Deborah Joy Winans

Deborah Joy Winans is a member of the renowned Winans gospel music family and has built a career that blends acting and singing. Born on September 6, 1983, in Detroit, Michigan, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Wayne State University and later a Master of Fine Arts in acting from the California Institute of the Arts.

She began her acting career in 2014 with roles in the film Fragile World and the short film Fighting the Battle. In 2015, she portrayed her aunt, CeCe Winans, in the Lifetime biographical film Whitney. She is known for her role as Charity Greenleaf-Satterlee, the Minister of Music, on the OWN drama series Greenleaf, which aired from 2016 to 2020. Her stage debut came in the musical Born for This: The BeBe Winans Story.

Alongside her acting, Winans has released gospel music. Her single “The Master’s Calling” reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Gospel chart. She also released the single “Changed” from the Greenleaf Season 3 soundtrack, the EP Greenleaf, Season 5 (Music from the Original TV Series), and the singles “I Won’t Stop Breathing” and “When I Rose.” Her work earned her a nomination for New Artist of the Year at the Stellar Awards.