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Cynthia Kaye McWilliams

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams

Actor · Born January 15, 1982 (44) · Berlin, Germany

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams was born in Berlin, Germany, grew up primarily in Kansas City, Kansas and graduated from the prestigious Theater School of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Just out of college, Cynthia booked a supporting role in Warner Brothers' The Lake House, followed by a recurring role on FOX's Prison Break. She then landed a lead role in the pilot, Family Practice and later, another FOX series, Chicago Code. She moved from Chicago to Los Angeles for a dream job to play sitcom wife to Damon Wayans in a CBS pilot. Though the pilot didn't go, a few months later she would land a series regular on NAACP award winning comedy, The Real Husbands of Hollywood opposite the hilarious Kevin Hart. Cynthia filmed 5 seasons of RHOH and meanwhile had recurring roles on Survivors Remorse on Starz, ABC's Nashville, Bosch on Amazon and booked the lead in the NBC drama pilot, Love is a Four Letter Word. Switching gears, Cynthia took on the role of sitcom mom Regina in the Netflix's Prince of Peoria taped in front of a live studio audience at famous Sunset/Gower studios. She associate produced and starred in the holiday comedy, Twas the Chaos before Christmas, returned to the stage in Inda Craig Galvan's, Black Super Hero Magic Mama at the Geffen Playhouse and joined the cast of Disney Channel original Upside Down Magic, streaming on Disney+ Cynthia filmed gritty drama series, Coyote starting Michael Chiklis which aired on CBS All Access (later Paramout+). After the pandemic cut this series short, she. returned to work with an incredible role opposite Samuel L. Jackson in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey for AppleTV. She followed this up with an unexpected opportunity to reprise her role as Trina Shaw for a 6th season of RHOH on BET+. Staying in the BET+ family, but joining with Daelight Media and McG's Wonderland, Cynthia stars as Cathy Montgomery on Average Joe opposite Deon Cole and Malcolm Barrett. Cynthia also thoroughly enjoys her voiceover career having voiced Gamora on What If for Disney+, multiple characters and shows on Cartoon Network, animated feature film, Bilal and several video games including narrating Valorant, playing Hadrian in Starfield, Senna in League of Legends, T-Bug in CyberPunk 2077, Spartan Tanaka in Halo 5, Disintegration, Far Cry 5 & 6, State of Decay 2, Tell Me Why and more. Cynthia champions women & minorities creating their own content, supports arts education and loves all things food, wine and travel.

Read more

Biography from IMDb.

Born
January 15, 1982 (44)
From
Berlin, Germany
Works as
Actor
Titles
26 on Motif · 32 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Up 19% in 30 days

What are Cynthia Kaye McWilliams' films like?

Across their 14 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Animation3 titlesTypical Motif score: 61st percentile
: browse their Animation movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Motif score: 68th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

Their Motif films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Motif score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
31%
Bonds
26%
Society
13%
Morality
13%
Power
8%
Survival
6%
Ideas
3%
Family bonds5 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themePrejudice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 5 · Intense 1

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

5 analyzed roles

Usually the Ally: 3 of 5 analyzed roles.

Ally
3 of 5
Hero
1 of 5
Mentor
1 of 5

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
6
Hopeful
5
Melancholic
5
Joyful
3
Warm
4
Other
12

How their films linger

Hopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy6
  • Bittersweet5
  • Ambiguous2
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Cynthia Kaye McWilliams' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 21 of their 26 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Cynthia Kaye McWilliams' titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

32 credits, 26 with a Motif page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Messy Lola (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2026)

    Show 10 episodes · Executive Producer · as Lola

  • Sunday Evenings (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2026)

    Show 7 episodes · Executive Producer

  • The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep(2025)

    as Queen Dahut (voice)

    Motif score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Invincible Fight Girl(2024)

    Show 1 episode · as Academy Supervisor (voice)

    Motif score: 70th percentile of all shows

  • Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Three(2024)

    as Dr. Beth Chapel / The Cheetah (voice)

    Motif score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Hard Miles(2023)

    as Haddie

    Motif score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Merry Little Batman(2023)

    as Vicki Vale / Police Dispatch / Angry Shopper / Band Leader (voice)

    Motif score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Average Joe(2023)

    Show as Cathy Montgomery

    Motif score: 63rd percentile of all shows

  • Bee & Puppycat: Lazy in Space(2022)

    Show 1 episode · as Ms. Coffee (voice)

    Motif score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Bosch: Legacy(2022)

    Show 3 episodes · as Det. Bennett

    Motif score: 92nd percentile of all shows

  • The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey(2022)

    Show 6 episodes · as Sensia

    Motif score: 86th percentile of all shows

  • Real Husbands of Hollywood(2022)

    Show as Trina

    Motif score: 34th percentile of all shows

  • What If...?(2021)

    Show 2 episodes · as Gamora (voice)

    Motif score: 60th percentile of all shows

  • Coyote (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2021)

    Show 6 episodes · as Holly Vincent

  • Upside-Down Magic(2020)

    as Professor Argon

    Motif score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Twas the Chaos Before Christmas (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2019)

    as Jayla Mitchell

  • Prince of Peoria: A Christmas Moose Miracle (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2018)

    as Sydney

  • Prince of Peoria(2018)

    Show 16 episodes · as Regina

    Motif score: 17th percentile of all shows

  • Bilal: A New Breed of Hero(2015)

    as Ghufaira / Hamama (voice)

    Motif score: 91st percentile of all films

  • We Bare Bears(2014)

    Show 1 episode · as Additional Voices (voice) · as Park Officer / Waitress / 911 Dispatcher (voice)

    Motif score: 83rd percentile of all shows

  • The Odd Couple(2015)

    Show 1 episode · as Alexis

    Motif score: 24th percentile of all shows

  • Bosch(2014)

    Show 13 episodes · as Joan Bennett

    Motif score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • Light Girls(2015)

    as Herelf

    Motif score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Clarence(2013)

    Show 1 episode · as Cashier (voice) · as Cashier / Little Girl (voice) · as Rough Riders Cashier / Incidental Person (voice) · as Rough Riders Cashier / Narrator (voice)

    Motif score: 55th percentile of all shows

  • In God's Hands(2014)

    as Vivica

    Motif score: 47th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Love Will Keep Us Together (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2013)

    as Bren

  • One Small Hitch(2013)

    as Risa

    Motif score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Real Husbands of Hollywood(2013)

    Show 60 episodes · as Trina Shaw

    Motif score: 79th percentile of all shows

  • The Chicago Code(2011)

    Show as Lilly Beauchamp

    Motif score: 81st percentile of all shows

  • Of Boys and Men(2008)

    as Jori

    Motif score: 70th percentile of all films

  • The Lake House(2006)

    as Vanessa Vanderbeck

    Motif score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Prison Break(2005)

    Show 4 episodes · as Kacee Franklin

    Motif score: 96th percentile of all shows

Career shape

Star power in the 93rd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 28 titles from 2005 to 2026; peak year 2025.

Biggest box office

Bilal: A New Breed of Hero (2015)

$3.8M worldwide

Highest rated

Bilal: A New Breed of Hero (2015)

Motif 91st

Most popular right now

Real Husbands of Hollywood (2013)

Film career

20052026

Peak 2025 · at the high point of their film career. Top draw in 1 Motif title. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting27 of 28: 26 only acting, 1 with another role · typical Motif score68thProducing2 of 28: 1 only producing, 1 with another role

By decade

2000s3 · acting2010s12 · acting2020s13 · 12 acting · 2 crew

Billing

usually 9th · top billed in 0% of 8 roles

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.

How do Cynthia Kaye McWilliams' films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 65th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 68th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

83rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Motif score across 26 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up10
  • 50th to 74th9
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

10 of their 26 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Divisive2
  • Cult Classic4
  • Crowd Pleaser10
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · actor

In God's Hands (2014)

95th percentile spread · 38% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Bosch (2014)

Motif 98th · 94% liked

Reviewers score the acting 67/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 46. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Cynthia Kaye McWilliams' work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 Motif titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 27 · mildMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 60 · intenseMedian of all films: 36

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Cynthia Kaye McWilliams work with?

People who share at least 2 of Cynthia Kaye McWilliams' Motif titles; Eric Dean Seaton shares the most, 2.