Sharon Washington

Sharon Washington (born September 12, 1960) is an American actress and playwright, best known for her work on stage. In 2018, her one-woman show Feeding the Dragon was produced Off-Broadway by Primary Stages, earning nominations for the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance. The play was subsequently published by Oberon Modern Plays and adapted as an Audible Original.

In 2023, Washington co-authored the book for New York, New York with David Thompson. The musical, which features music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb and Lin-Manuel Miranda, premiered on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. Loosely based on the 1977 film of the same name by Martin Scorsese, the production earned nine Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical.

A veteran stage performer, Washington has appeared on Broadway in The Scottsboro Boys at the Lyceum Theatre, as well as numerous Off-Broadway productions at The Public Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, Second Stage Theater, Vineyard Theatre, and New York City Center Encores!, among others. Her film roles include Debra Kane in Joker (2019) and its sequel Joker: Folie à Deux (2024). On television, she is best known for playing Joyce Thomas in the Starz original series Power Book III: Raising Kanan (2021–2025).