Renn Woods

Born in Chicago and brought up in Portland, Oregon, Renn Woods is an American actress, singer, and songwriter who began performing as a child in a vocal trio that later toured internationally as Sunday's Child. She moved into screen acting and gained attention as Dorothy in the first national tour of The Wiz, then played Fanta in Roots, winning a People's Choice Award. She sang Aquarius as the opening number in the 1979 film Hair and played a supporting part in The Jerk (1979). Woods also appeared in The Brother from Another Planet (1984), where a critic praised the barfly performances. On television, she starred as Edie in Beauty and the Beast and appeared in series such as Lou Grant, Hill Street Blues, and NYPD Blue. She released albums including Out of the Woods and Azz Izz, and later created the autobiographical stage show A Diva Like Me.