Actress, Singer, Songwriter. Best known for the role of Willona Woods on the television situation comedy "Good Times." A veteran stage and screen actress, her early career was spent on Broadway where she appeared in "Golden Boy" in 1956 with Sammy Davis Jr. and Louis Gossett Jr. After seeing her performance in Lanford Wilson's play "The Hot I Baltimore," television producer Norman Lear offered her a role in "Good Times." From 1974 to 1979, she appeared in 133 episodes. Over her 50 year career on television, she guest starred on popular shows such as "Shaft," "Sanford and Son," "The Facts of Life," "A Different World," "Beverly Hills 90210," and "Cold Case." She appeared in multiple televison movies and motion pictures, most notably "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka" (1988) and "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" (2003). She portrayed Janet Jackson's mother in her 1986 video "Control." A singer/songwriter, she co-wrote and performed "Movin' on Up," the theme song for the situation comedy, "The Jeffersons." In 1995 she received a CableAce award for Best Supporting Actress for the Lifetime movie "Other Women's Children." She won two Emmy awards for providing the voice of Mrs. Avery on the television animation "The PJs" which ran from 1999 to 2001. Together with the cast of "Good Times," she received the Impact Icon Award from TV Land in 2006.
Actress, Singer, Songwriter. Best known for the role of Willona Woods on the television situation comedy "Good Times." A veteran stage and screen actress, her early career was spent on Broadway where she appeared in "Golden Boy" in 1956 with Sammy Davis Jr. and Louis Gossett Jr. After seeing her performance in Lanford Wilson's play "The Hot I Baltimore," television producer Norman Lear offered her a role in "Good Times." From 1974 to 1979, she appeared in 133 episodes. Over her 50 year career on television, she guest starred on popular shows such as "Shaft," "Sanford and Son," "The Facts of Life," "A Different World," "Beverly Hills 90210," and "Cold Case." She appeared in multiple televison movies and motion pictures, most notably "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka" (1988) and "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" (2003). She portrayed Janet Jackson's mother in her 1986 video "Control." A singer/songwriter, she co-wrote and performed "Movin' on Up," the theme song for the situation comedy, "The Jeffersons." In 1995 she received a CableAce award for Best Supporting Actress for the Lifetime movie "Other Women's Children." She won two Emmy awards for providing the voice of Mrs. Avery on the television animation "The PJs" which ran from 1999 to 2001. Together with the cast of "Good Times," she received the Impact Icon Award from TV Land in 2006.
Bio by: Apollymi
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