Olivia Cole | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Cole in 1977 | |
| Born | Olivia Carlena Cole (1942-11-26)November 26, 1942 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | January 19, 2018(2018-01-19) (aged 75) San Miguel de Allende, Mexico |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1969–2011 |
| Spouse | |
Olivia Carlena Cole (November 26, 1942 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress, best known for herEmmy Award-winning role in the 1977 miniseriesRoots.
Cole was born inMemphis, Tennessee, the daughter ofArvelia Cole (née Cage), a tennis player, instructor, entrepreneur and William Calvin Cole, a worker forGrumman.[1] After graduating from Manhattan'sHunter College High School in 1960, she studied drama atBard College in New York and earned a scholarship to attend theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she graduated with honors in 1964.[1][2] After returning to the United States, she earned a master's degree in theater arts with minor in Scandinavian studies in 1967 from theUniversity of Minnesota.[1]
Cole made her screen debut in the daytime soap operaGuiding Light in 1969 and later appeared in over 30 shows and films.[2]
Cole won anEmmy Award for her performance as Matilda, Chicken George's wife, in the 1977 miniseriesRoots.[2][3] Cole became the first African American actress to win thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series for her performance inRoots.
She also was known for her role as Maggie Rogers in the 1979 miniseriesBackstairs at the White House, for which she was nominated for aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.[3]
Cole starred in the CBS sitcomsSzysznyk from 1977 to 1978 andReport to Murphy in 1982. She also was cast in the ABC drama miniseries The Women of Brewster Place withOprah Winfrey in 1990 and previously appeared in another miniseriesNorth and South, Book I (1985). She also guest-starred onPolice Woman,Family,L.A. Law, "Christy" andMurder, She Wrote.[4]
Cole's Broadway credits includeThe School for Scandal,You Can't Take It with You,The Merchant of Venice, andThe National Health.[5]
She was an honorary member of theAlpha Kappa Alpha sorority. In film, she appeared inHeroes (1977),Coming Home (1978),Some Kind of Hero (1982),Go Tell It on the Mountain (1984),Big Shots (1987),First Sunday (2008) as well as in the television moviesSomething About Amelia (1984) andThe Women of Brewster Place (1989).[4]
In June 1971, she married actorRichard Venture, one of the few to enter an interracial marriage in Hollywood at that time. They later divorced in 1984. She retired in 1995, but later returned to acting.[4]
Cole died 31 days after ex-husband, actor Richard Venture; at her home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico on January 19, 2018, age 75 following aheart attack.[4]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–1971 | Guiding Light | Deborah Mehraen | Television debut; series regular |
| 1975–1976 | Police Woman | Head Nurse/Dr. Dorothy Bailey/Dr. Georgia Kimberly | 3 episodes |
| 1977 | Roots | Matilda Moore | TV Miniseries 3 episodes |
| 1977 | Rafferty | Sara Ridley | Episode: "Brothers & Sons" |
| 1977 | Heroes | Jane Adcox | film debut |
| 1977–1978 | Szysznyk | Ms. Harrison | series regular; 15 episodes |
| 1978 | Coming Home | Corrine | |
| 1978 | Family | Frances Rossmore | Episode: "Fear of Shadows" |
| 1979 | Insight | Karen Clay | Episode: "When, Jenny? When?" |
| 1979 | Backstairs at the White House | Maggie Rogers | TV Miniseries 4 episodes |
| 1979 | The Lazarus Syndrome | Pamela Quinn | Episode: "A Brutal Assault" |
| 1980 | Children of Divorce | Betty Williams | Television Movie |
| 1980 | The Sky Is Gray | Olivia | Television Movie |
| 1981 | Fly Home | Sarah Brookford | Television Movie |
| 1981 | Mistress of Paradise | Victorine | Television Movie |
| 1982 | Some Kind of Hero | Jesse | |
| 1982 | Report to Murphy | Blanche | 6 episodes |
| 1984 | Go Tell It on the Mountain | Elizabeth | |
| 1984 | Something About Amelia | Ruth Walters | |
| 1985 | American Playhouse | Elizabeth | Episode: "Go Tell It on the Mountain" |
| 1985 | North and South, Book I | Maum Sally | TV miniseries (6 episodes) |
| 1985–1995 | Murder, She Wrote | Yvette Dauphin/Melinda Coop/Callie Coleman | 3 episodes |
| 1987 | Big Shots | Mrs. Newton | |
| 1987 | The Fig Tree | Television Movie | |
| 1989 | The Women of Brewster Place | Miss Sophie | 2 episodes |
| 1989–1993 | L.A. Law | Judge Julie McFarlane | 3 episodes |
| 1990 | Brewster Place | Miss Sophie | series regular; 11 episodes |
| 1993 | Arly Hanks | Estelle | Television Movie |
| 1995 | Christy | Esther Scott | Episode: "Echoes" |
| 2008 | First Sunday | Momma T | |
| 2011 | Be Good, Be Nice | Young Girl | Short film |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
