Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee Have Accomplished So Much Over Their 27-Year Marriage
Spike Lee and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, are one of Hollywood's most prominent power couples. Over the past few decades, the two have created and collaborated on multiple film projects all while raising two children and continuing to speak out on important social justice issues through their art and philanthropy.
Now, both Tonya and Spike are undoubtedly beaming with pride as their daughter, Satchel, and son, Jackson, become the first siblings of color to be selected as Golden Globe Ambassadors at this year's ceremony (with Jackson becoming the first Black male Ambassador). When speaking to BET.com about the honor, Spike opened up about the importance of talking about issues impacting the Black community and what conversations about social injustice look like in their household.
"My beautiful wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, deserves all the credit for the great, young, talented artists our children have become," he told the outlet. "My son, Jackson, and my daughter, Satchel, and a lot about the persons they have become comes from just listening to the dialogue that goes on at the dinner table."
He continued: "We talk about issues. We talk about the world we live in. So, they’ve seen my films. They’ve seen my wife’s films. They have been immersed in this culture. They’ve been immersed in the world we live in. So, it’s not like my wife, Tonya and I have ever had to give them speeches. It’s a flow of discussions."
According to Essence, the two first met at a Congressional Black Caucus dinner in 1992. From the start, it was clear that Spike really wanted to get to know Tonya.
"We walked past each other. Spike circled back around and proceeded to give me the third degree. ‘Are you an actress? A model? A singer? Who are you here with? What do you do? Do you have a boyfriend?'" she recalled to the outlet.
At the time, Tonya was working as a corporate lawyer. Intrigued with Spike's creativity, the two reportedly "unleashed their creative sides together" and bonded over their shared love of art. In 1993, just one year after meeting, the two walked down the aisle.
Over the years, Tonya and Spike have continually worked together and encouraged each other's endeavors. Spike is recognized today for his important work on classic films, many which highlight issues of racial inequality, identity and social justice. The Oscar winner's list of films is extensive, but includes notable titles such as Do the Right Thing, 25th Hour, BlackKkKlansman, Malcolm X, and, most recently, Da 5 Bloods.
Tonya, meanwhile, transitioned from her law career to one in the film industry. She is known as a TV and film producer, screenplay writer (she penned the screenplay for The Watsons Go to Birmingham) and author. She has scripted and produced various works such as I Sit Where I Want: The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, That's What I'm Talking About, Miracle's Boys, and Crisis in the Crib: Saving our Nation’s Babies.
Recently, she also was the executive producer on Spike's Netflix series She's Gotta Have It. According to Tonya, she collaborated a lot with her husband when it came to Nola, the main character from the series and Spike's iconic 1986 film of the same name.
"Spike was really wonderfully collaborative," she told Entertainment Weekly about working with her husband. "I’m not saying that it was always easy, but the bottom line is that Nola was created by a man and I think that Spike knew and realized — and again, this was a concept that I really came up with to him, and he was like, 'Okay, that’s interesting, how do we do that?'"
After the birth of her and Spike's daughter Satchel in 1994 (they later welcomed Jackson in 1997), Tonya was inspired to write children's books to tackle the issue of Black representation head on.
"I had a baby and was seeing the world through her eyes, and I realized that there weren’t enough children’s books out there that featured kids that looked like her, so I thought, ‘Why don’t I write these books?'" she told Coveteur.
And so, she did just that with Spike. Together, they published three children's books — Please, Baby, Please, Please, Puppy, Please, and Giant Steps to Change the World. Tonya also co-authored the best-selling novel Gotham Diaries.
Today, Tonya is listed as a senior director for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and has been a spokesperson for the "A Healthy Baby Begins with You" infant mortality awareness campaign from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services division the Office of Minority Health.
Most recently, Deadline announced Spike's involvement with Stefon Bristol on the upcoming film Gordon Hemingway & The Realm of Cthulhu.
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