Renée Lawless

Renée Lawless-Orsini (born November 30, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for starring as the bitter and distant matriarch, Katheryn Cryer, in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera The Haves and the Have Nots.

Life and career
Lawless was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and moved with her family to Jacksonville in at age 19 and graduated from Sandalwood High School, Stetson University, and University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music. She began singing in church and school plays and later in regional theater. As of the mid 1990s she appeared primarily in stage productions, like national touring of Beauty and the Beast, and Wicked for five years.

In 2013, Lawless began starring as Katheryn Cryer in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera The Haves and the Have Nots.