Gina Ravera

Gina Ravera is an American actress. She has appeared in the films Showgirls, Soul Food, Kiss the Girls, The Temptations and The Great Debaters. She co-starred as detective Irene Daniels in the TNT crime drama series The Closer.

Life and career

Ravera was born in San Francisco, California. She is of mixed African-American and Puerto Rican heritage. She is a classically trained dancer.
In the early 1990s, Ravera began appearing in guest-starring roles on television shows, including "The [Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]," "Melrose Place," and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." During 1993-1994, she was a cast member of the CBS crime series "Silk Stalkings." In films, she had a starring role in the 1995 erotic drama Showgirls, directed by Paul Verhoeven, and in 1997 appeared in the family drama Soul Food. Ravera later went to television, appearing in TV films of the week and in series guest roles and regular roles. She appeared in the TV miniseries "The Temptations" in 1998 as Josephine Williams, the first wife of Otis Williams. She was a regular cast member of "Time of [Your Life (U.S. TV series)|Time of Your Life]," a spin-off series of Fox's popular teen drama "Party of Five," from 1999 to 2000.
From 2005 to 2009, Ravera played Irene Daniels during the first four seasons of the TNT crime drama series "The Closer," and was the only regular cast member to leave the series during its run. From 2006 to 2008 she appeared in a recurring role on "ER," and in 2007 she appeared opposite Denzel Washington as the wife of Melvin B. Tolson in the biographical film The Great Debaters.