Famous for portraying the role of Estelle Winslow on "Family Matters" (1989).
Goddaughter of Bill Robinson.
Her father was one of the first licensed plumbers in New York State.
Her mother died of pneumonia at age 27 after giving birth to her brother in a Harlem hospital corridor because segregationist policies barred her from using a room.
Husband Egbert Brown, who owned a fleet of cabs, died in 1974.
She took care of James Earl Jones when he was an infant, while she was a member of his father's acting troupe.
She was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1999 for her services to the arts.
Suffered from diabetes for many years.
Suffered from rickets as a child and had to wear leg braces for 13 years.
Was a Broadway producer.
Was directed by Orson Welles in a landmark, all-black version of "Macbeth" in the 1930s.