---
name: "Olivia Cole"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/olivia-cole"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "26 November 1942"
died: "19 January 2018"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T16:49:11.138630+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."
---

# Olivia Cole

Actor. Born 26 November 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Died 19 January 2018.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 26 November 1942, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
- **Died:** 19 January 2018
- **Also known as:** Olivia Carlena Cole

## Biography

Olivia Cole (born Olivia Carlena Cole) was an American actress. She was born on 26 November 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, and died on 19 January 2018 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Cole trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating with honours in 1964, and later earned a master's degree in theatre arts from the University of Minnesota. She made her screen debut in the soap opera *Guiding Light* in 1969 and appeared in numerous stage productions, including a Broadway debut in 1966.

She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series for her role as Mathilda (also credited as Matilda Moore) in the 1977 miniseries *Roots*. Cole was also known for her performances in the miniseries *Backstairs at the White House* (1979), for which she received an Emmy nomination, *North and South* (1985), and films including *Coming Home* (1978) and *First Sunday* (2008). She was married to actor Richard Venture from 1971 to 1984.

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

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Roots* (1977), Fi1m 83, as Mathilda — [page](https://film.one/tv/roots.md)

## Also known for

- *Murder, She Wrote* (1984), Melinda Coop, Yvette Dauphin, Callie Coleman
- *First Sunday* (2008), Momma T
- *Coming Home* (1978), Corrine
- *North and South* (1985), Maum Sally
- *L.A. Law* (1986), Judge Julie McFarlane
- *Some Kind of Hero* (1982), Jesse

---
© 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/olivia-cole