Vanessa Bell Calloway

Vanessa Bell Calloway

1957-03-20 Cleveland, Ohio, USA 64 Credits

Biography

Vanessa Bell Calloway is an American actress and dancer. She is known for her film roles as Princess Imani Izzi in the 1988 comedy Coming to America, as well as for her roles in What's Love Got to Do with It, The Inkwell, Crimson Tide, and Daylight. She is a nine-time NAACP Image Award nominee. She began her acting career in the ABC daytime soap opera, All My Children in 1985. After moving to Los Angeles in 1986, she began appearing in episodes of prime time shows such as The Colbys, Falcon Cre...

Known For

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Complete Filmography

One of Them Days

One of Them Days

2025

as Mama Ruth

6.7
Acting

Best friends and roommates Dreux and Alyssa are about to have One of Them Days. When they discover Alyssa’s boyfriend has blown their rent money, the ...

Queens of Christmas

Queens of Christmas

2024

10.0
Acting

Doris and Julia, life-long friends and feuding neighbors, learn the true meaning of “sisterhood” and Christmas while hilariously competing for the ann...

Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

2024

as Idella Landy

Acting

The comedic play tells the story of a Black preacher’s scheme to reclaim his inheritance and win back his church from a plantation owner.

Under the Boardwalk

Under the Boardwalk

2023

as Val (voice)

7.3
Acting

Two crabs embark on an epic journey to get home after a storm sweeps them away. Their courage soon unites their families, paving the way for great sum...

Black Girl, Erupted

Black Girl, Erupted

2023

as Dr. Rebecca Francis

2.0
Acting

After a series of setbacks, high-achieving lawyer Reina must learn how to handle her mental health before her emotional outbursts destroy her career a...

Black Girl, Erupted

Black Girl, Erupted

2023

Director

2.0
Directing

After a series of setbacks, high-achieving lawyer Reina must learn how to handle her mental health before her emotional outbursts destroy her career a...

Mosquito

Mosquito

2022

as Eve

Acting

A tale of sacrifice and showmanship told through rival doctors in the old west.

The Devil You Know

The Devil You Know

2022

as Della Cowans

6.7
Acting

Once-incarcerated Marcus Cowans is trying to turn over a new leaf with the support of his loving family. Upon discovering that one of his brothers may...

Starkeisha

Starkeisha

2022

as The Voice

4.5
Acting

A woman, stressed before an import job interview, goes on a journey of self-discovery through her own subconscious.

Baby

Baby

2021

as Jackie

Acting

A young Black father must learn to navigate parenthood after his girlfriend mysteriously abandons him and their five-year-old daughter.

Someday At Christmas

Someday At Christmas

2021

Director

6.5
Directing

Stranded in a train station on Christmas Eve, two strangers meet at a bar, only to lose complete contact with each other. After an unexpected series o...

A Holiday Chance

A Holiday Chance

2021

as Sheryl

8.5
Acting

The family of the founder of a multi-million-dollar film company experiences some tragic events during the holidays and two sisters must set aside a l...

Coming 2 America

Coming 2 America

2021

as Imani Izzi

6.4
Acting

Prince Akeem Joffer is set to become King of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America – a street savvy Queens native name...

Saints & Sinners: Judgment Day

Saints & Sinners: Judgment Day

2021

as Ella

8.5
Acting

Some say blood is thicker than water, but in our fictional small town of Cypress, vengeance is bigger than family loyalty when Mayor Ella Johnson is a...

Harriet

Harriet

2019

as Rit Ross

7.3
Acting

The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity and te...

American Skin

American Skin

2019

as Bernice

7.1
Acting

A Marine veteran working as a school janitor tries to mend his relationship with his son after a divorce. When his son is killed by a police officer f...

Dragged Across Concrete

Dragged Across Concrete

2019

as Jennifer Johns

6.6
Acting

Two policemen, one an old-timer, the other his volatile younger partner, find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arm tactics becomes th...

Throwback Holiday

Throwback Holiday

2018

as Mildred Anderson

4.7
Acting

Jacqueline is living an unfulfilled life in a doomed marriage. After a chance encounter with a former classmate, she rethinks her life's choices and w...

Her Only Choice

Her Only Choice

2018

as Dr. Bailey

5.3
Acting

A woman is faced with a choice to fight for her life or sacrifice it for another. After years of infertility, a newly-expectant mother is diagnosed wi...

Thriller

Thriller

2018

as Mrs. Jackson

4.2
Acting

Years after a childhood prank goes horribly wrong, a clique of South Central LA teens find themselves terrorized during Homecoming weekend by a killer...

Unbroken: Path to Redemption

Unbroken: Path to Redemption

2018

as Lila Burkholder

6.6
Acting

Zamperini returns to California where he wound up marrying Cynthia Applewhite while wrestling with untreated PTSD, suffering constant nightmares, angr...

Love, Once and Always

Love, Once and Always

2018

as Isabel

6.3
Acting

When Lucy’s childhood sweetheart plans to tear down the Gilded Age estate and replace it with a golf course, Lucy fights to preserve the historic mans...

Message From a Mistress

Message From a Mistress

2017

as Heather

8.0
Acting

Longtime best friends Renee, Aria, Jaime and Jessa have shared just about everything. All hell breaks loose when Jessa sends them a message via DVD wi...

The Preacher's Son

The Preacher's Son

2017

as Elena

6.9
Acting

When the romantic secrets of his family members become public, the career and community standing of a respected bishop are threatened.

Southside with You

Southside with You

2016

5.7
Acting

Chronicles a single day in the summer of 1989 when the future president of the United States, Barack Obama, wooed his future First Lady on an epic fir...

Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story

Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story

2016

as Josephine

6.5
Acting

Story of Miki Howard, an American R&B and Jazz singer, whose hits include "Ain't Nobody Like You" and "Ain't Nuthin' in the World."

The Bounce Back

The Bounce Back

2016

as Ellen

6.4
Acting

Father, author and relationship expert, Matthew Taylor is on a whirlwind book tour promoting his new best seller, The Bounce Back. He's got it all fig...

To Hell and Back

To Hell and Back

2014

Acting

Joe Patterson (Ernie Hudson), a wealthy land developer, learns as God and the Devil take a wager on his blessed life that results in a series of trage...

The Divorce

The Divorce

2014

as Eva

Acting

Successful TV anchorwoman, Yolanda Massey, is celebrating her recent divorce by throwing herself a divorce party with her closest sorority girlfriends...

Holla 2

Holla 2

2013

as Marion

4.8
Acting

On the eve of her wedding, Monica invites her friends to spend the night at Douglas Plantation, unaware that the estate is rumored to be haunted by th...

Between Sisters

Between Sisters

2013

as Lillian

Acting

Aneesa wants to give her baby sister, Serena, the best wedding present ever. So, when they discover that they have two long-lost sisters, the search i...

The Obama Effect

The Obama Effect

2012

as Molly Thomas

2.5
Acting

A serious health scare ignites John Thomas, an insurance salesman in his 50s, to take a closer look at his life. Motivated by a misguided obsession wi...

A Beautiful Soul

A Beautiful Soul

2012

as Guardian Angel

6.2
Acting

An R&B singer snagged by the trappings of superstardom loses his way and turns his back on his church and faith-filled beginnings. Tragedy strikes...

The Last Fall

The Last Fall

2012

as Marie Bishop

5.8
Acting

An NFL journeyman struggles to deal with life's complexities after his professional career is over.

The Undershepherd

The Undershepherd

2012

as Deaconess Carter

2.0
Acting

Best friends LC and Roland are two young ministers, climbing the ranks at the First Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Dr. Ezekial Canon.

Good Hair

Good Hair

2009

as Self

6.6
Acting

An exposé of comic proportions that only Chris Rock could pull off, GOOD HAIR visits beauty salons and hairstyling battles, scientific laboratories an...

Lakeview Terrace

Lakeview Terrace

2008

as Aunt Dorrie

6.0
Acting

A young interracial couple has just moved into their California dream home when they become the target of their next-door neighbor, who disapproves of...

Stompin'

Stompin'

2007

as Mrs. Jackson

3.0
Acting

The coming of age story about two brothers who struggle to mend their estranged relationship as their college campus gears up for a major Stepshow com...

Cheaper by the Dozen

Cheaper by the Dozen

2003

as Diana Philips

6.3
Acting

The Baker brood moves to Chicago after patriarch Tom gets a job coaching football at Northwestern University, forcing his writer wife, Mary, and the c...

Love Don't Co$t a Thing

Love Don't Co$t a Thing

2003

as Vivian Johnson

7.5
Acting

A high school outcast pays a cheerleader to pose as his girlfriend so he can be considered cool.

Biker Boyz

Biker Boyz

2003

as Anita

6.2
Acting

A mythic motorcycle tale of father and son", this is the story of Manuel Galloway, also known as "the King of Cali", the president of a motorcycle clu...

Dawg

Dawg

2002

as Christine Hodges

4.3
Acting

To inherit a million dollars, an egotistical womanizer must find the women he's betrayed and convince them to forgive him.

The Red Sneakers

The Red Sneakers

2002

as Berniece

3.2
Acting
All About You

All About You

2001

8.7
Acting

Two people run from the pain of their broken past. When they discover each other, they find themselves at a crossroad where the only thing that stands...

The Brothers

The Brothers

2001

as Dr. Thelma Woolridge

6.6
Acting

This is the story of four African-American "yuppies" (a banker, a doctor, a lawyer, and a "playboy") who call themselves "The Brothers". When the play...

Love Song

Love Song

2000

as Evie Livingston

7.5
Acting

A privileged, black college student with a fiance falls in love with a white musician she meets on her 21st birthday.

A Private Affair

A Private Affair

2000

as Nikka

Acting

A woman who has confronted the sour side of success finds love and discovers herself in this made-for-TV drama. Nikka (Vanessa Bell Calloway) is a wri...

Archibald the Rainbow Painter

Archibald the Rainbow Painter

1998

as Diana

Acting

Vietnam veteran Archibald Wright is a house painter hired to work on a Beverly Hills mansion where he becomes involved in the life of the resident fam...

The Cherokee Kid

The Cherokee Kid

1996

as Abby Holsopple

5.2
Acting

Isaih Turner didn’t want to be a hero-all he wanted was revenge. Orphaned when both his parents were cruelly murdered by the wealthy and powerful Cyru...

Daylight

Daylight

1996

as Grace Calloway

6.1
Acting

A group of armed robbers fleeing the police head for the New Jersey Tunnel and run right into trucks transporting toxic waste. The spectacular explosi...

America's Dream

America's Dream

1996

as Miss Williams (segment "The Boy Who Painted Christ Black")

6.5
Acting

Made especially for the HBO cable network, this well-wrought feature is comprised of three short stories by three noted black American authors, each o...

Crimson Tide

Crimson Tide

1995

as Julia Hunter

7.2
Acting

After the Cold War, a breakaway Russian republic with nuclear warheads becomes a possible worldwide threat. U.S. submarine Capt. Frank Ramsey signs on...

The Inkwell

The Inkwell

1994

as Francis Phillips

5.5
Acting

The Inkwell is about a 16-year-old boy coming of age on Martha's Vineyard in the summer of 1976.

What's Love Got to Do with It

What's Love Got to Do with It

1993

as Jackie

7.1
Acting

Singer Tina Turner rises to stardom while mustering the courage to break free from her abusive husband Ike.

Bebe's Kids

Bebe's Kids

1992

as Jamika (voice)

5.7
Acting

When Robin meets the lovely Jamika he thinks he's in heaven. But when he meets her friend Bebe's children, whom she is looking after, he knows he's in...

Stompin' at the Savoy

Stompin' at the Savoy

1992

as Dorothy

Acting

As the Harlem Renaissance flourishes in jazzy New York City, Pauline, Esther and Alice struggle to survive. By day, they toil at dreary jobs, dreaming...

Memphis

Memphis

1992

as Martha Kinship

Acting

Two men and a woman in the deep south of the 1950s plot to kidnap a child from a wealthy black family, mistakenly believing that no one will try to st...

Why Colors?

1992

Acting

An rainbow color comedy.

Polly: Comin' Home!

Polly: Comin' Home!

1990

as Nancy Dodds

8.5
Acting

Broadway style songs are used to tell this interesting story of an ingenious orphan who gets involved in matchmaking and striving for inter-racial und...

Polly

Polly

1989

as Nancy

8.2
Acting

An musical adaptation of the book "Pollyanna" set in the 1950's in which an orphan tries to use gladness to unite the people in a small southern town.

Death Spa

Death Spa

1988

as Marci Hewitt

5.2
Acting

Michael's health club is beseiged with a series of terrible murders involving killer saunas and other grisly devices. Michael's wife killed herself a ...

Coming to America

Coming to America

1988

as Imani Izzi

6.9
Acting

An African prince decides it’s time for him to find a princess... and his mission leads him and his most loyal friend to Queens, New York. In disguise...

The Return of Desperado

The Return of Desperado

1988

as Molly Pickett

6.5
Acting

Duell McCall is in New Mexico running afoul of local land baron. McCall pauses long enough in his escape flight to come to the aid of black homestead...

Number One with a Bullet

Number One with a Bullet

1987

as Woman

4.6
Acting

Number One with a Bullet is a 1987 American police detective film directed by Jack Smight. A pair of detectives is assigned to investigate a murder, a...