At the end of 2025, Anita Williams Dupree broke heartbreaking news to her family. She had cancer. At the beginning of 2026, the wife, grandmother, mother, singer, entertainer, philanthropist, and all-around amazing woman has had to deal with one of the toughest things a person can experience. Tamara Tunie, however, has turned in one powerful performance after another as she plays out her character’s cancer journey. As a result, she is Soap Hub‘s January Performer of the Month for Beyond the Gates.
Key Takeaways
- Tamara Tunie earns Performer of the Month for portraying Anita’s powerful cancer journey.
- Anita faces a triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis with strength, fear, and fierce independence.
- Tunie balances raw emotion with education, deepening the Dupree family’s impact on viewers.
January 2026 Performer of the Month
The Devastation is Real
Not only did Anita find out she has cancer, but she has one of the worst forms of breast cancer. The triple-negative diagnosis threw her for a loop. She has had to brace herself to fight a disease that’s especially aggressive in Black women.
However, Anita showed she was ready for the fight. It was important for her to navigate the rough road in her own way. Not anyone else’s. Her temper has flared when her husband’s overprotective and micromanaging ways have become too much. She continually has to rely on her grace and strength, but sometimes, she’s tapped out.
Guilt got the best of her when she found out that Dani (Karla Mosley) tested positive for the BRCA gene. Every day brings a new normal for Anita, and that will continue until she beats this. In January, she remained realistic and practical. Through Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix), she did her best to prepare the family for the worst-case scenario.
Tunie Provides the Emotion to Go With the Education
Playing a character who has cancer has to be challenging. However, Tunie is a veteran actress whose choices are laced with conviction and confidence. But, at the same time, she’s not afraid to show Anita’s vulnerability. This is something Anita has never faced before, and it’s taking every ounce of energy for her not to give in to the fear.
While Tunie plays the emotions beautifully, she is also giving the daytime universe an education. Tunie and the writers are doing a great job of avoiding the feeling that we’re being lectured. Having said that, the educational aspect is a mere side dish to what’s really going on here. And that’s watching a family being torn apart by a devastating disease. It’s painful, emotional, and heartbreaking. And Tunie is the heart and soul of this drama.
Now that BTG is in season two, this storyline is giving Tunie a chance to shine with each powerhouse performance. And it’s also letting the audience get to know Anita and the Dupree family even more deeply. And hopefully, Tunie will be a major presence at the Daytime Emmys later this year.
READ: BTG partners with Know Your Lemons Foundation for Breast Cancer PSA.
MORE: BTG scored a 2026 Writers Guild Award nomination.
NEXT: BTG received an NAACP Image Award nomination.
