Harriet Rene "Khandi" Alexander (born September 4, 1957) is an American dancer, choreographer, and actress. She began her career as a dancer in the 1980s, and was a choreographer for Whitney Houston's world tours from 1988 to 1992.
During the 1990s, Alexander appeared in a number of films, including CB4 (1993), What's Love Got to Do with It (1993), Sugar Hill (1994), and There's Something About Mary (1998). She starred as Catherine Duke in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio from 1995 to 1998. She also had a major recurring role in the NBC medical drama ER (1995–2001) as Jackie Robbins, sister to Dr. Peter Benton. Alexander also received critical acclaim for her leading performance in the HBO miniseries The Corner in 2000.
From 2002 to 2009, Alexander starred as Dr. Alexx Woods in the CBS police procedural series CSI: Miami. From 2010 to 2013, she starred as LaDonna Batiste-Williams in the HBO drama Treme. Later in 2013, she joined the cast of the ABC drama Scandal as Maya Lewis, Olivia Pope's mother, for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2015. Alexander also received a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for playing Bessie Smith's sister Viola in the 2015 HBO film Bessie.
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Early life, family and education
Khandi Alexander was born in Jacksonville, Florida, the daughter of Alverina Yavonna (Masters), an opera and jazz singer, and Henry Roland Alexander, who owned a construction company. She was raised in Queens, New York. By the time she was in fifth grade, she knew she wanted to be in show business.
She attended Queensborough Community College. She trained at Alvin Ailey Studio.
Career
Alexander performed on stage in 1980 and 1981 as Susie in Period of Adjustment. She was a dancer in Natalie Cole's music video for "Pink Cadillac" in 1988. She met pop singer Whitney Houston in 1989, backstage at an American Music Awards ceremony. She became Houston's choreographer, "working with her on her world tour" until 1992. Alexander has appeared on Broadway, starring in Chicago, Bob Fosse's Dancin', and Dreamgirls.
Alexander appears as a dancer in the 1985 film A Chorus Line. She made her television debut on the 1985 sketch-comedy show FTV. Since the early 1990s, Alexander has concentrated on film and TV, playing supporting roles in several movies, including CB4, Joshua Tree, What's Love Got to Do with It, Poetic Justice, and Sugar Hill.
In 1995, Alexander was cast as Catherine Duke on the NBC comedy series NewsRadio. She stayed with the show until season 4, episode 7, "Catherine Moves On", then returned for a final appearance in the season 5 premiere episode, "Bill Moves On" to memorialize Phil Hartman. She played the recurring character of Jackie Robbins in the medical drama series ER. Alexander has made a number of guest appearances on other television shows, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NYPD Blue, Third Watch, Cosby, Better Off Ted, La Femme Nikita, and Body of Proof.
In 2000, Alexander won critical acclaim for her performance as Fran Boyd, a mother addicted to drugs in the Emmy Award-winning HBO miniseries The Corner. She later appeared in the films Emmett's Mark and Dark Blue, and starred opposite Rob Lowe in the Lifetime television movie Perfect Strangers. In 2002 through 2008, she portrayed the character of Alexx Woods, a medical examiner in the CBS police drama CSI: Miami. Alexander left CSI: Miami shortly before the end of the 2007–2008 season. Her final appearance aired on May 5, 2008. On February 2, 2009, she returned to the role of Alexx Woods for a guest appearance in the episode "Smoke Gets in Your CSI's". She returned again as Alexx Woods in guest appearances in the episodes "Out of Time" on September 21, 2009, and "Bad Seed" on October 19, 2009.
In fall 2008, Alexander was cast as a lead character in the HBO drama pilot Treme, that premiered on April 11, 2010. She played a bar owner in a neighborhood of New Orleans affected by Hurricane Katrina. She received critical acclaim for her performance in the show. Alexander starred in the award-winning HBO television series by David Simon from 2010 to 2013. The series ended after four seasons. She later was cast in Shonda Rhimes' drama series Scandal as Maya Lewis, Kerry Washington's character Olivia Pope's mother. In 2015, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her performance.
Personal life
Alexander has resided in Queens, New York City, New York; and Los Angeles, California. She has owned cats.
Alexander's drug usage began "in the mid-1980s. By the late-1980s, her drug problem began to interfere with her dancing and choreographing. Eventually Alexander had a breakdown and realized that she needed help," and she checked herself in to drug rehabilitation facility for 30 days in 1990 with support from her friend and employer Whitney Houston.