Shamika Cotton
# Shamika Cotton

Shamika Cotton is an American actress from Cincinnati, Ohio. She is perhaps best known to television viewers as Michael Lee's drug-addicted mother Raylene Lee in the acclaimed HBO series The Wire.

## Career

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Shamika Cotton graduated from Cincinnati's competitive School for Creative and Performing Arts. In 2006, Cotton appeared on the I Wanna Be A Soap Star reality series to good reviews, and her performances from the show were also highlighted on Entertainment Tonight.

In November, 2007, Cotton launched a weekly videocast on YouTube entitled the “Shamika Chronicles”, a series that follows her life and offers a realistic look at the daily life and work of an aspiring actress.

In 2019, she played small role in the movie The Sun Is Also a Star.

## Filmography

### Film/Movie

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2004 | Till Death Do Us Part | - | Short |
| 2009 | Stream | Young Jodi | Short |
| 2011 | Pariah | Candace | |
| 2013 | Frank the Bastard | Isolda | |
| 2015 | Sidewalk Traffic | Nanny Moon | |
| 2019 | The Sun Is Also a Star | Hannah | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2003 | Nickelodeon Magazine's Big 10 Birthday Bash | Herself | TV special |
| 2006 | As the World Turns | ER Doctor | 2 episodes |
| 2006-08 | The Wire | Raylene Lee | Recurring cast: Season 4, guest: Season 5 |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Kira Danforth | Episode: "Self-made" |
| 2010 | Law & Order | Mrs. Dolan | Episode: "Boy on Fire" |
| 2013 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Carol McEwan | Episode: "Beautiful Frame" |
| 2014-15 | Forever | Anita | Recurring cast |
| 2016 | Gotham | Officer Holt | Episode: "Wrath of the Villains: Mr. Freeze" |
| 2019 | The Blacklist | FBI Physician | Episode: "Dr. Hans Koehler (No. 33)" |
| 2019 | The Good Fight | Wendy | Episode: "The One About the Recent Troubles" |
| 2019 | God Friended Me | Jen | Episode: "Return to Sender" |
| 2019 | Elementary | Rose | Episode: "Their Last Bow" |
| 2019 | Blue Bloods | Detective Kim Andrews | Episode: "Naughty or Nice" |
| 2019 | New Amsterdam | Martha Randle | Episode: "The Island" |
| 2020 | Prodigal Son | Joanne | Episode: "Stranger Beside You" |
| 2021 | The Equalizer | Nicole | Episode: "Reckoning" |
| 2022 | P-Valley | Farrah Haynes | Recurring cast: season 2 |
