Who is Cassi Davis?
An actress with over 30 acting credits to her name, Cassi Davis is perhaps known best for her role as Ella Payne in the popular comedy-drama “House of Payne”, which brought her four nominations and two Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.
Besides her role in “House of Payne”, Cassi is well-known for her portrayal of Betty Ann ‘Aunt Bam’ Murphy in the “Madea” franchise since 2010, although in the first part, filmed in 2006, Cassi portrayed Aunt Sarah.
Early life and education
Casandra ‘Cassi’ Davis-Paton was born under the zodiac sign of Leo on 31 July 1964, in Holly Springs, Mississippi USA; she holds American nationality and her ethnicity is African-American.
Cassi was raised in her hometown by her parents about whom nothing is known, except that they followed the born-again Christian faith. She also hasn’t spoken about any siblings, thus many of her fans assume that she’s an only child.
Speaking of her educational background, Cassi attended a local high school, and upon matriculating in 1982, enrolled at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Cassi left the college one credit short of graduation, because she wasn’t allowed to perform religious music during her senior recital. Shereturned to college in 2008, and in November of that year, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Music).
Roles in movies
Cassi made her acting debut portraying Paula in the 1988 movie “School Daze”, followed by her role in the short movie “Silent Bomb” in 1994. Cassi’s next movie role came in 2001, when she was cast to play Cook in “Boycott”.
In 2006, Cassi was seen for the first time in one of the “Madea” movies, entitled “Madea’s Family Reunion”, portraying Aunt Sarah. Then, she’s been seen as Ella in “Madea Goes to Jail”, in the same year. The stars of this movie franchise are Loretta Devine, Shad Moss and Tyler Perry, who is the writer and director of this comedy drama. Every sequel follows the story of the crazy and comical Mabel Simmons, also known as Madea – portrayed by Tyler Perry – and her family members.
In 2007, Cassi was cast to play Rita in another Tyler Perry’s movie, entitled “Daddy’s Little Girls”, also starring Idris Elba, Gabrielle Union, and Tracee Ellis Roos.
Three years later, Cassi was seen as Aunt Bam in “Madea’s Big Happy Family”, and then reprised her role in “A Madea Christmas” (2011), “Aunt Bam’s Place” (2012), and “Madea’s Neighbors from Hell” (2014).
Next, Cassi was heard as the voice of Aunt Bam in the 2016 sequel “Madea’s Tough Love”, followed by her appearances in “Boo! A Madea Halloween” (2016), and then in the following year in “Madea on the Run” and “Boo 2! A Madea Halloween”.
In 2019, Cassi was seen in “A Madea Family Funeral”, and was nominated for the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress. She followed with her role in the 2020 TV movie “Madea’s Farewell Play”, while her most recent role was her portrayal of Aunt Bam in “Tyler Perry’s Madea Homecoming” in 2022.
The character of Aunt Bam is Madea’s first cousin and partner in crime; she’s a 90-year-old lady who likes weed-smoking and men. Cassi played this character in the play of the same title, which is one of the favorites among the audience.
Classic Madea! 😂 Laugh out loud this weekend – See @TylerPerry’s Boo! A #MadeaHalloween in theaters! https://t.co/U2IvZr6pWI pic.twitter.com/URH376dfx0
— A Madea Halloween (@MadeaHalloween) October 22, 2016
Roles in series
Cassi made her first television appearance as Francine in an episode of the series “Living Single” in 1993, followed by a guest role in “Chicago Hope” in 1994. In the following years, Cassi mostly had guest roles in numerous series, while from 1999 until 2001, she was heard as HUD Woman in “The PJs”.
In 2006, Cassi was cast to play her most notable television role, as Ella Payne in “House of Payne”, also starring LaVan Davis and Allen Payne. This comedy drama series, created by Tyler Perry, follows the story of a multi-generational family living together under one roof. The series was aired until 2022, and won 20 awards.
Concurrently, Cassi reprised her role in the 2018 spin-off “The Paynes”, and was seen as Bertie Nickerson in “Our Kind of People” in 2021.
Love life and husband
There have been various rumors concerning both Cassi’s love life and her sexual orientation, however, she hasn’t spoken about her previous relationships, before she opened up about her now-husband. Although fans of the series “House of Payne” have thought that she was married in real life to her co-star LaVan Davis, the truth is that this marriage was just on-screen.
Cassi’s husband is Kerry Patton, a jazz vocalist whom she met back in high school, and subsequently re-connected in 2007. ‘We met in the third grade, and of course, you grow up, and you go your separate ways, and we were apart for about twenty years, and divinely God brought us back together.’
They began dating, and the couple exchanged their wedding vows on 11 January 2017; they are still together as of August 2022.
Bell’s palsy diagnoses
In the middle of 2020, the rumors about Cassi’s health condition were saying that she suffered a stroke since her face changed – the most visible change was her eye that drooped. To stop the rumors, Cassi said in her interview on the Culture podcast that she was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy in March 2020, sharing that although this condition isn’t harmful, it’s a distraction.
Bell’s palsy is a condition that causes sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face, and it could last for months. There is no cure for this condition, and recovery usually begins two weeks to six months from the onset of the symptoms.
Age, height, and net worth
Cassi’s age is 58; she has brown hair and brown eyes. weighs around 185lbs (85kgs), and is 5ft 8ins (1.72m) tall – there is no information about her vital statistics.
If you wondered about the wealth that this actress has accumulated during her 35-year-long career, according to sources, as of August 2022, her net worth has been estimated at $6 million.
