Winsome Sinclair dies: Casting director was 58

Winsome Sinclair, the casting director who helped recruit actors for Waiting to expire, Friendship, Precious, The best man and a dozen films directed by Spike Lee, died at the age of 58.

Sinclair died Monday at a hospice on Long Island after a long battle with colon cancer, publicist Clorissa Wright-Thomas said. The Hollywood ReporterHis family was by his side.

A native of New York, the director launched global casting agency Winsome Sinclair and Associates in New York in 1996, then relocated the company to Atlanta in 2014, during the city’s production boom.

Sinclair also recruited extras for feature films directed by John Singleton. Higher education (1995), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and Kidnapping (2011), for the film directed by Malcolm D. Lee The best man (1999) and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016) and for the film directed by Dee Rees Pariah (2011) and Bessie (2015).

She performed similar tasks at Hughes Brothers. Dead Presidents (1995), by Forest Whitaker Waiting to expire (1995), by Steven Spielberg Friendship (1997), by Craig Brewer The moan of the black serpent (2006) and Lee Daniels Precious (2009).

Sinclair was a casting intern for Lee Mo’ Better Blues (1990), then worked with the director on Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Crooklyn (1994), Watchmakers (1995), Get on the bus (1996), He has game (1998), Sam’s Summer (1999), 25th hour (2002), She hates me (2004), The man inside (2006), Miracle at Sainte-Anne (2008) and Red Summer crochet (2012).

Winsome GM Sinclair was born on Long Island on October 27, 1965. Her parents, Walter and Shirley, had immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. She graduated from Uniondale High School and Florida A&M University before entering the business.

Her first casting director credit came on Hype Williams Belly (1998), with Nas and DMX.

Sinclair’s casting resume included the films Cadillac Discs (2008), Glow (2012), the biopic about Tupac Shakur All eyes are on me (2017) and Nappy forever (2018) and the BET series Being Mary Jane.

She has also produced a handful of films, including Maynarda 2017 documentary about Maynard Jackson Jr., Atlanta’s first black mayor.

In 2017, Sinclair adopted blood brothers Micah, now 10, and Kairo, now 8, and they served as the inspiration for her 2020 book, You are my son shineThey are survived by his parents, brothers Nick, Mark, Barry and Kirk, and a host of cousins, nieces and nephews.

A GoFundMe Page was created to help his children.

Sinclair “brought light to everyone she met, with a unique ability to see more in people than they could see in themselves,” said producer and publicist Cassandra Butcher. wrote on Instagram. “A true lover of life and culture, her passion for the arts and deep love for family and community will continue to inspire those who knew her. Winsome’s legacy in the film industry and the lives she touched will live on, reminding us of her vibrant spirit and the…