Exclusive: Dreamgirls star Loretta Devine, 76, on new Lifetime Christmas movie and the secret to lasting marriage
At 76, Loretta still finds joy in acting, telling HELLO! that her strong work ethic began back in the early 1980s when she was working alongside Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jennifer Holliday on Dreamgirls.
It's been almost 45 years since Loretta Devine broke through in the Broadway smash hit Dreamgirls, and in the decades since she has gone on to become an Emmy winner for her work in Grey's Anatomy, starred alongside Angela Bassett in the critically acclaimed Waiting to Exhale, and perhaps most importantly, become the ultimate cheerleader for the next generation of black actresses.
At 76, Loretta still finds joy in acting, telling HELLO! that her strong work ethic began back in the early 1980s when she was working alongside Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jennifer Holliday on Dreamgirls. "It's an honor to get a chance to do what you're doing," she says. "I love acting, and even at my age, I'm still so surprised when I get a chance to work because it's a hard thing; Michael Bennett used to always tell us: 'It's show business, not show charity.'"
In November, Loretta sparked discourse when she responded to the news of a 2025 Dreamgirls revival by asking why artists weren't creating "their own shows".
"We worked on Dreamgirls for years [workshopping it] before it actually became Dreamgirls, and when new artists are doing work that's already been created, they miss out on all of that," she tells HELLO! "That was the point I was trying to make. I don't know if people got that, but I wish that for them as well."
Loretta will next be on screen in Deck The Hallways, a Lifetime Christmas movie that sees her play Agnes, a grandmother who finds a new lease on life after the death of her husband – much to the chagrin of her granddaughter. Loretta has been married to her husband for 26 years, after they met when she was in her 50s, and she tells HELLO! that they're still creating holiday traditions, three decades on.
What I loved about Agnes was that she was taking charge of her life. Does that resonate for you in your own life?
I'm looking for work that makes me happy.
In order to create all these characters, you have to go so deeply into your own feelings, and you have to be able to touch on the things that make you happy or sad.
A lot of times [producers] will write a grandmother where – especially for black women – their sons are in prison, their daughters are in trouble, and everything is very depressing.
I look for things that I can enjoy. Deck The Hallway was one of the most fun things I've done; I got a chance to sing, and there was a lot of laughter and flirting. In one scene, Agnes had to explain what she had become to her grandbaby, and I thought that was a very touching and moving scene. I had to go really deep to get to the feelings. I'm looking for things that I can enjoy, and I'm looking for new adventures – and I want to be a hip grandma!
Are there Christmas traditions that you grew up with that you still hold dear?
I always want to put up Christmas decorations, and because most of my family's in Houston, it's always a grand thing when I get a chance to go home with gifts for everybody.
But now things are changing so much! You are sending gifts through Amazon, which really doesn't feel like a gift. I still like to decorate the front of the house, but there are also new ways to do that now. You just stick something down in the yard and it puts up the decorations!
But it's still a joyful time for everybody, and it only comes once a year.
You found love in your fifties, a time of change for lots of women. What is your secret for a lasting marriage?
I go away and come back! I think separate lives really works. Nobody ever knows why one thing is working and another is not, so we feel blessed that we have each other. In my 20s and 30s, I was so focused on my career and getting the chance to become an actress, and it was a new adventure that I wasn't looking for love. I was running from it instead.
Did you take something from Agnes into your own life?
I do want to become more like her. I've been really blessed because I work a lot and I have a lot of diverse roles – I'm also in P-Valley, which is totally different, and coming out in 2026 – but a lot of times I'm afraid. I'm saying, 'Oh my god, how far is this going to go?'
So Deck The Hallways, and Agnes, inspired me to be more open to doing a lot of the things that I love.
There's a scene where Agnes tels her granddaughter that she isn't afraid of judgment. Are you similar to Agnes?
Oh no! I come from a family of women in the South where you're always taught to be humble and grateful, and so I had learned to be quiet. Then I came up in the Dreamgirls generation, in such a powerful group of women – Sheryl Ralph, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Jennifer Lewis – with these huge personalities, and I'd always been passive, and so being around all this energy was amazing, and I'm still affected by it.
Loretta Devine with Sheryl Lee Ralph and Deborah Burrell circa 1981 in New York City.
What have those friendships taught you over the years?
We're still good friends because we answer when we call. Sheryl always has a whole lot more going on, but she asks: 'Can you come and do the Divas Gala?' and I've done Divas for her for many years now.
I was part of her wedding, and now her kids are asking: 'Can you do my movie?'
With Jennifer Holliday, there are spurts when I haven't talked to her in almost years, but if she calls, I always answer, and I feel that if I call her and say, 'I need something,' or 'Can we talk about something?' she will answer.
The same with Jennifer Lewis, Vanessa Bell Calloway… that's the biggest part of the friendship. I'm just happy for them.
Lela Rochon just had a turnaround and is now starring in The Family Business: New Orleans. Vanessa Bell Calloway never stops working. Roz Ryan is probably on a ship somewhere singing. Anna Maria Horsford never stops. Jackée Harry, Lorraine Toussaint… I am just so proud to be part of a group of working actresses that I've interacted with my whole career.
When you think back to that time of Dreamgirls, what did you learn that you still carry with you today?
I still have a strong work ethic. Even at my age now, I'm so surprised when I get a chance to actually work because this career is a hard thing.
I really know now how to make it work for me as far as creating a character and how to get the lines, and you learn over time that it is an art form; you've got to do all the steps to make it work.
Sheryl (L) and Loretta attend the 2019 Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards Luncheon
You spoke to Lena Waithe recently about the steady joy in consistently working. There was such a response to that; were you surprised by the reaction?
People see a lot of the glamour in this industry but not the actual work.
I've been working all my life. If you look on IMDb I have over 300 different projects, but I don't feel glamorous, or special, or different. This is what I do for a living so I can pay my bills just like others have to pay theirs, but you have to find the joy in whatever you're doing, and if one dream isn't working, you have to try to start another.
Have you ever considered a return to Broadway?
Broadway has changed a great deal. This past year, there was a street that had Black leading ladies in every show, and I never thought I'd see that when I was doing Dreamgirls back in the 80s. Things have progressed and I am proud.
But I found out that they're getting ready to take Dreamgirls back to Broadway, and I said, 'Why don't they let these young girls create their own show?' We worked on Dreamgirls for years before it actually became Dreamgirls, and when new artists are doing work that's already been created, they miss out on all of that.
That was the point I was trying to make. I don't know if people got that, but I wish that for them as well.
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