--- name: "Esther Rolle" canonical: "https://film.one/person/esther-rolle" fi1m_id: "esther-rolle" imdb_id: "nm0738354" tmdb_id: 5700 wikidata_id: "Q465676" roles: ["Actor"] born: "8 November 1920" died: "17 November 1998" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-10-11T22:44:40.740297+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Esther Rolle ## Identity Esther Rolle - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/esther-rolle - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** esther-rolle - **IMDb ID:** nm0738354 - **TMDB ID:** 5700 - **Wikidata ID:** Q465676 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Rolle, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q465676, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0738354/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5700 Actor. Born 8 November 1920 in Pompano Beach, Florida USA. Died 17 November 1998. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 8 November 1920, Pompano Beach, Florida USA - **Died:** 17 November 1998 - **Also known as:** Esther Elizabeth Rolle - **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other - **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 1 Emmy (1 won) - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 68 (1), 1990s 71 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Rolle, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q465676, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0738354/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5700 ## Streaming the US now - **Tubi:** [*Driving Miss Daisy*](https://film.one/film/driving-miss-daisy.md) (68) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Biography Esther Rolle (also credited as Esther Elizabeth Rolle) was an American actress. Born on 8 November 1920 in Pompano Beach, Florida, she died on 17 November 1998. She is best known for playing Florida Evans on the television sitcoms *Maude* (1972–1974) and its spin-off *Good Times* (1974–1979). Rolle appeared in numerous films, including *Driving Miss Daisy* (1989) as Idella, *How to Make an American Quilt* (1995) as Aunt Pauline and *My Fellow Americans* (1996) as Rita. She began her career in theatre with the Negro Ensemble Company and received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special for *Summer of My German Soldier* (1979). She had two sisters who were also actresses. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) ### Performed in (1) — the average rests on these - *Driving Miss Daisy* (1989), Fi1m 68, as Idella — [page](https://film.one/film/driving-miss-daisy.md) ### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Cape Fear* (1991), Fi1m 71, as Woman Watching Cady Get Out from Under the Car (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/cape-fear-1991.md) ## Complete filmography (44) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Train Ride* (2005), as Dean of Students - *Down in the Delta* (1998), as Annie Sinclair - *Rosewood* (1997), as Aunt Sarah - *My Fellow Americans* (1996), as Rita - *Promised Land* (1996), series, as Mary Harding - *How to Make an American Quilt* (1995), as Aunt Pauline - *Nobody's Girls: Five Women of the West* (1995), as Clara Brown - *Scarlett* (1994), series, as Mammy - *Touched by an Angel* (1994), series, as Mary Harding - *To Dance with the White Dog* (1993), as Neelie - *Message from Nam* (1993), as Queenie / Elizabeth McQueen - *House of Cards* (1993), as Adelle - *Cape Fear* (1991), as Woman Watching Cady Get Out from Under the Car (uncredited) — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/film/cape-fear-1991.md) - *The Kid Who Loved Christmas* (1990), as Esther Clayton - *Singer and Sons* (1990), series, Actor - *Age-Old Friends* (1989), as Mrs. Baker - *Driving Miss Daisy* (1989), as Idella — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/driving-miss-daisy.md) - *The Mighty Quinn* (1989), as Ubu Pearl - *A Raisin in the Sun* (1989), as Lena 'Mama' Younger - *P.K. and the Kid* (1987), as Mim - *Ethnic Notions* (1986), as Narrator - *Murder, She Wrote* (1984), series, as Margaret - *Finder of Lost Loves* (1984), series, as Nellie - *The Grand Baby* (1983), as Momma - *The New Odd Couple* (1982), series, as Ms. Gibbs - *American Playhouse* (1982), series, as Church Woman, Lena Younger - *The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet* (1982), as Nurse - *Darkroom* (1981), series, as Old Woman - *See China and Die* (1981), as Momma Sykes - *Flamingo Road* (1981), series, Actor - *I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings* (1979), as Momma - *Summer of My German Soldier* (1978), as Ruth - *The Incredible Hulk* (1977), series, Actor - *The Love Boat* (1977), series, as Judge Kramer - *Good Times* (1974), series, as Florida Evans - *Cleopatra Jones* (1973), as Mrs. Johnson - *Don't Play Us Cheap* (1973), as Miss Maybell - *Maude* (1972), series, as Florida Evans - *Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow!* (1971), as Maid - *The Learning Tree* (1969), as uncredited - *Up the Down Staircase* (1967), as Teacher - *Nothing But a Man* (1964), as Church Woman - *To Kill a Mockingbird* (1962), as uncredited role — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/to-kill-a-mockingbird.md) - *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, Actor ## Gallery - ![Actress Esther Rolle, portrait (1978)](https://film.one/media/person/1247947/gallery-cd2a3f4b2cac.jpg) Actress Esther Rolle, portrait (1978) — Larry Armstrong, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/Esther_Rolle_1978.jpg/1280px-Esther_Rolle_1978.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Actress Esther Rolle, portrait (1978)](https://film.one/media/person/1247947/gallery-f1f11e5c35e0.jpg) Actress Esther Rolle, portrait (1978) — Larry Armstrong, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Esther_Rolle_1978_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Esther_Rolle_1978_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Publicity photo from Good Times. Pictured are Jimmie Walker (J.J.) and Esther Rolle (Florida).](https://film.one/media/person/1247947/gallery-1f5afd28cb15.jpg) Publicity photo from Good Times. Pictured are Jimmie Walker (J.J.) and Esther Rolle (Florida). — CBS Television Uploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Good_times_1974.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Esther Rolle](https://film.one/media/person/1247947/gallery-94169e4b60aa.jpg) Esther Rolle — CBS Television Uploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Esther_Rolle_and_John_Amos._Good_Times%2C_1974.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) ## Awards ### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won - 1979: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (won), for *Summer of My German Soldier* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/esther-rolle