`Rebel' Jenifer Lewis gets Walk of Fame star
Jenifer Lewis, best known for starring in the hit ABC sitcom “black-ish” for eight seasons, scored a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday.
The plaque sits next to late silver screen legend Katharine Hepburn, who remains one of her all-time favorite actresses.
“They originally offered to place me next to a rapper and I hung up the phone on them,” the 65-year-old showbiz veteran joked to the Daily News. “It is apropos and very fitting that I am next to Katharine Hepburn. She was a rebel and she was before her time. I am totally honored; it's amazing.”
Lewis also asked that the event take place July 15, known as Jackie Washington Day to the cultlike fan base of her TV film “Jackie's Back.”
That 1999 mockumentary was the first lead role for the former Broadway performer and New York City cabaret star. In the star-studded slapstick comedy, she portrayed a washed-up child star on the comeback trail.
“I'm glad I didn't get this before now because I wouldn't feel as deserving,” she said of the honor. “You know somebody said to me once, `You've never worked a day in your life,' and I was like, `Whaaaat?' But they were right, I've never worked, I have played in my life and showed up. I'm an entertainer, that's what I am. People who call me an actress, they can call me whatever they want, but what I am is an entertainer above all.”
Lewis wore a flowing key lime-colored outfit and dished out thank-yous and funny memories.
“The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a cultural treasure,” she said from the podium.
“People from all over the world come to see the stars. I did. It was the first place I came to when I came to Los Angeles. ... So here I am, a little colored girl from a small town called Kinloch, Missouri, and I will be etched in stone.”