Ansari andNoneco-creator
Alan Yang, she agreed to share
her coming-out story. “I think all
of my life I have been preparing
to write that episode; it just
poured out of me,” she says of
the process, which involved her
and Ansari holing up in a London
hotel while she was filming
Steven Spielberg’sReady Player
One. “For people to love it so
much, it’s like that Sally Field
moment: ‘They like me, they
really like me!’ ”THE EMMY RESURGENCEAt September’s Emmys, Waithe
and Ansari took home the award
for Outstanding Writing for a
Comedy Series, making her the
first African-American woman to
win the category. The signifi-
cance wasn’t lost on Waithe, who
used the moment to give a rous-
ing speech aimed at her LGBTQIA
community and those who came
before her. “I knew it was bigger
than me,” she reflects, mention-
ing forebears like Debbie Allen.
I share that with them because
hey have been beating at that
door for many years, making it
loose enough, so when I walked
up, I was able to walk through.”
That night, Donald Glover,
Sterling K. Brown, and Riz Ahmed
joined Waithe and Ansari in the
winners’ circle, marking an
important step for diversity in
elevision. “I like to call us theresurgence,” she says. “It’s more
than a moment. We’re here,
we’re going to stay here, and
we’re always going to be here.”BUILDING AN EMPIREBefore her Emmy glory, Waithe
had already lined up her next gig:
Showtime’sThe Chi,adramashe
created about her hometown.
“I never thought I’d write about
the city, but I just got to a place in
my life where it was so misunder-
stood,” she says. “It’s raw. It’s real.
It’s not ‘Let’s show black people in
Chicago in a positive light.’ It’s
‘I want to show people in a human
light.’ ” While acting in a potential
third season ofNoneis a possibil-
ity, Waithe’s focus is on writing.
“The acting opportunities have to
be extremely special, because
writing is my first love,” she says.
“I was born a television writer,
I will die a television writer.”GROWING UP ON TVRaised on Chicago’s South Side
by her working mother and
grandmother, Waithe was often
left home alone with fictional
friends from shows likeThe
Fresh Prince of Bel-AirandThe
Golden Girls. “I loved the rhythm
of television, the way people
talked, the jokes, the studio
laughter—it just felt like music to
me,” she recalls. “I didn’t know
what I had to do, but I wanted to
be a part of that world.”FAMOUS FAIRY GODMOTHERSThe path to fulfilling that dream
meant walking Tracee Ellis Ross’
dog as a PA onGirlfriends,
serving as a writer onBones,
and working for notable African-
American female auteurs Ava
DuVernay, Mara Brock Akil, and
Gina Prince-Bythewood. “I always
say some of the most powerful
black women in the industry have
played Hacky Sack with me,” she
says with a laugh. “The greatest
gift is they’re still in my life, help
ing guide me on my journey, like
my three fairy godmothers.”GIVING THANKSAfter stealing scenes inMaster f
None’s first season as Dev’s (Azi
Ansari) childhood friend Denise,
Waithe took a more personal ro e
in season 2’s standout episode
“Thanksgiving.” At the urging ofMaestro
of Many
reallylike me!’ ” th
in
“I
th
d
lo
u
T
S
jo
w
im
tet
p-
eof
iz
e,
olefFresh off a historic Emmy win
for her deeply personal and
hilariousMaster of None epi-
sode, 33-year-old writer and
actor Lena Waithe wants you
to know that this is only the
beginning.BY DEREK LAWRENCE
Lena
Waithe
photo-
graphed
on Oct. 4,
2017, in
her home
office
in Los
Angeles
Aziz Ansari and Waithe
on Emmy nightAMERICANVOICES
THE DIVERSE ARTISTS
WHO ARE CHANGING
POP CULTURESTYLING: ALVIN STILLWELL/CELESTINEAGENCY.COM; MAKEUP: REBEKAH ALADDIN; SET DESIGN: ALI GALLAGHER/JONESMGMT; WAITHE AND ANSARI:JASON LAVERIS/FILMMAGICPHOTOGRAPH BYRAMONA ROSALES