Winsome Sinclair, the renowned casting director known for her work on dozens of iconic films and TV shows and her frequent collaborations with Spike Lee , has died at 58.
Deadline reported that Sinclair’s publicist, Clorissa Wright-Thomas, confirmed she died of colon cancer on Monday while in hospice care on Long Island, New York, and that her family was by her bedside. They released a statement honoring Sinclair’s life and career, emphasizing her years working alongside legendary directors and her lasting impact on the entertainment industry.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Winsome Sinclair, a woman of extraordinary faith and a trailblazer in the film industry,” according to a statement from the family obtained by the outlet. “Winsome’s life was a testament to radical faith, and she lived each day with a heart full of love and gratitude. Beyond her professional achievements, she was a devoted mother to her two children, Micah and Kairo, whom she loved with all her heart. As we grieve this unimaginable loss, we find solace in the respected body of work and legacy she leaves behind.”
Sinclair was born on Oct. 27, 1965, in Jamaica and was raised with her family on Long Island. According to The Hollywood Reporter , she graduated from Uniondale High School and Florida A&M University before beginning her career. Later, she founded Winsome Sinclair and Associates in New York in 1996 and moved the agency to Atlanta in 2014 to capitalize on the city’s expanding film scene.
She was responsible for bringing in actors for notable films like Forest Whitaker’s Waiting to Exhale (1995) , Steven Spielberg’s Amistad (1997) , Lee Daniels’ Precious (2009) , Malcolm D. Lee’s The Best Man (1999) and other works that remain popular today. In addition to her role as casting director, she also hired extras for John Singleton’s Higher Learning (1995), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Abduction (2011), Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016), Dee Rees’ Pariah (2011) and Bessie (2015).
Sinclair started as a casting intern for Lee before establishing their years-long relationship working on films like Mo’ Better Blues (1990), then worked with the director on Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Crooklyn (1994), Clockers (1995), Get on the Bus (1996), He Got Game (1998), Summer of Sam (1999), 25th Hour (2002), She Hate Me (2004), Inside Man (2006), Miracle at St. Anna (2008) and Red Hook Summer (2012).
Additionally, she had credits for Cadillac Records (2008), Sparkle (2012), the Tupac Shakur biopic, All Eyez on Me (2017), Nappily Ever After (2018) and the BET series Being Mary Jane , per THR.
Sinclair is survived by her parents, Walter and Shirley; her two sons, Micah, 10, and Kairo, 8; her brothers, Nick, Mark, Barry and Kirk; and a list of cousins, nieces and nephews.
Her family also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise funds for her kids.
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