Grace James in “All American”

In The CW’s drama “All American,” Karimah Westbrook plays Grace James, Spencer’s (Daniel Ezra) mom and biggest supporter who calls it like she sees it. Unshakable through the hardest times, Grace remains a rock for her family who will always fight for the best futures for her sons and their community. Having been a rock for her family all these years, Grace is getting her moment in the spotlight as she plans a future with her fiancé, D’Angelo Carter (Lamon Archey).

Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Westbrook is an American actress who never looked back after crashing an audition and making her big screen debut in the box office hit “Save The Last Dance.”  She was recently seen in “After We Collided,” the sequel to the box-office hit “After,” based on Anna Todd’s best-selling book series. She starred opposite Matt Damon and Julianne Moore in “Suburbicon” as the wife and mother of the first black family to move into an all-white town. The project, directed by George Clooney, was inspired by the true story of Daisy Myers, known as the “Rosa Parks of the North.”

Westbrook also starred in “American Violet” opposite Alfre Woodard, “The Rum Diary” with Johnny Depp and the indie feature “Bolden,” the reimagined life story of jazz icon Buddy Bolden. Her role in the romantic comedy “American Fusion” required the versatile actress to learn Mandarin Chinese.

Amassing an impressive list of credits, Westbrook has guest starred and recurred on more than 25 television series including “Shameless,” “Aquarius,” “Masters of Sex,” “The Fosters” and “Mad Men.” She has also produced several award-winning short films.

September 2022