Charlayne Woodard
A powerhouse performer and playwright who broke barriers as television's first Black Cinderella and gave voice to complex, personal stories on stage.
Born 1953 (age 73)·American playwright and actress·Birthday: December 29·Baby Boomers
Biography
Charlayne Woodard carved her path with a combination of radiant stage presence and a playwright's sharp eye for truth. She first turned heads on Broadway, earning Tony and Drama Desk nominations, but her reach extended far beyond the proscenium arch. In a landmark moment, she starred as Cindy in a 1978 ABC movie, becoming the first Black actress to play Cinderella on American television. Woodard's deeper artistic signature, however, is found in her autobiographical plays. Works like 'Pretty Fire' and 'Neat' are intimate, tour-de-force performances where she channels her family and childhood, weaving humor and pain into compelling narratives that explore Black life and womanhood with specificity and grace.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Charlayne was born in 1953, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Charlayne Was Born
The biggest hits of 1953
#1 Movie
Peter Pan
Best Picture
From Here to Eternity
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Charlayne's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1953Born
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1958Started school
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1966Became a teenager
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Could drive
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1971Could vote
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Turned 21
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1983Turned 30
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1993Turned 40
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 50
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 60
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 70
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 73 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Became the first Black actress to play Cinderella on American television in a 1978 ABC movie.
- A two-time Obie Award winner for her powerful autobiographical solo performances.
- Received Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations for her work on Broadway.
Did You Know?
She originated the role of The Lady in Blue in Ntozake Shange's seminal choreopoem 'for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf'.
She played Aunt Jan on the groundbreaking FX series 'Pose'.
Her one-woman show 'The Night Watcher' features her telling stories about being a godmother to many children.
“I write to put a frame around the chaos of my own family.”
