You’ve seen her everywhere – from NYPD Blue to ER to Without a Trace to movies such as The Terminal and commercials for Verizon and Pfizer (you might have spotted her recently in the “My Time to Quit” commercials) – but you may not know her name. She’s Carlease Burke, and for the past two decades, she’s been one of the few out women of color working in Hollywood.
“I’m very open about it,” she says about her sexuality, “but to be honest, I don’t know who knows and who doesn’t know. It’s not a secret. Anyone who Googles me or reads will find out. Any time I work on a project, there’s usually someone there who knows me or who has seen me out in the community, so we hang out together. I’m open about talking about stuff; I don’t hide it. I don’t know if it’s had any impact on my acting career at all.”
Probably not, from the looks of it. She’s auditioning for higher-profile projects lately and against actors such as Academy Award-nominated Amy Madigan. “She and I tested for the same role in a pilot,” Burke said. “I also tested for a J.J. Abrams [Lost, Alias] project – not a slouchy thing at all. It puts me in a different level in my career. I had an audition for CSI recently, and Mackenzie Phillips was auditioning for the same part.”
At a commanding 5 feet, 8 inches tall, Burke is often cast as a police officer, as in a recent episode of The Riches on FX, but another common role for her is a nurse. She’s currently shooting the Anna Nicole Smith feature film in which she plays Smith’s private nurse, and she also played a nurse in a recurring role on Desperate Housewives.
Other recent television appearances include ABC’s What About Brian, Showtime’s Dexter, CBS’ How I Met Your Mother and TNT’s The Closer. Her film work includes In Her Shoes (2005) with Cameron Diaz, Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal (2004) with Tom Hanks and Get Shorty (1995) with John Travolta.
“I’ve wanted to be an actress my entire life, since I was a little girl,” Burke said. “I was an only child and had a vivid imagination. My parents didn’t support my becoming an actress, but the desire never went away, even though I tried lots of other jobs. My mom did sign me up for dance lessons, but it was for poise and etiquette rather than supporting my career choice.”
Burke took a comedy class in the ’90s, which gave her career a different turn – and was instrumental in her coming out. “Stand-up comedy and coming out coincided. As a comic, I was hired to do gay and lesbian events. I felt like I needed to be on their team,” she said, laughing.
But as with many queer women, there were hints of her sexual orientation while growing up. “I would look at my uncle’s Playboys, and I remember watching women’s wrestling with my dad – this was in the days before the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, mind you – and I would feel something,” Burke recalled. “I knew what a lesbian was, but there were no role models. I was raised in the black Baptist church, and there were gay guys who were choir directors, but they weren’t talked about. Deep down inside, I’d think that’s who I am, but I didn’t have the nerve to pursue that.”
Burke continued: “All along I had lesbian and gay friends, but I couldn’t see myself going down that route due to fear. I started meeting more women while working as a comic, met a young lady in 1994 who caught my eye. It didn’t end up being a good relationship, but I grew up a lot … I started being more free and flirty in comedy clubs. From that moment on, it gave me a lot to talk about.”
It was during that first relationship, when Burke was 40, that she came out to her mother. “That was my scariest coming-out,” she said. “My mom was coming out to visit, and I was with this woman who there was no doubt about who she was. I was not going to pretend [to] not be in a relationship with a woman.”
Now 51, Burke has had two long-term relationships with women in the last 11 years, but she’s not eager to declare an identity. “Back then I would have said I was a lesbian,” she said. “But now, since the breakup with my last girlfriend, I’m wondering if I’m bisexual. I prefer women. I say it in my act, and it’s in my heart. I feel like a lesbian, but I’m not putting a period on it. … Labels have always made me sick – I think people should be who and what they are, and if that changes, that’s OK.”
One thing that hasn’t changed is her love for making women laugh. She’s performed at numerous Pride festivals and the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, and she hosts Laugh a Latte, a comedy showcase at a coffeehouse near her home. But a particular favorite for her are the Olivia cruises, of which she’s done two so far.
“They’re a lot of hard work, but it’s fun work,” she said. “They’re places where I feel really comfortable around women and lesbians, and there are lots of couples and romance going on. I get to meet lesbians who have been in relationships longer than most of the straight people I know. I find them all fascinating.
“I’m 25 in dyke years, because I came out so late. The highlight of the cruises is being around so many kinds of women and hearing so many different stories. We’re living together, bonding and eating together. The cares of the world are left behind for a week. I get to share my gifts, host the Olivia Idol show, make people laugh. It’s great to have a place like that.”
She’s also done the Dinah, hosting pool parties for Andrea Meyerson (Laughing Matters) among other events the last five years, but this year she went as a civilian. “Andrea didn’t do her party this year, so I just went down to play; I wanted to go down and blow off some steam,” she said.
“I was hanging out in this million-dollar home all weekend, not working, just hanging out. We just had so much fun. Lots of women were there, coming and going all weekend, but I was the only black person there for awhile. My friend Judy Carter asked me how it feels when I’m the only one, and most of the time I don’t notice it, because … there’s a reason I’m there, some bond or connection. It’s not in the forefront of my mind at any time. I never feel uncomfortable unless something happens to make me feel uncomfortable. I have a lot of different friends of different races and sexualities. I focus on what we have in common.”
She’s not sure why there aren’t more out lesbians of color in the entertainment industry.
“I think about this all the time,” she said. “I don’t know who they all are myself. I’ve heard rumors and speculation. I just don’t know why they don’t come out. I think it’s that they’re worried that it’ll have some adverse affect on their careers.”
In terms of her own acting career, Burke would love to work with Steven Spielberg again, and is interested in working with William H. Macy, Christopher Guest and Morgan Freeman, as well as Queen Latifah. “She represents big women, and she’s multi-talented,” Burke remarked.
Burke has also has some discussions with Ilene Chaiken about working on The L Word. “I had a fun opportunity recently, because I did a reading of The Vagina Monologues with four members of The L Word cast, and I got to sign with Jennifer Beals,” she said. “Jennifer told me about teaching her daughter sign language.”
Burke, who includes sign language as one of her skills on her resume, is glad for opportunities to use it. “My ex-partner’s parents were deaf, so I was part of the deaf community then, and I had met Marlee [Matlin] during that time.”
Burke has worked with deaf performers before and was the voice for Michelle Banks’ solo show, Reflections of a Deaf Black Woman. “I love sign language and don’t want to lose it,” she said.
With her career keeping her busy right now, Burke is happy to be single at the moment. “I’m kind of dating,” she said. “I’ve made some bad choices in the past — who hasn’t — but I’m looking forward to making better choices and maybe being in a relationship again. But I’m not looking for it, and it’s not something that has to happen. But I’m keeping my eyes open and am taking applications!”
Who would she like to date? “I like strong, independent women,” she said, “women who know who they are and are not easily intimidated. I’m the kind of woman who needs a lot of freedom and a lot of space, so I’d like someone like me, who’s strong and independent, but that we know how to give to each other and knows your partner is with you, even when we’re not physically together.”
In the meantime, she’s pursuing her dream role — “the film role that gets me nominated and wins me an Academy Award!” — going to auditions, working in theater and, as always, making women laugh.
