Emmy-Winning Roots Actress Olivia Cole Was a Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Did you know that acting pioneer Olivia Cole was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha? Cole was inducted as an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Olivia Carlena Cole was born on November 26, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee. She attended Hunter College High School before studying drama at Bard College and training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, completing the program with honors. She later earned a master’s degree in theatre, with a minor in Scandinavian studies, in 1967.

Cole began her television career on the CBS daytime drama Guiding Light before building a respected career across more than 30 television shows and films. Her breakthrough came with the landmark 1977 miniseries Roots, in which she played Matilda, the wife of Chicken George. The role earned her an Emmy Award and made her the first African American actress to win the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series.

Two years later, she earned another Emmy nomination for her lead role as Maggie Rogers in the 1979 miniseries Backstairs at the White House. She went on to star opposite Oprah Winfrey in the 1989 miniseries The Women of Brewster Place, and her credits stretched to series like L.A. Law and Murder, She Wrote, along with films including Coming Home and, decades later, the Ice Cube comedy First Sunday.

Cole eventually settled in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she spent three decades hosting readings of Shakespeare. She passed on January 19, 2018, at age 75. Her trailblazing Emmy win opened doors for the Black performers who followed, and her life remains a lasting chapter in the story of Black excellence and the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

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