Novella Nelson

Novella Christine Nelson (December 17, 1939 – August 31, 2017) was an American actress and singer born in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, James Nelson, worked as both a pastor and a taxi driver, while her mother, Evelyn (née Hines) Nelson, held a position as an executive assistant at Women's Wear Daily. Nelson's Broadway career spanned more than three decades, from 1964 to 1995, encompassing productions including Purlie, Hello, Dolly!, The Little Foxes, Caesar and Cleopatra, and Having Our Say.

Nelson attended Brooklyn College in the late 1950s, where she initially majored in biochemistry. A speech class that functioned as an acting course led her to the stage, where she took on the role of Berenice, the housekeeper, in Carson McCullers's The Member of the Wedding. That experience prompted her to change her major to theatre. Her stage career began in 1961 and extended across several decades, encompassing performing, directing, and producing work primarily in New York. She built her reputation as a singer in both Broadway and off-Broadway productions as well as in cabaret settings. In 1975, she directed the play La Femme Noire at The Public Theater.

Nelson's screen career began at age 39 with a small role in the 1977 film An Unmarried Woman, and she continued working in film and television for the following decades. She is perhaps most widely recognized for her portrayal of Mrs. Tate in the 2002 film Antwone Fisher. Nelson died of cancer on August 31, 2017, at the age of 77, in Brooklyn, New York.