# Theresa Randle
**Theresa Randle** is an American actress whose screen career began in the late 1980s and is best known for supporting roles in major studio films of the 1990s, including *Bad Boys* (1995), *Space Jam* (1996), and *Spawn* (1997), and for her first and only starring role as the title character of [Spike Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/spike-lee)'s *Girl 6* (1996).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/theresa_randle)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Film debut | *Maid to Order* (1987), as Doni[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/) |
| Breakthrough supporting roles | Laura in *Malcolm X* (1992); Inez in *Jungle Fever* (1991); Raye in *King of New York* (1990)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/theresa_randle) |
| First starring role | Judy, the title character of Spike Lee's *Girl 6* (1996), her first lead[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/) |
| Franchise role | Theresa Burnett, wife of Martin Lawrence's character, in *Bad Boys* (1995), *Bad Boys II* (2003), and *Bad Boys for Life* (2020)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/) |
| Other known roles | Juanita Jordan in *Space Jam* (1996); Wanda Blake in *Spawn* (1997)[3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/theresa-randle/bio/3030445656/) |
| Training | Dance (traditional, modern, jazz) and comedy; Beverly Hills High School program for the exceptionally gifted; early stage work at the Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/) |
## Early life and training
Sources disagree on Randle's birth details. IMDb gives December 27, 1964, in [Gary, Indiana](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-indiana), with a move to Los Angeles at a young age[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/), while a biographical profile at Encyclopedia.com states she was born in Los Angeles in 1967 and grew up in the South-Central area[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/randle-theresa-1967). Rotten Tomatoes lists a December 27, 1964 birthday with Los Angeles as the birthplace[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/theresa_randle).
Her performing background was in dance and comedy. She attended [Beverly Hills High School](https://www.edgepedia.org/beverly-hills-high-school) in a special program for exceptionally gifted students, took dance lessons in tap, ballet, and [African dance](https://www.edgepedia.org/african-dance) as a child, and after college earned her first role at the Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center, followed by work in commercials and music videos[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/) • [4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/randle-theresa-1967). Her stage credits include *In Command of the Children*, *Sonata*, *6 Parts of Musical Broadway*, and *Fight the Good Fight*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/).
## Film career
**Small roles, 1987 to 1994.** Randle's first big-screen break came with *Maid to Order* (1987); she also appeared in *Near Dark* (1987) and *Easy Wheels* (1989)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/theresa_randle). Her first memorable on-screen appearance, per the Encyclopedia.com profile, was in [Abel Ferrara](https://www.edgepedia.org/abel-ferrara)'s *King of New York* (1990), playing [Christopher Walken](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-walken)'s bodyguard[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/randle-theresa-1967). She had a small part in Robert Townsend's *The Five Heartbeats* (1991), then Spike Lee cast her in the "girl talk" scene of *Jungle Fever* (1991); Lee had originally offered her the role of Vivian, the crack addict ultimately played by [Halle Berry](https://www.edgepedia.org/halle-berry), but Randle declined it[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/randle-theresa-1967). Lee then cast her as Laura, the girlfriend of Denzel Washington's young Malcolm, in *Malcolm X* (1992)[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/randle-theresa-1967). She followed with the comedy *CB4* (1993), Wesley Snipes's character's paramour in *Sugar Hill* (1994), and a role opposite Eddie Murphy in *Beverly Hills Cop III* (1994)[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/randle-theresa-1967). On television in this period she appeared as a guest on *A Different World* (1989) and *Seinfeld* (1991)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/theresa_randle) • [4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/randle-theresa-1967).
**Girl 6.** In 1996 Randle earned her first starring role, in Spike Lee's *Girl 6*, playing Judy, an out-of-work actress who takes a job at a phone-sex operation[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/). The film was written by playwright [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://www.edgepedia.org/suzan-lori-parks), the first screenplay Lee directed that he did not write, and it screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 1996 Cannes Film Festival[5](https://emanuellevy.com/review/girl-6-7/). The soundtrack consisted entirely of songs written by Prince[5](https://emanuellevy.com/review/girl-6-7/). The film opens with an audition scene in which [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino), playing a sleazy director, asks Judy to remove her clothes; Lee framed the film as a companion to *She's Gotta Have It*, noting that Randle's character recites the opening monologue Nola Darling gave in that earlier film[5](https://emanuellevy.com/review/girl-6-7/) • [6](https://filmmakermagazine.com/archives/issues/winter1996/JPierson.php).
The film received negative reviews and was a commercial failure, grossing about $4.9 million against a $12 million budget[5](https://emanuellevy.com/review/girl-6-7/). Critics nonetheless singled out Randle: Emanuel Levy called her performance the film's best element, "a vulnerable and sensitive performance in a tough role that's vastly underwritten"[5](https://emanuellevy.com/review/girl-6-7/). In a 1996 interview around the film's release, Randle said she had turned down nudity requests before because they did not make sense to her, and that in *Girl 6* "there was some redemption"; she framed the film as being about integrity and the pressures actors face[7](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1996/rt9603/960323/03260006.htm). The Encyclopedia.com profile reports that she took the role at a difficult time, after her brother had recently died of AIDS and amid her disillusionment with the limited roles available to African American actresses[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/randle-theresa-1967).
**Studio films and franchise work.** The same year as *Girl 6*, Randle played [Michael Jordan](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-jordan)'s wife Juanita in *Space Jam* (1996)[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/randle-theresa-1967). She had played Theresa Burnett, Martin Lawrence's character's wife, in *Bad Boys* (1995), and reprised the role in *Bad Boys II* (2003) and *Bad Boys for Life* (2020)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/). In *Spawn* (1997), the film adaptation of the comic strip, she played Wanda Blake opposite [Michael Jai White](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-jai-white) and [Martin Sheen](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-sheen)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/). TV Guide records a 1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination for Favorite Supporting Actress for *Spawn*[3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/theresa-randle/bio/3030445656/).
## Later work
Randle's screen work after the 1990s was mostly in supporting and television roles. She played [Natalie Cole](https://www.edgepedia.org/natalie-cole) in the TV movie *Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story* (2000)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/), ADA Patricia Kent in two 2006 episodes of *Law & Order: Criminal Intent*, and Cordelia Banks, PhD, in eight episodes of the series *State of Mind* (2007)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/). Her film credits include the direct-to-video action titles *The Hunt for Eagle One* and *The Hunt for Eagle One: Crash Point* (both 2006) and the independent film *Shit Year* (2010), in which she played Marion[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/theresa_randle).
## Reception and standing
Across her filmography, Randle's best-reviewed films are the ones she appeared in early: on Rotten Tomatoes her highest-rated credit is *Malcolm X* at 89 percent and her lowest is *Beverly Hills Cop III* at 11 percent[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/theresa_randle). Metacritic's career overview lists an average career score of 51 across 15 movies, with *Jungle Fever* (78) the highest and *Beverly Hills Cop III* (16) the lowest[8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/theresa-randle/). A 1996 profile in *The Spokesman-Review* described her as "a small thing in some big movies and the best thing in some bad movies" on the eve of *Girl 6*'s release, placing her among the Black female actors of the period alongside [Angela Bassett](https://www.edgepedia.org/angela-bassett), Halle Berry, and [Alfre Woodard](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfre-woodard)[9](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/mar/22/is-there-a-number-other-than-6-for-her/). Randle herself told *Essence* that the scripts she was offered were often "written Black" and incomplete, and that quality material had to be based on what a person's spirit has to give rather than on color[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/randle-theresa-1967).
## References
1. [Theresa Randle, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005337/)
2. [Theresa Randle, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/theresa_randle)
3. [Theresa Randle Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/theresa-randle/bio/3030445656/)
4. [Randle, Theresa 1967–, Encyclopedia.com (biography by Carol Brennan, citing Esquire, Essence, New Republic, People, and Vibe)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/randle-theresa-1967)
5. [Girl 6 (1996): Spike Lee's Chronicle of Call Girl, Emanuel Levy](https://emanuellevy.com/review/girl-6-7/)
6. [Girl 6, Boys 3: A roundtable discussion with Spike Lee, John Pierson and Kevin Smith, Filmmaker Magazine, Winter 1996](https://filmmakermagazine.com/archives/issues/winter1996/JPierson.php)
7. [Scene is deja-vu for 'Girl 6' actress, The Roanoke Times, March 23, 1996](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1996/rt9603/960323/03260006.htm)
8. [Theresa Randle, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/theresa-randle/)
9. [Is There A Number Other Than '6' For Her?, The Spokesman-Review, March 22, 1996](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/mar/22/is-there-a-number-other-than-6-for-her/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Q to Ri*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 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