Ja'Net Dubois was born on August 5 in Philadelphia, but her age is a bit of a mystery. While her family reported her age to be 74, public records show that she may have been older. She later moved to Brooklyn to pursue an acting career in New York City. In 1960 she was an understudy for the Broadway production The Long Dream. In 1964 she appeared on Broadway in Golden Boy. In the Sixties Miss Dubois also spent some time running youth acting workshops in Amityville, New York. Afterwards she moved to Los Angeles. She made her feature film debut in A Man Called Adam in 1966 and appeared in the movie Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970). She made her television debut in 1969 in the TV movie J.T. In 1970 Ja'Net Dubois joined the cast of the soap opera Love of Life. She was the first African American actress to be a regular on a daytime soap opera. She remained with the show until 1972.
In the Seventies Miss Dubois guest starred on Sanford & Son, Shaft, and Kojak. In 1974 she began playing the role of Willona Woods, the gossipy neighbour of the Evans family. She also co-wrote the theme song of The Jeffersonsm "Movin' On Up," with Jeff Barry, and performed the song. The Jeffersons debuted in 1975. In the Seventies she also guest starred on the TV shows Caribe and Love Boat. She appeared in the mini-series Roots: The Next Generation. She appeared in the films Five on the Black Hand Side (1973) and A Piece of the Action (1975).
In the Eighties Ja'Net Dubois appeared in the mini-series The Sophisticated Gents. She guest starred on the shows The Facts of Life, Spencer, Crazy Like a Fox, Houston Knights, Nearly Departed, New Attitude, Laugh!s, and Doctor Doctor. She appeared in such TV movies as Hellinger's Law, The Big Easy, and Kids Like These. She appeared in the movies I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), Heart Condition (1990), and Penny Ante: The Motion Picture (1990).
In the Nineties Miss Dubois was a regular on the sitcom The Wayan Bros. and the voice of Mrs. Avery on the animated series The PJs and the voice of Mrs. Patterson on As Told by Ginger. She guest starred on A Different World, True Colors, Dream On, Beverly Hills 90120, The Golden Palace, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Sister Sister, ER, Moesha, Touched by an Angel, Clueless, and Everybody Loves Raymond. She also appeared in several TV movies. She appeared in the movie Waterproof (2000).
In the Naughts she continued as a voice on As Told by Ginger. She guest starred on Crossing Jordan and Cold Case. She was a guest voice on Random! Cartoons. She appeared in the movies Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003). In the Teens she was a guest voice on the animated TV series G.I. Joe: Renegades and appeared in the movie She's Got a Plan (2016).
Of course, Ja'Net Dubois was also a singer and songwriter. Her album Queen of the Highway was released in 1980. In 1983 she released a self-titled album. She wrote songs for such artists as The Controllers.
Ja'Net Dubois will always be remembered as Willona Dubois on Good Times. That having been said, she played a variety of other roles. Mrs. Avery on The PJs was about as far from Willona as one can get, an outspoken and somewhat curmudgeonly senior citizen. In Gonna Git You Sucka she played Ma Bell, the mother of the protagonist Jack Spade (played by Kennan Ivory Wayans) who was every bit as tough as he was (if not tougher). In her guest appearance on Sanford and Son she played one of Fred's old girlfriends who has a rather shocking revelation for him. As a songwriter she co-wrote what is considered by many to be one of the greatest television theme songs of all time, "Movin' On Up." Ja'Net Dubois was an immensely talented woman who left her mark on both television and film history.
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