Chené Lawson-Peissig is an American writer, podcaster, and actor.
Lawson was born in Chicago, Illinois. She later moved to Los Angeles, where she trained at The Groundlings theater. In 2020, she wrote and hosted the speculative fiction podcast All Things Undone, which debuted at #7 on the Apple Podcasts Sci-Fi chart, and later reached #1. In 2023 the podcast won the Webby for Best Scripted Fiction Podcast. In 2025 Audible released the title as an audiobook, and then contracted Lawson to adapt two of N.K. Jemisin's short stories into an audiodrama, released in 2025 as Amorph. On television, she is best known for the role of Yolanda Hamilton, the derelict mother of Devon Hamilton (Bryton James) on The Young and the Restless.
Podcasts
How to Destroy Everything (Episodes 1 and 2, 2023) How to Destroy Everything is a documentary podcast hosted by Danny Jacobs and Darren Grodsky about Danny’s father, Richard Jacobs—a man whose relentless manipulation and schemes left a trail of lawsuits, scams, and shattered lives. Through interviews and investigation, the series uncovers how one person’s destructive behavior devastated families, communities, and ultimately his own son, who describes the podcast as follows:
Awards and recognition
Nominated for the iHeartRadio Podcast Award for best emerging podcast. Webby Award Honoree for Best Documentary Podcast award.
Credits Source:
Production company: Aileron Podcast Studios (only episodes 1 and 2) Executive Producer & editor: Joel Peissig (Only episodes 1 and 2) Creator/writer/director: Danny Jacobs & Darren Grodsky
All Things Undone (14 episodes, 2020–2021) In this speculative fiction podcast, an alternate history is imagined in which an 1850 solar eclipse fulfills an old prophecy, making enslaved Black people unkillable, and reversing society's power dynamic. Mirabelle, a now freed Black woman, receives visions indicating that the eclipse is a harbinger of "the re/evolution" of earth, but also, that if she and her people fail to complete the prophecy's requirement, the situation could reverse and become even worse than before. The podcast confronts the brutal realities of slavery while exploring how collective uprising can bring about change.
Awards and recognition
Winner of the 2023 Webby award for Best Scripted Fiction Podcast. Awarded the Micheaux Film Festival Best Podcast award. Presented at the Film Life Foundation’s inaugural Social Justice Now Film Festival (SJNFF).
Credits Source: Production company: Aileron Podcast Studio Starring: Chené Lawson, JoNell Kennedy, Shannon Holmes, Christen Sussin, Oscar Jordan, Micheal Marcelio, Korbin Miles, Dick Terhune, Kyla Garcia, Ari Fromm, Daniel Lench, Jonathan Tanigaki, Abraham Vasquez, Joel Seales, Ronald Braxton, Dexter Herron, Jimmy Cox, Sean-Michael Lawson, Kevin Robertson, Shawn Carter Peterson, Krystal McCulloch, Taylor Booth, Leshay Boyce, Roxanna Ortega, Danny Jacobs
Executive Producer: Joel Peissig Written by: Chené Lawson Directed by: Joel Peissig and Chené Lawson
Audiobooks
All Things Undone (Audible, 2025) Narrated by Chené Lawson and full cast Written by Chené Lawson Executive producers: Joel Peissig and Chené Lawson ''Amorph'' (Audible, 2025) Written by N.K. Jemisin and Chené Lawson Narrated by full cast (including Chené Lawson)
Filmography Film Year Title Role2000The Flintstones in Viva Rock VegasKitty 2002 100 Women Tanya2004Hittin' It!2005Hola! (short)2006Ogden: The Inappropriate Yoga Guy (short)Laura 2008 The Great Buck Howard Law Student 2011 The Inheritance Ancestor Lily2009The Devil's TombBeautiful Woman2018Wednesday (short)Camille2021After Laughter (short)Gertrude2022Finger (short)Freya Burden2023Remedial (short)Emilia Dobson2023A Rosary and a Diamond Ring (short)Virginia
Television
Year Title Role1999UndressedLexy2000Ladies ManRachel 2000 Malcolm & Eddie Leslie Sherman2001ProvidenceSinging Prostitute 2002 The Shield Tyesha 2002 My Wife and Kids Monica 2004 Punk'd Self 2005 Entourage Jenny 2005–2024 The Young and the Restless Yolanda Hamilton2006Campus LadiesLisa 2008 Hollywood Residential Self2015Not to SayDana2024PhoenixAlina
References
External links