Deborah Joy Winans Biography

Deborah Joy Winans is an American singer and actress. She is a member of the Winans family, a highly acclaimed family of gospel musicians based in Detroit, Michigan. Although the Winans family tradition required every member to become a gospel musician, Deborah Joy Winans chose to follow a different path. She was interested in acting, right from her early days. She earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, and also received training from the ‘Moscow Art Theatre School.’ She made her acting debut in the short film ‘Fighting the Battle’ and her stage debut with the musical ‘Born for This: The BeBe Winans Story,’ in which she portrayed her real-life aunt, Priscilla “CeCe” Winans. Winans was chosen to perform as her aunt, in the TV movie ‘Whitney,’ too. Her acting career witnessed a breakthrough when she was chosen to play an important role in the drama series ‘Greenleaf,’ which is produced by the ‘Oprah Winfrey Network.’ Winans shot to fame with her character ‘Charity Greenleaf’ in this series. Winans was a guest voice-over artist for some major works, which include the album ‘The Sound,’ by the gospel singing duo ‘Mary Mary.’ She has toured across the United States with the ‘Women of Faith’ conference.