Starletta DuPois

Starletta DuPois is an American actress born on July 18, 1941, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was raised. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in 1968 and subsequently completed an M.F.A. in Theatre Arts at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Over the course of her career, DuPois has accumulated credits in more than 90 film and television productions.

DuPois made her Broadway debut in 1974 in the short-lived production What the Wine-Sellers Buy. That same year, she appeared in minor roles in the films Death Wish and The Gambler. In 1976, she took on a starring role in the Off-Broadway production So Nice, They Named it Twice. Her most prominent Broadway recognition came in 1978, when she earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her work in the original production of The Mighty Gents, in which she appeared opposite Dorian Harewood. Her Broadway career continued with an appearance in the musical Don't Get God Started at the Longacre Theatre. Beyond Broadway, DuPois played Ruth Younger in the Union Square Theatre's production of A Raisin in the Sun, a role she later revisited as Lena Younger in the Royal Exchange Theatre's 2010 production, which received a positive notice from The Guardian. Her additional stage credits include Intimate Apparel, Before It Hits Home, King Hedley II, Miss Evers Boys, Fences, The Piano Lesson, and Joe Turner's Come and Gone.

Concurrent with her stage work, DuPois built a substantial television presence beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, with guest appearances on The Jeffersons, Little House on the Prairie, Knots Landing, Hill Street Blues, CHiPs, and St. Elsewhere. Her television work extended to made-for-television films including The Kid with the 200 I.Q. (1983), Wes Craven's Chiller (1985), Runaway Father (1991), Strapped (1993), The Road to Galveston (1996), Full Circle (1996), and Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland (2017). In 1989, she received an NAACP Image Award for the American Playhouse production of A Raisin in the Sun. From 2017 to 2021, DuPois starred in the streaming comedy series The Rich and the Ruthless opposite Victoria Rowell. Additional television appearances include guest roles on The Steve Harvey Show, Chicago Hope, The District, Lost, Cold Case, and Black Jesus.

DuPois has appeared in supporting roles across more than 50 feature films. Her film credits include Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), Odd Jobs (1986), Hollywood Shuffle (1987), and Ricochet (1991). She starred opposite James Earl Jones in the 1991 Western film Convicts and appeared in The Waterdance (1992), South Central (1992), The Thing Called Love (1993), and Wolf (1994). In 1995, she played the mother of Whitney Houston's character in the comedy-drama Waiting to Exhale. Later film appearances include 3 Strikes (2000), Big Momma's House (2000), Friday After Next (2002), The Notebook (2004), First Sunday (2008), the True to the Game trilogy (2017–2021), and Charming the Hearts of Men (2021).