Judyann Elder

Judyann Elder, born Judith Ann Johnson on August 18, 1948, in Cleveland, Ohio, is an American actress, director, and writer whose career has spanned stage, television, and film across the United States and Europe.

Elder began her professional life in the theater as a founding member and resident actor with the Tony Award-winning Negro Ensemble Company. In that capacity, she originated roles in the company's premier productions of The Song of the Lusitanian Bogey, Daddy Goodness, Kongi's Harvest, and God is a (Guess What?). In 1969, she appeared in Lonne Elder III's Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, portraying the young love interest of Russell B. Parker, and traveled with the company on tour to London and Rome. That same year, she married the play's Pulitzer Prize-nominated author, Lonne Elder III, adopting the name Judyann Elder. The couple subsequently relocated to Los Angeles, where Elder expanded her work to include television, making guest appearances on series including The Streets of San Francisco, Sanford and Son, Wonder Woman, and The White Shadow.

In 1976, Elder made her Broadway debut at the Ambassador Theatre in I Have a Dream, directed by Robert Greenwald, playing Coretta King opposite Billy Dee Williams. Following that production, she took on the role of Bernette Wilson in the television miniseries A Woman Called Moses, starring Cicely Tyson. Her film credits include Forget Paris with Billy Crystal, The Players Club directed by Ice Cube, and Seven Pounds with Will Smith.

On television, Elder portrayed Murphy Brown's obstetrician, Dr. Barton, during the 1991–92 season of Murphy Brown, starring Candice Bergen. Her recurring role included the season finale in which Dr. Barton delivered Murphy Brown's baby. From 1992 to 1997, she played Nadine Waters, the mother of Gina — portrayed by Tisha Campbell — on the FOX sitcom Martin, starring Martin Lawrence. In 1998, she stepped into the role of Harriette Winslow on CBS's Family Matters, replacing Jo Marie Payton for the final eight episodes of the show's ninth and concluding season.

Elder has maintained an active presence in theater throughout her career, with stage appearances that include the role of Rose in August Wilson's Fences at Arkansas Rep. Her directorial work encompasses productions such as The Book of the Crazy African at Skylight Theatre, The Meeting at both the Inner City Cultural Center in Los Angeles and the New Federal Theatre in New York, Ceremonies in Dark Old Men at Beverly Canon Theatre, and A Private Act at Robey Theatre Company. In 2016, her direction of Matthew Lopez's The Whipping Man, starring Charlie Robinson, was broadcast nationally as part of LA Theatre Works' radio series at the Skirball Cultural Center. Elder has also directed short films, including the 1989 short Behind God's Back, for which she also served as narrator, and the 2013 short A Private Act, for which she wrote the screenplay.