2001–2008: Child acting Goodwin began acting in 2001, making her debut with the
comedy drama film
Lovely & Amazing, starring as Annie Marks. Goodwin's performance was praised, leading her to receive a number of award nominations for the role, of which includes a
Black Reel Award nomination and an
Independent Spirit Award.
The New York Times wrote on her performance that "Of the three daughters, Annie (Goodwin) seems the most grounded", and
Empire magazine named Goodwin a "stand-out" of the film. In 2003, Goodwin was cast in
Tom McCarthy's independent
comedy-drama The Station Agent as Cleo. Filmed over a strain of time in the same year,
The Station Agent and the performances of the ensemble were acclaimed upon release. She earned a
Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for the role, which ranks her among the youngest actresses to be nominated. On Goodwin's acting,
Roger Ebert, who previously reviewed
Lovely & Amazing, said that she "like
(Peter) Dinklage, has a particular and unshakable presence on the screen, and I hope the movies do not misplace her, as they do so many child actors." comedy film
Phat Girlz as Young Jazmin Biltmore. Goodwin landed the main role of Tangie Cunningham on
Nickelodeon sitcom
Just Jordan, which began airing in 2007, running for two seasons.
2009–present: Mainstream breakthrough In 2010, Goodwin was cast in the main role of Becca in the sitcom
Huge, which ran for a season. The show averaged roughly a million viewers per episode. Later that year, Goodwin was cast as the recurring role of Ivy Wentz in
Disney Channel sitcom
Good Luck Charlie. Following this, Goodwin played the role of Sheila on Fox's comedy drama
Glee for three episodes, which she played until the show ended in 2019.
Being Mary Jane polarized critics and audiences, and broke records for the
BET network, and gave Goodwin recognition in mature roles. On the transition from Disney, she said that "it was very necessary. At one point I was doing Disney and
Being Mary Jane at the same time. But it still felt natural. It still felt organic." She played the role until 2019, a period of time in which she sporadically took television and film roles. In 2017, she was cast in the role of Eliza in the American television program
SMILF; she was initially set to portray a recurring role, though she was promoted to a series regular for the show's second season. The series ran for 2 years, and was cancelled following several misconduct allegations made by
SMILF's cast and crew against
Frankie Shaw. In spite of this,
SMILF obtained widespread acclaim throughout its run, and received a
Golden Globe Award nomination. Goodwin had a minor role in the 2017 action-comedy film
Snatched as Lew. In 2019, Goodwin starred in the BET
television film Christmas Belles. In the same year, she was cast as
Denise Clark-Bradford in the
Lifetime television film
The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel. and Goodwin's acting was lauded by critics; she received a nomination for another Black Reel Award. In January 2021, Goodwin portrayed actress
Hattie McDaniel in the independent
biographical film Behind the Smile. On being cast in the role, Goodwin stated that "I am forever honored. I look forward to bringing this important historical and relevant life story to the screen." ==Filmography==