Danitra Vance (July 13, 1954 – August 21, 1994) was an American comedian and actress who was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) during its eleventh season in 1985.

Raised in Chicago's South Side, Vance performed for The Second City, was an "Off-Broadway favorite,"[1] and was the first Black woman of the primary SNL cast and, following Denny Dillon and along with Terry Sweeney, one of the first LGBT members, though she was not out to the public during her lifetime.

Raised in the South Side, Chicago, Vance grew up with her mother, younger sister, and maternal grandparents in a household where telling stories was the main form of entertainment, and graduated from nearby Thornton Township High School in 1972.

[2] Vance joined the SNL cast during a time of great transition and turbulence for the show, and she became frustrated over repeatedly having characters stereotypical of young Black women written for her.

[1] She was ultimately let go by SNL at the end of the 1986 season, along with many other cast members, including Sweeney, Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Randy Quaid, and Anthony Michael Hall.

[5] She requested her funeral be held at an amusement park, and her family threw her a "going-away party" with apple bobbing and bean bag tossing to respect her wishes.