Marcella Lowery

Marcella Lowery is an American actress whose career spans Broadway, film, and television. A graduate of Malverne High School, where she served as captain of the varsity girls' basketball team, Lowery developed an early passion for the theater. She funded trips to Broadway productions using money earned from babysitting, concealing these outings from her parents by telling them she was attending basketball practice.

Lowery's Broadway career ran from 1975 to 1981. She portrayed Sis Laura in The Member of the Wedding in 1975 and took on the role of Louise in Lolita in 1981. Her stage work also extended to Off-Broadway, where she played Maybelle in the premiere production of Before It Hits Home.

On television, Lowery became recognizable to audiences through a recurring role on The Cosby Show, playing Francine Tibideaux, the mother of Elvin Tibideaux and mother-in-law of Sondra Huxtable. She portrayed Jamal Jenkins' grandmother on the children's series Ghostwriter from 1992 to 1995, and went on to play Principal Karen Noble on the NBC sitcom City Guys. Lowery also guest-starred in four episodes of Law & Order.

Her film credits include Anna Eldridge in the 1996 release The Preacher's Wife, as well as a brief appearance in What About Bob. In the realm of commercial work, Lowery portrayed Donovan McNabb's mother in Campbell's Chunky Soup advertisements and has appeared in commercials for Colonial Penn. Lowery has a daughter.