INTRODUCTION TO Debbie Allen

In a career that spans three decades, the name Debbie Allen is synonymous with dynamic energy, creative talent and innovation. For her vast body of work, Allen has earned three Emmy® Awards, a Golden Globe®, five NAACP Image Awards, a Drama Desk, an Astaire Award (for Best Dancer) and the Olivier Award. She holds four honorary doctorate degrees and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

She was appointed by President George W. Bush to represent the United States as a Cultural Ambassador of Dance. She has been artist in residence at the Kennedy Center for over 15 years, creating original works with the legendary Arturo Sandoval and James Ingram, such as “Pepito’s Story,” “Brothers of the Knight,” “Dreams,” “Alex in Wonderland,” “Soul Possessed,” “Pearl,” “Dancing in the Wings” and “Oman O Man.”

Her long list of directing and producing credits include television classics such as “FAME,” “Grey’s Anatomy” (where she also recurs as Dr. Catherine Avery), “Scandal,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Empire,” “A Different World,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” “Polly,” “That’s So Raven,” “Cool Women,” “Quantum Leap,” “The Fantasia Barrino Story,” and theater classic “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (on Broadway and London’s West End). Allen was the creative force behind Steven Spielberg’s Oscar®-nominated epic “Amistad.”

She holds the distinction of choreographing the Academy Awards® 10 times.
Allen has directed and choreographed such legendary artists as Lena Horne, Sammy Davis Jr., Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Will Smith, James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Gregory Peck, Mariah Carey and Queen Latifah. With her keen eye for talent, Allen discovered entertainers such as Jada Pinkett Smith, Gary Dourdan and Jasmine Guy. She was responsible for giving Mia Michaels her first job choreographing for television.

She has worked tirelessly to enlighten, inspire and engage young people around the world through dance and theater arts. Her anti-violence dance musical, “Freeze Frame,” debuted at the Annenberg Theater in Beverly Hills to stellar reviews and will debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in October 2016.

In 2001, she founded the nonprofit Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles. The school’s mission is to fill a void for youth who have an interest in learning dance and performance technique.

An honor graduate of Howard University and a Houston, Texas, native, she is the daughter of Vivian Ayers and Dr. Andrew A. Allen. She is the wife of NBA All-Star Norman Nixon and mother of Vivian Nichole and Thump. She is the sister of Tex, Phylicia and Hugh.