Biography

Iconic actress Beverly Todd has distinguished herself on Broadway, the London stage, television and film. A People's Choice Award winner and a four-time nominee of the prestigious NAACP Image Award, Ms. Todd's work dates back to the 1970s in film roles opposite her mentor Sidney Poitier in The Lost Man, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs, and Brother John. In the '80s she starred with Richard Pryor in Moving, Whoopi Goldberg in Clara's Heart, and Morgan Freeman in the film classic, Lean on Me.

She has a long list of television appearances including the PBS Television Special, Six Characters in Search of an Author, which was the first time the leading role of Stepdaughter was played by an actress of color, Roots, Don't Look Back opposite Louis Gossett, Jr., Lifetime's, Taken From Me, opposite Taraji P. Henson, Hope and Redemption, with major guest stars roles on Six Feet Under, Criminal Minds and Grey's Anatomy, to name a few. Most recently, she booked a recurring role on the second season of Queen Sugar.

Film credits include leads in Ava DuVernay's I Will Follow, Paul Haggis's Academy Award Best Picture winner Crash and Rob Reiner's The Bucket List. She also stars in the soon to be released features The Reason opposite Louis Gossett, Jr. and Drive Me to Vegas and Mars, directed and written by Sidney J. Furie.

- IMDb mini biography by: Susan Zachary

Actress Beverly Todd is perhaps best remembered by audiences for her frequent work in late 60's/early 1970's films alongside her mentor, actor Sidney Poitier. Working with him frequently during this peak decade, she played featured roles in the black revolutionary film L'homme perdu (1969); Poitiers' "In the Heat of the Night" sequel Appelez-moi Monsieur Tibbs ! (1970) and the hometown drama Brother John (1971).

The lovely Chicago native was born on July 11, 1946, and first discovered on stage as a teenager in the off-Broadway play "Deep Are the Roots" (1960). She first worked with Poitier when he directed her in the 1968 Broadway play "Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights." Beverly also played Tony-winning Diahann Carroll's lead role in the London musical cast of "No Strings" (1964) in which she warbled the now classic standard "The Sweetest Sounds." While in England, she also appeared in author James Baldwin's second play "Blues for Mr. Charlie."

Before films, Beverly made her debut on the small screen with a regular role (1968-1970) on the daytime soap Love of Life (1951), and gained further movement on such popular shows as "N.Y.P.D.," "The Wild, Wild West" and "The Bold Ones." As time went on, she proved herself quite adept at playing both classy and urban roles. Highlights include stand-out performances on the PBS special Six Characters in Search of an Author (1976) and the esteemed miniseries Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige (1981) opposite Louis Gossett Jr. in the role of Mrs. Paige. Into the next decade she found co-starring/supporting film roles in such diverse fare as Vice Squad: Descente aux enfers (1982), Violences (1985), the Diane Keaton comedy Baby Boom (1987); the comedy Moving (1988) as Richard Pryor's wife; the Whoopi Goldberg drama Le secret de Clara (1988); and the urban school drama L'Incroyable Défi (1989) starring Morgan Freeman.

Back on television, Beverly found recurring roles on several TV series: Having Babies (1978); The Redd Foxx Show (1986); Six pieds sous terre (2001); and the daytime soap Des jours et des vies (1965). More recently, she graced episodes of "Grey's Anatomy," "9-1-1" and "How to Get Away with Murder," along with the assorted film comedies and dramas Collision (2004), Sans plus attendre (2007), I Will Follow (2010), Drive Me to Vegas and Mars (2018) and Turnover (2019).

Divorced from ex-husband/producer Kris Keiser, Beverly took some grief time off in March 1989 following the tragic death of her 18-year-old son Malik. A four-time nominee for the NAACP Image Award, she has also found time to pursue work as an influential event writer/producer, taking on demanding civil and cultural issues that deal with equality, black awareness and child schooling, among others.

- IMDb mini biography by: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net