Chene Lawson


Chené Lawson-Peissig is an American writer, podcaster, and actor.
Lawson was born in Chicago, Illinois. She later moved to Los Angeles, where she trained at The Groundlings theater. In 2020, she wrote and hosted the speculative fiction podcast All Things Undone, which debuted at #7 on the Apple Podcasts Sci-Fi chart, and later reached #1. In 2023 the podcast won the Webby for Best Scripted Fiction Podcast. In 2025 Audible released the title as an audiobook, and then contracted Lawson to adapt two of N.K. Jemisin's short stories into an audiodrama, released in 2025 as Amorph. On television, she is best known for the role of Yolanda Hamilton, the derelict mother of Devon Hamilton on The Young and the Restless.
WWW chenelawson.com

Podcasts

''How to Destroy Everything'' (2023)

How to Destroy Everything is a documentary podcast hosted by Danny Jacobs and Darren Grodsky about Danny’s father, Richard Jacobs—a man whose relentless manipulation and schemes left a trail of lawsuits, scams, and shattered lives. Through interviews and investigation, the series uncovers how one person’s destructive behavior devastated families, communities, and ultimately his own son, who describes the podcast as follows:

Awards and recognition

Credits

Source:Production company: Aileron Podcast StudiosExecutive Producer & editor: Joel PeissigCreator/writer/director: Danny Jacobs & Chené Lawson

''All Things Undone'' (14 episodes, 2020–2021)

In this speculative fiction podcast, an alternate history is imagined in which an 1850 solar eclipse fulfills an old prophecy, making enslaved Black people unkillable, and reversing society's power dynamic. Mirabelle, a now freed Black woman, receives visions indicating that the eclipse is a harbinger of "the re/evolution" of earth, but also, that if she and her people fail to complete the prophecy's requirement, the situation could reverse and become even worse than before. The podcast confronts the brutal realities of slavery while exploring how collective uprising can bring about change.

Awards and recognition

Credits

Source:Production company: Aileron Podcast Studio Starring: Chené Lawson, JoNell Kennedy, Shannon Holmes, Christen Sussin, Oscar Jordan, Micheal Marcelio, Korbin Miles, Dick Terhune, Kyla Garcia, Ari Fromm, Daniel Lench, Jonathan Tanigaki, Abraham Vasquez, Joel Seales, Ronald Braxton, Dexter Herron, Jimmy Cox, Sean-Michael Lawson, Kevin Robertson, Shawn Carter Peterson, Krystal McCulloch, Taylor Booth, Leshay Boyce, Roxanna OrtegaExecutive Producer: Joel Peissig Written by: Chené LawsonDirected by: Joel Peissig and Chené Lawson

Audiobooks

All Things Undone
  • * Narrated by Chené Lawson and full cast
  • * Written by Chené Lawson
  • * Executive producers: Joel Peissig and Chené LawsonAmorph
  • * Written by N.K. Jemisin and Chené Lawson
  • * Narrated by full cast

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRole
2000The Flintstones in Viva Rock VegasKitty
2002100 WomenTanya
2004Hittin' It!
2005Hola!
2006Ogden: The Inappropriate Yoga Guy Laura
2008The Great Buck HowardLaw Student
2011The InheritanceAncestor Lily
2009The Devil's TombBeautiful Woman
2018Wednesday Camille
2021After Laughter Gertrude
2022Finger Freya Burden
2023Remedial Emilia Dobson
2023A Rosary and a Diamond Ring Virginia

Television
YearTitleRole
1999UndressedLexy
2000Ladies ManRachel
2000Malcolm & EddieLeslie Sherman
2001ProvidenceSinging Prostitute
2002The ShieldTyesha
2002My Wife and KidsMonica
2004Punk'dSelf
2005EntourageJenny
2005–2024The Young and the RestlessYolanda Hamilton
2006Campus LadiesLisa
2008Hollywood ResidentialSelf
2015Not to SayDana
2024PhoenixAlina