Life and career

Ferrell was born in Houston, Texas. She moved from Houston to New York after high school and began her career on stage including roles on Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music (1981) and Ain't Misbehavin on Broadway. She made her screen debut in a small part in the 1981 comedy film So Fine, and later appeared in Lady Beware, School Daze, The Mighty Quinn, and The Exorcist III. On television, she guest-starred in Hill Street Blues, The Twilight Zone, and Quantum Leap, and had recurring roles on Square One Television, The Bronx Zoo, and Thirtysomething. In 1990, Ferrell was regular cast member on the short-lived CBS sitcom City starring Valerie Harper.

In 1991, Ferrell played supporting roles in the films Boyz n the Hood and Jungle Fever. In the same year, she was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1991" in John A. Willis' Screen World. The following year, she starred alongside Wesley Snipes in the comedy film White Men Can't Jump, and later had supporting roles in Equinox, Poetic Justice and The Perfect Score. Ferrell also played the leading role alongside Mare Winningham in the 1993 Lifetime Television movie Better Off Dead. In 1994, she had the recurring role as Dr. Sarah Langworthy during the first season of the NBC medical drama ER, and from 1996 to 1997 she co-starred alongside Corbin Bernsen on the syndicated science fiction series The Cape.

In 2000, Ferrell co-starred alongside Khandi Alexander in the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries The Corner. She later guest-starred on Soul Food, The Shield and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2004, she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for her role in the ABC television film NTSB: The Crash of Flight 323. She returned to acting ten years later with the leading role in Tasha Smith's directorial debut, Boxed In. In 2015, Ferrell was cast in a recurring role on the second season of Fox's prime-time soap opera Empire.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	So Fine	Receptionist
1984	Gimme an 'F'	Rocket Rafferty
1987	Lady Beware	Nan
1987	Nuts	Cell Woman
1988	Tapeheads	Flygirl
1988	School Daze	Tasha
1988	Side by Side	Rita Gold	Television film
1989	The Mighty Quinn	Isola
1991	The Exorcist III	Nurse Blaine
1991	Jungle Fever	Orin Goode
1991	Boyz n the Hood	Brenda Baker
1991	The Neon Empire	Samantha	Television film
1992	White Men Can't Jump	Rhonda Deane
1992	Equinox	Sonya Kirk
1992	You Must Remember This	Ricki Sewell	Television film
1993	Better Off Dead	Cutter Dubuque	Television film
1993	Poetic Justice	Jessie
1993	Ulterior Motives	Receptionist
2004	Coochie	Olivia Potter	Short film
2004	The Perfect Score	Desmond's Mother
2004	NTSB: The Crash of Flight 323	Jessamyn	Television film Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
2015	Boxed in	Gayle

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Hill Street Blues	Jonelle Robinson	Episode: "Somewhere Over the Rambo"
1985	Moonlighting	Hooker	Episode: "Knowing Her"
1985	The Twilight Zone	Maid	Episode: "Dead Woman's Shoes/Wong's Lost and Found Emporium"
1986	Hunter	Marguerite Montero	Episode: "Love, Hate, and Sporty James"
1987	Mathnet	Ginnie Carlson	Episode: "The Problem of the Missing Baseball"
1987	Square One Television	Ginnie Carlson	Recurring role, 3 episodes
1987-1988	The Bronx Zoo	Roberta Hughes	Recurring role, 11 episodes
1988	Mr. Belvedere	Cashier	Episode: "Hooky"
1989	Quantum Leap	Delilah 'Lila' Berry	Episode: "So Help Me God - July 29, 1957"
1990	Full House	Miss Petrie	Episode: "Bye, Bye Birdie"
1989-1990	Thirtysomething	Ricky Bianca	Recurring role, 4 episodes
1990	City	Wanda Jenkins	Series regular, 13 episodes
1990	The Trials of Rosie O'Neill	Loni Sanders	Episode: "An Act of Love"
1994	ER	Dr. Sarah Langworthy	Recurring role, 6 episodes
1997	Early Edition	Dr. Marks	Episode: "Faith"
1996-1997	The Cape	Mission Specialist Tamara St. James	Series regular, 17 episodes
2000	The Corner	Ella Thompson	Miniseries
2000	Soul Food	Frances Lester	Episode: "Truth Be Told"
2002	The Shield	Karen Mitchell	Episode: "Two Days of Blood"
2003	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Bethany Taylor	Episode: "Futility"
2015	Empire	Roxanne Ford	Recurring role

[ Source: Wikipedia ]