Felicia D. Henderson ’84, M.F.A. ’04

Felicia D. Henderson ’84, M.F.A. ’04, is the award-winning creator of the landmark Showtime hit Soul Food: the Series, the longest-running drama featuring African-Americans in television’s history.

A successful writer, director and producer, who has written and co-executive produced such high profile shows as Gossip Girl, Fringe and Everybody Hates Chris, Henderson says she is most proud of the scholarships she has established at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. The Felicia D. Henderson Screenwriting Scholarship and the Four Sisters Scholarship are helping educate young filmmakers. “Giving back is really the best reward of success,” says Henderson. “If people like me don’t step up, the creative minds of the underrepresented might not get the opportunity to pursue their dreams.”

Currently, she is also a Ph.D. candidate in Cinema and Media Studies at UCLA, where she is on faculty and teaches advanced screenwriting and one-hour drama writing. After receiving a B.A. in Psycho-Biology from UCLA, she went back to school to pursue an M.B.A. in Corporate Finance and Non-Profit Management at the University of Georgia. While there, she received the NBC/Peabody National Fellowship to study network television management and landed her first job in the medium as a Creative Associate at NBC before being accepted into the prestigious Warner Bros Writers Workshop.

From there, she wrote and produced television comedies such as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Moesha, and Movie Stars, and co-executive produced Sister, Sister. She then turned her attention to television drama and feature film writing. Henderson received a Writers Guild of America nomination for Fringe; three NAACP Best Drama Awards for Soul Food; a Gracie Allen Award for her depiction of women; and a Prism Award for Accurate Depictions of Social Issues.

She was honored with UCLA’s Tom Bradley Alumnus of the Year award in 2004 and the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2010. She is a member of the Women in Film Foundation Board of Trustees; and the founder of “So What!” a non-profit organization that provides the tools and resources for at-risk teen girls to stay in school.

Additionally, Henderson has written, re-written, and polished screenplays for 20th Century Fox, MTV Films, Lionsgate Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Studios.

She has also directed multiple episodes of Soul Food and music videos for Grammy winning gospel duo, Mary Mary, and multi-platinum selling R&B singer Angie Stone. Most recently Henderson made her live theater debut by writing and directing the summer 2010 sold out success, What Would Jimi Do? for which she received an NAACP Theater Award nomination for best musical direction.

Henderson is also a life-long comic book fan and has written for DC Comics for the last two years. Assignments have included a Justice Society of America anthology story; ten issues of Teen Titans, and the Dwayne McDuffie tribute issue of Static Shock.

Currently, Henderson is adapting the Walter Mosley trilogy, Fearless Jones, for TNT.