Cree Summer

Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969)[1] is an American actress and singer. She has worked extensively in animation, voicing long-running characters such as Susie Carmichael in Rugrats and Elmyra Duff in Tiny Toon Adventures and related media. In live action, she is known for playing Winifred “Freddie” Brooks on the NBC sitcom A Different World.

Summer was born in Los Angeles, California, on July 7, 1969,[1] and grew up on the Red Pheasant Reserve in Saskatchewan. Her parents are Don Francks, a Canadian actor and musician, and Lili Clark from North Richmond, California, an African-American adopted member of the Plains Cree First Nations. She and her family also traveled and lived around British Columbia during her childhood, and she started public school at the age of nine in Toronto.[3] Her brother, Rainbow Sun Francks, is an actor and a former MuchMusic VJ.