- Theatre World Award 1967: Theatre World Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/leslie-uggams