Margaret Avery

Actress Margaret Avery was born in Mangum, Oklahoma and was raised in San Diego, California. Avery graduated from Point Loma High School in San Diego in 1961 and received her B.A. degree in education from San Francisco State University in 1965 and her M.S. degree in psychology from Phillips Graduate University in Chatsworth, California. Avery also attended the Judy Davis Voice Studio in Oakland, California, the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, and the Jack Kosslyn Actors Workshop in San Francisco.

After graduating from San Francisco State University, Avery worked as a first-grade teacher at Anthony Chabot Elementary School in Oakland. In 1968, Avery moved to Los Angeles, where she worked as a substitute teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District while she pursued her acting career. In the early 1970s, Avery performed in various commercials and plays including Revolution, Sistuhs, and Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? as the lead in 1973. In her first television movie, Steven Spielburg’s 1972 film Something Evil, Avery played the role of Irene. She also played the role of Lark in her first film, Barry Pollack’s Cool Breeze. Avery acted in numerous other movies including Ted Post’s Magnum Force with Clint Eastwood in 1973, Lee Philips’ Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style in 1976, Jeremy Kagan’s Scott Joplin in 1977, Fred Barzyk and David R. Loxton’s The Lathe of Heaven in 1980, Stephen Spielburg’s The Color Purple in 1985, Strathford Hamilton’s Blueberry Hill in 1988, Kevin Hooks’ Heat Wave in 1990, Sig Shore’s The Return of Superfly in 1990, Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns with Angela Bassett in 2008, and Dawn Wilkinson’s Block Party in 2022. On television, Avery performed in numerous series including The New Dick Van Dyke Show in 1973, The Cosby Show in 1992, Bones in 2005, Grey’s Anatomy in 2019, and Being Mary Jane in a recurring role from 2013 to 2019. Later in her career, Avery returned to the Los Angeles Unified School District as a psychotherapist.

Throughout her career, Avery received numerous awards and honors including the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Lead Performance for Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? in 1973, the NAACP Image Award for Best Actress for Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style, a Nomination for the NAACP Image Award for Best Actress for Scott Joplin, an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for The Color Purple from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1986, and an induction into the San Francisco State University Alumni Hall of Fame in 2014. Avery served as a spokesperson for the Lupus Foundation of America.

Margaret Avery was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on March 22, 2023.