Acting
Mary Alice
EN cinema · 35 credits
Born
3 December 1936
Died
27 July 2022 (aged 85)
Birthplace
Indianola, Mississippi, USA
Mary Alice was born on December 3, 1936 in Indianola, Mississippi, USA to parents Ozelar Jurnakin (Smith) and Sam Smith. She was an actress, known for The Matrix Revolutions (2003), Awakenings (1990) and Malcolm X (1992). She taught in Elementary School before her acting career took off. When she was still a struggling actress doing stage plays, she made a living doing her castmate's laundry for a salary of $200 a week. She was a lifelong liberal Democrat, feminist, and civil rights activist. Was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2000. She retired from acting in 2005. She died of natural causes on July 27, 2022 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Upon her death, she was buried with her siblings at Oak Wood Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois, in regard for her last wishes.
Known for
Filmography
The Matrix Revolutions
as The Oracle
Sunshine State
as Eunice Stokes
The Last Brickmaker in America
as Dorothy Cobb
The Photographer
as Violet
Catfish in Black Bean Sauce
as Dolores Williams
The Wishing Tree
as Mattie
Down in the Delta
as Rosa Lynn Sinclair
Bed of Roses
as Alice
Heading Home
as Mary Jones
The Mother
as Black Lady
The Vernon Johns Story
as Altona
The Inkwell
as Evelyn
A Perfect World
as Lottie
Life with Mikey
as Mrs. Gordon
Malcolm X
as School Teacher
Awakenings
as Nurse Margaret
To Sleep with Anger
as Suzie
The Bonfire of the Vanities
as Annie Lamb
The Women of Brewster Place
as Fannie Michael
Teachers
as Linda Ganz
Beat Street
as Cora
The Killing Floor
as Lilah Dean
The Brass Ring
as Mrs. Hauser
Joshua's World
1980
Joshua's World
as Housekeeper
Lawman Without a Gun
as Minnie Hayward
Sparkle
as Effie
Just an Old Sweet Song
as Helen Mayfield
Sty of the Blind Pig
as Alberta Warren