Olivia Cole

Olivia Carlena Cole (November 26, 1942 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress, best known for her Emmy Award-winning role in the 1977 miniseries Roots. Early life and education Cole was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Arvelia Cole (née Cage), a tennis player, instructor, entrepreneur and William Calvin Cole, a worker for Grumman. After graduating from Manhattan's Hunter College High School in 1960, she studied drama at Bard College in New York and earned a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she graduated with honors in 1964. After returning to the United States, she earned a master's degree in theater arts with minor in Scandinavian studies in 1967 from the University of Minnesota. Career Cole made her screen debut in the daytime soap opera Guiding Light in 1969 and later appeared in over 30 shows and films. Cole won an Emmy Award for her performance as Matilda, Chicken George's wife, in the 1977 miniseries Roots. Cole became the first African American actress to win an Emmy award in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her performance in Roots.