Wissenswertes

She was cast in the role of Shug Avery in Die Farbe Lila (1985) just after Tina Turner turned it down and because Steven Spielberg had previously worked with her on the television film Das Haus des Bösen (1972).

She waged a controversial personal campaign for an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress in Die Farbe Lila (1985), highlighted by her taking out an ad in an industry trade magazine. A born-again Christian, she wrote the ad in the vernacular of her character, "Shug", and made her plea directly to God. Many Academy members, reputedly including the film's director Steven Spielberg, were put off by this approach and by her using her professed faith to campaign for an award. She was nominated but lost to Anjelica Huston.

While still a teenager, she joined the civil-rights campaign known as the Freedom Riders.

Has one daughter, Aisha.