Irma Dolores Player Hall (born June 3, 1935) is an American actress
who has appeared in numerous films and television shows since the
earlyâ€"1970s. Hall is perhaps best known for playing matriarchal
figures in the films such as A Family Thing, The Ladykillers and Soul
Food, in which she portrayed Josephine "Big Mama Joe" Joseph, a role
she reprised in the television series of the same name.She also
appeared in Collateral and two films by director Werner Herzog. For
her performance in The Ladykillers, she won the Jury Prize at the 2004
Cannes Film Festival.Hall was born Irma Dolores Player Hall in
Beaumont, Texas, the daughter of Josephine Hall. Hall was raised on
Chicago, Illinois' south side. Her father was a saxophone player who
performed jazz music. Hall attended Corpus Christi High School in the
Bronzeville neighborhood[citation needed] and later Briar Cliff
College in Sioux City, Iowa.Hall's first acting role was in an
independent film called Book of Numbers at the age of 36. Hall had
been a teacher of languages for many years in Dallas, Texas when
actor/director Raymond St. Jacques hired her as interim publicist for
Book of Numbers. St Jacques saw her performing at a poetry reading. He
liked her so much that he offered her a role in his film on the spot.
Hall discovered a love for acting, and soon co-founded a repertory
theatre in Dallas. Hall's personality and age made her a natural to be
cast as a middle-aged, strong authority figure. She worked steadily in
films and TV throughout the 1980s. But it was not until her role as
the loving Aunt T. in 1996's A Family Thing that critics and audiences
began to take notice of her talents. She won the Chicago Film Critics
Association Award and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for
Best Supporting Actress for her role and the success of that film
helped launch Hall's career as a major supporting actress in the late
1990s and early 2000s. Sizable roles in major films such as Nothing to
Lose and Steel followed. Hall then landed the role as Big Mama Joseph
in the film Soul Food. The film was a hit at the box office, prompting
a television spinoff, Soul Food: The Series, in which Hall reprised
her role. She landed another acclaimed role when she was cast in the
2004 remake of The Ladykillers. She won a special Jury Prize at the
2004 Cannes Film Festival and an Image Award for her performance.
who has appeared in numerous films and television shows since the
earlyâ€"1970s. Hall is perhaps best known for playing matriarchal
figures in the films such as A Family Thing, The Ladykillers and Soul
Food, in which she portrayed Josephine "Big Mama Joe" Joseph, a role
she reprised in the television series of the same name.She also
appeared in Collateral and two films by director Werner Herzog. For
her performance in The Ladykillers, she won the Jury Prize at the 2004
Cannes Film Festival.Hall was born Irma Dolores Player Hall in
Beaumont, Texas, the daughter of Josephine Hall. Hall was raised on
Chicago, Illinois' south side. Her father was a saxophone player who
performed jazz music. Hall attended Corpus Christi High School in the
Bronzeville neighborhood[citation needed] and later Briar Cliff
College in Sioux City, Iowa.Hall's first acting role was in an
independent film called Book of Numbers at the age of 36. Hall had
been a teacher of languages for many years in Dallas, Texas when
actor/director Raymond St. Jacques hired her as interim publicist for
Book of Numbers. St Jacques saw her performing at a poetry reading. He
liked her so much that he offered her a role in his film on the spot.
Hall discovered a love for acting, and soon co-founded a repertory
theatre in Dallas. Hall's personality and age made her a natural to be
cast as a middle-aged, strong authority figure. She worked steadily in
films and TV throughout the 1980s. But it was not until her role as
the loving Aunt T. in 1996's A Family Thing that critics and audiences
began to take notice of her talents. She won the Chicago Film Critics
Association Award and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for
Best Supporting Actress for her role and the success of that film
helped launch Hall's career as a major supporting actress in the late
1990s and early 2000s. Sizable roles in major films such as Nothing to
Lose and Steel followed. Hall then landed the role as Big Mama Joseph
in the film Soul Food. The film was a hit at the box office, prompting
a television spinoff, Soul Food: The Series, in which Hall reprised
her role. She landed another acclaimed role when she was cast in the
2004 remake of The Ladykillers. She won a special Jury Prize at the
2004 Cannes Film Festival and an Image Award for her performance.
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