Gloria Foster will always be best known for her performance as The
Oracle in Matrix (1999) and
Matrix Reloaded (2003),
but the actress's career spanned four decades on the stage and screen.
Born on November 15, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois, Foster was put in the
custody of her grandparents and raised on a farm. She returned to
Chicago to attend the University of Illinois. Acting was not a focus
until she was accepted at the city's distinguished Goodman Theatre. She
performed on stages around the city before heading to New York City in
the early 1960s.
In New York, her first stage role was in "A Raisin in the Sun". She won
an Obie Award for her next performance in the play "In White America",
where she portrayed 27 different characters. Life Magazine dedicated a
two-page article on Foster. More roles followed as her fans grew in
number; quite often, roles were being written expressly for her. By the
end of her career, she would win 2 more Obies, for a later performance
of "A Raisin in the Sun" and the Broadway production of "Having Our
Say" in 1995.
Foster's first film role was in
Die lässige Welt (1963); during
production set met actor-director
Clarence Williams III, and
the couple soon married. (They later divorced, and Foster never
remarried.)
Her film work was limited, with roles in
Nichts als ein Mensch (1964),
Die Stunde der Komödianten (1967),
Ein Engel names Levin (1970),
Man and Boy (1971),
Bill Cosby - Die Superkanone (1987),
Stadt der Hoffnung (1991), and the
aforementioned Matrix appearances. She worked a bit more on television,
with appearances throughout the years on
Tennisschläger und Kanonen (1965),
Twen-Police (1968),
Bill Cosby (1969),
The White Shadow (1978),
Die Bill Cosby Show (1984),
Law & Order (1990) (her character
here was based on Betty Shabazz,
Malcolm X's widow), and
Soul Food (2000). She appeared in
the TV movies
Wo das Grauen lauert (1984)
and the Golden Globe-nominated
Gleichheit kennt keine Farbe (1991).
She returned to the stage in 1995 in "Having Our Say", co-starring with
Mary Alice, who would take her place
as The Oracle in
Matrix Revolutions (2003).
On September 29, 2001, she died of complications from diabetes. She was
67.
