Cynthia Banks

Cynthia Banks McKinney (born September 23, 1965) is an American actor, filmmaker, playwright, and author. Her accolades include working with underprivileged children in local elementary schools, outreach for the homeless community and charity work for Sickle Cell Disease patients. She began her career starring in the Helen Hayes Award winning play Crowns written by playwright Regina Taylor in 2012. She then directed, wrote, and starred in theater productions, A Tribute to Mahalia Jackson (2016) and Nell, #metoo (2017). She starred in the crime drama Twelve Angry Jurors (2018). Banks gained wider recognition when she starred in a national commercial for Seat Geek (2018), The Price of Fame, the Eddie Murphy Story (2018) and the comedy sitcom, Legitimately Mallie (2019). Banks is the founder of Maroon 9 Sickle Cell Support Organization, an advocacy-based nonprofit organization. She is also a member of Women in Film Dallas. Banks and her husband Angelico are co-owners of the production company Next 2 the Stage. Her oldest daughter, ShaVonne Banks Davis is a theater teacher, with whom she has worked on several productions, including The Wiz and Crowns. Banks married in 2010; she has three children.