Gloria Foster

Gloria Foster (November 15, 1933 – September 29, 2001) was an American actress. She had acclaimed roles in plays In White America and Having Our Say, winning three Obie Awards during her career. Foster played the Oracle in The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003) films, the latter film being her last. Foster played the role of the mother of Yusef Bell in the mini series The Atlanta Child Murders which aired in 1985. Biography Early life and education Foster was born on November 15, 1933, in Chicago, Illinois. As a young child, Foster was put into the custody of her maternal grandparents. Foster never knew who her father was and she moved to Janesville, Wisconsin after her mother was hospitalized for a mental illness. Foster attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she participated in plays, but did not focus on acting. Foster decided to be a professional actor when her godmother introduced her to the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Foster became one of the few African Americans at the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University). During her studying at the Goodman School she also, "learned professional acting skills in the Court Theater at the University of Chicago". One of her most influential instructors was Bella Itkin, who cast Gloria in many classical roles.