# Tembi Locke
**Tembi Locke** (born 1970) is an American actress, memoirist, and producer from Houston, Texas, known for more than 50 television and film roles and for the New York Times bestselling memoir *From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home*, which she adapted with her sister Attica Locke into the Netflix series *[From Scratch](https://www.edgepedia.org/from-scratch-tv-series)*.[1](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621234398) • [2](https://soaringspirits.org/profile/tembi-locke/) • [3](https://www.essence.com/entertainment/attica-tembi-locke-from-scratch/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970, in Houston, Texas[1](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621234398) |
| Education | Wesleyan University, class of 1992; art history major with study abroad in Florence, Italy[4](https://www.wesleyan.edu/about/news/2023/02/a-wesleyan-friendship-in-italy-tembi-locke-92-and-michele-barnwell-89.html) |
| Signature memoir | *From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home* (2019), a New York Times bestseller written after the death of her husband Rosario "Saro" Gullo[3](https://www.essence.com/entertainment/attica-tembi-locke-from-scratch/) |
| Television adaptation | *From Scratch* (Netflix, 2022), an eight-part limited series co-created by Tembi and Attica Locke, with Attica as showrunner and Zoe Saldaña starring as Amy Wheeler[5](https://www.thewrap.com/from-scratch-netflix-real-life-story-temib-locke-attica-locke-interview/) |
| Notable acting roles | Grace Monroe in the final two seasons of *Eureka*, a recurring role on *Sliders*, an episode of *Friends*, and films including *Steel*, *Dumb and Dumber To*, and *Black Widow*[1](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621234398) |
| Later work | The audio memoir *Someday, Now* (September 30, 2025), recorded in Sicily[6](https://www.audible.com/blog/tembi-locke-interview-someday-now-memoir) |
## Early life and education
Locke was born and raised in Houston, where she attended Louisa May Alcott Elementary School, Edgar Allan Poe Elementary School, and Alief Hastings High School.[7](https://www.tmc.edu/news/2020/02/five-questions-for-tembi-locke-author-of-from-scratch-a-memoir-of-love-sicily-and-finding-home/) Her parents were civil rights activists, and she has described watching *Planet of the Apes* (1968) while her father taught her how to deactivate an FBI wiretap on the family phone as an early inspiration toward acting.[8](https://www.fandango.com/people/tembi-locke-407427/biography)
As a junior at [Wesleyan University](https://www.edgepedia.org/wesleyan-university), where she was an art history major, she studied abroad in Florence.[4](https://www.wesleyan.edu/about/news/2023/02/a-wesleyan-friendship-in-italy-tembi-locke-92-and-michele-barnwell-89.html) There she became fluent in Italian and appeared in Italian television programs before graduating and acting in a number of off-Broadway plays.[8](https://www.fandango.com/people/tembi-locke-407427/biography)
## Acting career
Locke built a career in episodic television, with appearances ranging from *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air* to *NCIS: LA*.[7](https://www.tmc.edu/news/2020/02/five-questions-for-tembi-locke-author-of-from-scratch-a-memoir-of-love-sicily-and-finding-home/) Her screen credits include a recurring role on the science fiction series *Sliders*, an appearance in an episode of *Friends*, and the role of Grace Monroe in the final two seasons of *Eureka*. Her film credits include *Steel*, *Dumb and Dumber To*, and *Black Widow*.[1](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621234398) In 2015 she was described as having starred in over fifty television shows and films.[9](https://speakersconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Bio-for-Tembi-Locke.pdf)
Beyond acting, she created the web series *The Kitchen Widow* and hosts the podcast *Lifted*.[1](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621234398) • [6](https://www.audible.com/blog/tembi-locke-interview-someday-now-memoir)
## *From Scratch*: memoir and adaptation
Locke's husband, Rosario "Saro" Gullo, died after a long battle with cancer, and for ten years she served as his primary family caregiver.[7](https://www.tmc.edu/news/2020/02/five-questions-for-tembi-locke-author-of-from-scratch-a-memoir-of-love-sicily-and-finding-home/) • [2](https://soaringspirits.org/profile/tembi-locke/) Around the fifth anniversary of his death she began writing the memoir, saying she felt a desire to capture what had been for herself and for their daughter.[3](https://www.essence.com/entertainment/attica-tembi-locke-from-scratch/) Her sister Attica, herself a New York Times bestselling novelist, had urged her for a couple of years to write the story.[3](https://www.essence.com/entertainment/attica-tembi-locke-from-scratch/) • [5](https://www.thewrap.com/from-scratch-netflix-real-life-story-temib-locke-attica-locke-interview/)
*From Scratch* was published in 2019 and became a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection and a New York Times bestseller.[3](https://www.essence.com/entertainment/attica-tembi-locke-from-scratch/) • [4](https://www.wesleyan.edu/about/news/2023/02/a-wesleyan-friendship-in-italy-tembi-locke-92-and-michele-barnwell-89.html) While the manuscript was still unfinished in September 2018, Attica, then working as a writer and co-executive producer on *Little Fires Everywhere*, pitched it to Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon's production company; within a week the sisters were in the company's offices.[10](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/from-scratch-true-story-tembi-attica-locke-interview?inapp=true) Months after publication, [Zoe Saldaña](https://www.edgepedia.org/zoe-saldana) signed on to play Amahle "Amy" Wheeler, a fictionalized version of Tembi, with the Locke sisters as co-creators and Attica as showrunner.[10](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/from-scratch-true-story-tembi-attica-locke-interview?inapp=true)
The eight-part Netflix limited series debuted in October 2022, with Eugenio Mastrandrea playing Lino Ortolano, the character based on Saro, and [Danielle Deadwyler](https://www.edgepedia.org/danielle-deadwyler) playing Zora, the character based on Attica.[3](https://www.essence.com/entertainment/attica-tembi-locke-from-scratch/) • [5](https://www.thewrap.com/from-scratch-netflix-real-life-story-temib-locke-attica-locke-interview/) The sisters changed character names and details, including sending Amy to [Brown University](https://www.edgepedia.org/brown-university) instead of Wesleyan, to give Tembi psychological distance from her own story; the book's three summers in Sicily were condensed into one on screen.[4](https://www.wesleyan.edu/about/news/2023/02/a-wesleyan-friendship-in-italy-tembi-locke-92-and-michele-barnwell-89.html) • [5](https://www.thewrap.com/from-scratch-netflix-real-life-story-temib-locke-attica-locke-interview/)
## Later work
In 2025 Locke released *Someday, Now*, an audio-only memoir recorded in Sicily with [Simon & Schuster](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-and-schuster), following a final summer trip there with her daughter Zoela before she left for college.[6](https://www.audible.com/blog/tembi-locke-interview-someday-now-memoir) The audiobook was later named one of Audible's Top 20 Audiobooks of the Year.[11](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tembilocke)
Tembi and Attica Locke work together under an overall development deal with [Universal Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-television) and are adapting Attica's Highway 59 novel series for the screen.[12](https://aalbc.com/authors/Tembi-Locke) • [6](https://www.audible.com/blog/tembi-locke-interview-someday-now-memoir) The sisters also signed on as writers, executive producers, and showrunners for the Peacock series adaptation of [Kennedy Ryan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kennedy-ryan)'s *Before I Let Go*.[13](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/before-i-let-go-peacock-tv-show/)
## References
1. [Tembi Locke, Apple Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621234398)
2. [Tembi Locke, Soaring Spirits International](https://soaringspirits.org/profile/tembi-locke/)
3. [Attica & Tembi Locke on 'From Scratch', Essence](https://www.essence.com/entertainment/attica-tembi-locke-from-scratch/)
4. [A Wesleyan Friendship in Italy: Tembi Locke '92 and Michele Barnwell '89, Wesleyan University](https://www.wesleyan.edu/about/news/2023/02/a-wesleyan-friendship-in-italy-tembi-locke-92-and-michele-barnwell-89.html)
5. [How 'From Scratch' Creator Honored Her Late Husband, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/from-scratch-netflix-real-life-story-temib-locke-attica-locke-interview/)
6. [Tembi Locke interview on 'Someday, Now', Audible](https://www.audible.com/blog/tembi-locke-interview-someday-now-memoir)
7. [Five Questions for Tembi Locke, TMC News](https://www.tmc.edu/news/2020/02/five-questions-for-tembi-locke-author-of-from-scratch-a-memoir-of-love-sicily-and-finding-home/)
8. [Tembi Locke Biography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/tembi-locke-407427/biography)
9. [Tembi Locke biography PDF, Speakers Connection](https://speakersconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Bio-for-Tembi-Locke.pdf)
10. [Is From Scratch a True Story? Tembi and Attica Locke Explain, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/from-scratch-true-story-tembi-attica-locke-interview?inapp=true)
11. [Tembi Locke, LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tembilocke)
12. [Tembi Locke author page, AALBC](https://aalbc.com/authors/Tembi-Locke)
13. [Peacock's 'Before I Let Go' adaptation, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/before-i-let-go-peacock-tv-show/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Le to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license