---
name: "Olga James"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/olga-james"
fi1m_id: "olga-james"
imdb_id: "nm0416802"
tmdb_id: 1594318
wikidata_id: "Q86080796"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "16 February 1929"
died: "25 January 2025"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-25T06:51:59.562335+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."
---

# Olga James

## Identity

Olga James

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/olga-james
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** olga-james
- **IMDb ID:** nm0416802
- **TMDB ID:** 1594318
- **Wikidata ID:** Q86080796
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_James, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q86080796, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416802/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1594318

Actor. Born 16 February 1929 in Washington, D.C., United States of America. Died 25 January 2025.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 16 February 1929, Washington, D.C., United States of America
- **Died:** 25 January 2025
- **Also known as:** Olga James Adderley-Chandler
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_James, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q86080796, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416802/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1594318

## Biography

Olga James was an American singer and actress. She trained as an opera singer at the Juilliard School in New York and made her professional debut in 1952 in Paris, performing in the opera *Four Saints in Three Acts*.

James is best known for playing Cindy Lou, the fiancée of Harry Belafonte’s character, in Otto Preminger’s film *Carmen Jones* (1954). In 1956 she made her only Broadway appearance in the musical *Mr. Wonderful*, originating the role of Ethel Pearson opposite Sammy Davis Jr. She later had a recurring role on the television series *The Bill Cosby Show* (1969–1971) and provided a voice for the animated series *Sealab 2020* (1972).

In 1962 she married jazz saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley; the marriage lasted until his death in 1975. She later married singer and activist Len Chandler in 1990; he died in 2023. James died in Los Angeles on 25 January 2025.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, hollywoodreporter.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Carmen Jones* (1954), Fi1m 65, as Cindy Lou — [page](https://film.one/film/carmen-jones.md)

## Complete filmography (4)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty* (2003), as Cindy Lou (archive footage)
- *Sealab 2020* (1972), series, as Mrs. Thomas (voice)
- *The Bill Cosby Show* (1969), series, as Verna Kincaid, Gail Hathaway
- *Carmen Jones* (1954), as Cindy Lou — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/carmen-jones.md)

---
© 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/olga-james