Roxie Roker

For the character on Hannah Montana, seeRoxy Roker.

Roxie Roker
Roker in 1976.
Born	Roxie Albertha Roker (1929-08-28)August 28, 1929 Miami,Florida, U.S.
Died	December 2, 1995(1995-12-02)(aged 66) Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Alma mater	Howard University
Occupations	Actress television personality news anchor
Years active	1974–1995
Spouse	Sy Kravitz ​ ​ (m.1962;div.1985)​
Children	Lenny Kravitz
Family	Zoë Kravitz(granddaughter) Al Roker(second cousin once removed)

Roxie Albertha Roker(August 28, 1929 – December 2, 1995) was an American actress who portrayedHelen Willison theCBSsitcomThe Jeffersons.Roker is the mother of rock musicianLenny Kravitzand paternal grandmother of actressZoë Kravitz.

Early life and education

Roker was born inMiami,Florida.Her mother, Bessie Roker (née Mitchell), was fromGeorgiaand worked as a domestic. Her father, Albert Roker, was a porter and a native ofAndros,The Bahamas.She grew up inBrooklyn,New York.

Roker studied drama atHoward Universitywhere she was a pupil of celebrated drama teachersAnne Cooke ReidandOwen Dodson.Some of her fellow drama students at Howard included novelistToni Morrison,actress Zaida Coles, stage director and playwrightShauneille Perry,and actorGraham Brown;all of whom were members of the university's theatre troupe, the Howard Players. Roker toured with the Howard Players for performances in Norway in 1949; a trip sponsored by theUnited States Department of State,which was supported byEleanor Roosevelt.

Career

She began her professional career with theNegro Ensemble Companyand became a successful stage actress. She won anObie Awardin 1974 and was nominated for aTony Awardfor her portrayal of Mattie Williams inThe River Niger.She was a reporter onWNEW-TVin New York in the 1970s and hosted apublic affairsshow for the station known asInsideBed-Stuy,dealing with events in the Brooklyn neighborhood.Roker portrayedHelen WillisonThe Jeffersons,breaking social barriers by becoming one half of the first Caucasian–African-American married couple (along with actorFranklin Cover) as regular cast member on prime-time TV. She appeared in guest starring roles on many other United States television shows from the 1970s through the 1990s, including"Stone in the River"starring Hal Miller for NBC,Punky Brewster,Hangin' with Mr. Cooper,A Different World,Murder, She Wrote,The Love Boat,$weepstake$,227,Beat the Clock,Fantasy Island,andABC Afterschool Specials.She had roles in the television miniseriesRootsand in the movieClaudine.Roker was also a children’s advocate who was cited by the city ofLos Angelesfor her community work.

Personal life

Roker was married totelevision producerSy Kravitz in 1962. Like herJeffersonscharacterHelen Willis,Roker had an interracial marriage to a white man.The couple had a son, singer-songwriter and actorLenny Kravitz(b. May 26, 1964), and divorced in 1985.Weather anchorAl Rokerand Roxie Roker were second cousins once removed.

Death

Roker died in Los Angeles, California, on December 2, 1995, ofbreast cancer.She was 66.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974	Change at 125th Street	Eloise Morse	TV movie
1974	Claudine	Mrs. Winston
1975-1985	The Jeffersons	Helen Willis
1977	Roots	Malizy	Episode: "Part V"
1977	Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid	Mrs. Peoples	TV movie
1979	$weepstake$	Margaret	Episode: "Roscoe, Elizabeth, and the M.C."
1979	The Bermuda Triangle	Bohamiar Radio Operator	Documentary
1982	Fantasy Island	Emily Carlisle	Episode: "The Kleptomaniac/Thank God, I'm a Country Girl"
1983	Making of a Male Model	Madge Davis	TV movie
1983-1987	ABC Afterschool Specials	Phyllis Brooks / Aunt Helen	2 episodes
1987	Amazon Women on the Moon	Female Republican	(segment "Blacks Without Soul" )
1988	Punky Brewster	Judge J.F. Taylor	1 episode
1990	Penny Ante: The Motion Picture
1991	A Different World	Dean Barksdale	Episode: "Home Is Where The Fire Is"

External links

• Roxie RokeratIMDb
• Roxie Rokerat theInternet Broadway Database
• Roxie RokeratFind a Grave