Actress Roxie Roker is of Afro-Bahamian ancestry. She displayed her undeveloped acting skills via the roles she played. The CBS comedy “The Jeffersons” gave Roxie the part of “Helen Willis,” for which she was most known. In “The Jeffersons,” she was one-half of the first mixed-race couple to appear on television.
Together, she and her partner Franklin Cover broke through boundaries in the field of prime-time television. She appeared in several shows beginning in her undergraduate years.
She eventually turned into a full-time actor after participating in a number of Broadway shows. Her child with television producer Sy Kravitz is the singer Lenny Kravitz. Roxie’s engagement in the community was vast in addition to her work in films and television series.
Roxie Roker’s Date of Birth and Age
On August 28, 1929, Roxie Albertha Roker was born in Miami, Florida. But she was raised in Brooklyn, New York. She completed her youth in New York before relocating to Washington, DC, to pursue further education.
Roxie Roker’s Parents
Her father, Albert Hubert Roker, was from the Bahamas, while her mother, Bessie (Mitchell), was from Georgia. Her father was a porter, while her mother worked as a domestic.
She was raised in a low-income home. Her father was an Afro-Bahamian immigrant, and her mother was African-American.
Roxie Roker’s Education
She pursued a Fine Arts degree at Howard University in Washington, DC. In 1952, she earned her degree.
She participated in several performances while in college and was a vital component of the Howard Players. Additionally, she belonged to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Additionally, she pursued her education at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
She relocated to New York after finishing college so she could pursue an acting career while simultaneously finding a way to support herself.
Roxie Roker’s Wife
In 1962, Roxie wed Sy Kravitz, a television producer. Lenny Kravitz, a well-known singer-songwriter and rock performer, was born to her on May 26th, 1964. Lenny has also received a Grammy.
In 1985, her marriage with Sy Kravitz came to an end. In addition, Roxie is the maternal grandmother of actress Zoe Kravitz and the cousin of Al Roker, host of NBC’s Today Show.
At the age of 66, she passed away from breast cancer on December 2, 1995. Lenny Kravitz, her son, even wrote a song just for her. The song is titled “Thinking About You.”
On December 2, 1995, two minutes after midnight, she passed away. Zoe Kravitz, her son’s daughter, was born on December 1st, 1995.
The family also worried that Zoe’s grandma may pass away on the day of her birth, which would have been very tragic. Roxie and sassy comic Marla Gibbs were close friends.
Roxie Roker’s Career
She obtained employment in the NBC New York headquarters after relocating there, although she continued to appear in other Broadway productions. With the Negro Ensemble Company, where she began her acting career in earnest, she achieved popularity as a stage actress.
She performed in Off-Broadway productions including The Blacks, a play by Jean Genet. She kept performing in several shows until she was cast in her first Broadway play.
She began performing in plays like “Ododo” and “Rosalee Pritchard,” and the audiences praised her performances. Her previous Off-Broadway productions include “Jamimma” and “Behold! Cometh the Vanderkellans” (1971). (1972).
She performed in the drama “The Niger River” in 1972. The audience loved her performance of “Matie Willams” in the play, and she even won a few honors and medals for her amazing performance.
She was a reporter for New York’s WNEW-TV. She used to cover the events in Brooklyn and the neighborhood while hosting a program called “Inside Bedford-Stuyvesant.”
In the American comedy “The Jeffersons” for ABC, Roxie played the part of “Helen Willis,” which became one of her most memorable roles.
The program ran for ten years (1975-85). The second-longest running African-American cast show is “The Jeffersons.” The first time an interracial couple appeared on prime-time television was on this program.
She featured “Mrs. Winston” in the 1974 American film “Claudine,” which had a small part for her. She also played a part in the 1977 miniseries “Roots,” which was adapted from the same-named book by Alex Haley.
She had multiple TV appearances between 1970 and 1990, including those on NBC’s “Stone in the River,” “Punky Brewster,” “Hanging with Mr. Cooper,” “A Different World,” “Murder She Wrote,” “The Love Boat,” “227,” “Beat the Clock,” etc. She was able to establish a solid name in the entertainment business with these TV series.
She had an appearance in the 1987 parody of science fiction films from the 1950s called “Amazon Women on the Moon.”
She was a supporter of child safety and protection as well as a board member of the “Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect.” The Los Angeles City Council had also awarded her two citations.
She was nominated for a Tony Award in 1974 for her performance as “Matie Williams” in “The River Niger.” She received a nomination for “Best Supporting Actress.”
In 1974, she received an Obie Award for her performance in “The River Niger.” This recognition showed her acting talent.