Salli Elise Richardson-Whitfield (née Richardson) is an American actress, director and producer. Richardson is known for her role as Angela in the film A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994) and for her role as Dr. Allison Blake on the Syfy comedy-drama series Eureka (2006–2012).

She is also known for her voice acting as Elisa Maza on the Disney animated series Gargoyles (1994–1996), and as Viveca Foster on the CBS series Family Law (1999-2002). Richardson also has appeared in a number of other films such as The Great White Hype (1996), Antwone Fisher (2002), Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004) and I Am Legend (2007). She had leading roles in the independent films Pastor Brown (2009), Black Dynamite (2009) and I Will Follow (2010). In the 2010s, Richardson started working as a television director.

Early life
Richardson was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her mother is of African American ancestry (with distant Cherokee roots), and her father was of English and Italian descent. She played tennis in high school at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, and launched her acting career in the Kuumba Workshop theater there; she graduated in 1985.