Biography
Virginia Capers (1925–2004) was an American actress and singer. She trained at Howard University and the Juilliard School before making her Broadway debut in the musical Jamaica in 1957.
Capers won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical in 1974 for her role as Lena Younger in Raisin. She appeared in films including Howard the Duck (1986), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) as Florence Sparrow, Beethoven's 2nd (1993) and What's Love Got to Do with It (1993). On television she had a recurring role as Hattie Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and guest roles in series such as Murder, She Wrote, The Golden Girls and ER.
She also performed in other Broadway productions including Saratoga and founded the Lafayette Players repertory theatre company in Los Angeles.
