--- name: "Mary Alice" canonical: "https://film.one/person/mary-alice" fi1m_id: "mary-alice" imdb_id: "nm0019569" tmdb_id: 9572 wikidata_id: "Q271051" roles: ["Actor"] born: "3 December 1936" died: "27 July 2022" reviewed_on_fi1m: 5 average_fi1m_score: 69 average_as: "actor" average_over: 5 updated: "2026-10-05T02:54:23.539590+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." --- # Mary Alice ## Identity Mary Alice - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/mary-alice - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** mary-alice - **IMDb ID:** nm0019569 - **TMDB ID:** 9572 - **Wikidata ID:** Q271051 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Alice, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q271051, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0019569/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9572 Actor. Born 3 December 1936 in Indianola, Mississippi, USA. Died 27 July 2022. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 3 December 1936, Indianola, Mississippi, USA - **Died:** 27 July 2022 - **Active:** 1990–2003 - **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 1 Emmy (1 won) - **Average Fi1m score:** 69, as actor, over 5 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 75 (4), 2000s 46 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 68 to 61 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 1 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 4, Crime 3, Thriller 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, Science Fiction 1 - **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $612m across 3 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Alice, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q271051, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0019569/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9572 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Matrix Revolutions*](https://film.one/film/the-matrix-revolutions.md) (46) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Biography Mary Alice (1936–2022) was an American actress whose career spanned theatre, film and television. Born Mary Alice Smith in Indianola, Mississippi, she trained at Chicago Teacher's College and worked as a schoolteacher in Chicago before moving to New York to pursue acting. She is known for replacing Gloria Foster as The Oracle in *The Matrix Revolutions* (2003). Other film roles include Nurse Margaret in *Awakenings* (1990), a school teacher in *Malcolm X* (1992) and Effie Williams in *Sparkle* (1976). On stage she created the role of Rose Maxson in the original Broadway production of August Wilson's *Fences* (1987), winning a Tony Award for best featured actress in a play. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for her recurring role in the series *I'll Fly Away* and appeared in the television series *A Different World*. Alice was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2000. She retired from acting in 2005 and died of natural causes in Manhattan, New York, on 27 July 2022. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, hollywoodreporter.com, nytimes.com, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (5) - *The Matrix Revolutions* (2003), Fi1m 46, as The Oracle — [page](https://film.one/film/the-matrix-revolutions.md) - *Oz* (1997), Fi1m 80, as Eugenia Hill — [page](https://film.one/tv/oz.md) - *A Perfect World* (1993), Fi1m 74, as Lottie — [page](https://film.one/film/a-perfect-world.md) - *Awakenings* (1990), Fi1m 73, as Nurse Margaret — [page](https://film.one/film/awakenings.md) - *Law & Order* (1990), Fi1m 72, as Virginia Bryan — [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md) ## Complete filmography (53) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Kojak* (2005), series, as Joyce - *The Burly Man Chronicles* (2004), Actor - *The Jury* (2004), series, Actor - *The Matrix Revolutions* (2003), as The Oracle — Fi1m 46, [page](https://film.one/film/the-matrix-revolutions.md) - *Sunshine State* (2002), as Eunice Stokes - *The Last Brickmaker in America* (2001), as Dorothy Cobb - *Soul Food* (2000), series, as Mrs. Pettaway - *The Photographer* (2000), as Violet - *Catfish in Black Bean Sauce* (1999), as Dolores Williams - *Providence* (1999), series, as Abby Franklin - *The Wishing Tree* (1999), as Mattie - *Down in the Delta* (1998), as Rosa Lynn Sinclair - *Oz* (1997), series, as Eugenia Hill — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/oz.md) - *Cosby* (1996), series, Actor - *Bed of Roses* (1996), as Alice - *Heading Home* (1995), as Mary Jones - *Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder* (1995), Actor - *The Mother* (1994), as Black Lady - *Touched by an Angel* (1994), series, as Georgia Bishop - *The Inkwell* (1994), as Evelyn - *The Vernon Johns Story* (1994), as Altona - *A Perfect World* (1993), as Lottie — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/a-perfect-world.md) - *Laurel Avenue* (1993), series, as Maggie Arnett - *Life with Mikey* (1993), as Mrs. Gordon - *Malcolm X* (1992), as School Teacher — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/malcolm-x.md) - *I'll Fly Away* (1991), series, as Marguerite Peck - *Performance* (1991), series, as Black lady - *The Bonfire of the Vanities* (1990), as Annie Lamb - *Awakenings* (1990), as Nurse Margaret — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/awakenings.md) - *To Sleep with Anger* (1990), as Suzie - *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Virginia Bryan — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md) - *The Women of Brewster Place* (1989), as Fannie Michael - *The Women of Brewster Place* (1989), series, as Fannie Michael - *A Different World* (1987), series, as Lettie Bostic - *L.A. Law* (1986), series, as Maxine Manley - *Charlotte Forten's Mission: Experiment in Freedom* (1985), as Blind Lily - *Teachers* (1984), as Linda Ganz - *Beat Street* (1984), as Cora - *The Killing Floor* (1984), as Lilah Dean - *The Brass Ring* (1983), as Mrs. Hauser - *A House Divided: Denmark Vesey's Rebellion* (1982), as Beck - *American Playhouse* (1982), series, as Lilah Dean, Blind Lily - *Joshua's World* (1980), as Housekeeper - *Lawman Without a Gun* (1979), as Minnie Hayward - *Just an Old Sweet Song* (1976), as Helen Mayfield - *Sparkle* (1976), as Effie - *Police Woman* (1974), series, Actor - *The Education of Sonny Carson* (1974), as Moms - *Sty of the Blind Pig* (1974), as Alberta Warren - *Good Times* (1974), series, Actor - *Sanford and Son* (1972), series, Actor - *Great Performances* (1971), series, Actor - *Green Acres* (1965), series, Actor ## Gallery - ![Chi Muoi Lo, Mary Alice, and Paul Winfield in a scene for Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (2007)](https://film.one/media/person/288887/gallery-1cda1f9a6ae5.jpg) Chi Muoi Lo, Mary Alice, and Paul Winfield in a scene for Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (2007) — Dafdl6, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Chi_Muoi_Lo_Mary_Alice_Paul_Winfield_6x4_B.jpg/1280px-Chi_Muoi_Lo_Mary_Alice_Paul_Winfield_6x4_B.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Actress Mary Alice, Photo taken at the 45th Emmy Awards - Governor's Ball](https://film.one/media/person/288887/gallery-f319a77bdeb0.jpg) Actress Mary Alice, Photo taken at the 45th Emmy Awards - Governor's Ball — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/MaryAlice.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Mary Alice](https://film.one/media/person/288887/gallery-a0abda095d15.jpg) Mary Alice — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won - 1993: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (won), for *I'll Fly Away* ### Other awards — 1 won, 1 nominated - Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 1995: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (nominated) - Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play 1987: Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (won) *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/mary-alice