Roxie Albertha Roker (August 28, 1929 â€" December 2, 1995) was an
American actress who portrayed Helen Willis on the CBS sitcom The
Jeffersons (1975â€"1985), half of the first interracial couple to be
shown on regular prime time television. Roker was the mother of rock
musician Lenny Kravitz and the grandmother of actress Zoë
Kravitz.Roker was born in Miami, Florida. Her mother, Bessie Roker
(née Mitchell), was from Georgia and worked as a domestic. Her
father, Albert Roker, was a native from Andros, The Bahamas and a
porter. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York.Roker portrayed Helen Willis
on The Jeffersons. She began her professional career with the Negro
Ensemble Company and became a successful stage actress. She won an
Obie Award in 1974 and was nominated for a Tony Award for her
portrayal of Mattie Williams in The River Niger. She was a reporter on
WNEW-TV in New York in the 1970s and hosted a public affairs show for
the station known as Inside Bed-Stuy, dealing with events in the
Brooklyn neighborhood. She appeared in guest starring roles on many
United States television shows from the 1970s through the 1990s,
including "Stone in the River" starring Hal Miller for NBC, Punky
Brewster, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, A Different World, Murder, She
Wrote, The Love Boat, 227, Beat the Clock, Fantasy Island, and ABC
Afterschool Specials. She had roles in the television miniseries Roots
and in the movie Claudine. Roker was also a children’s advocate who
was cited by the city of Los Angeles for her community work.Roker
graduated from Howard University, where she was a member of Alpha
Kappa Alpha sorority. She was married to television producer Sy
Kravitz in 1962. The couple had a son, singer-songwriter and actor
Lenny Kravitz (born May 26, 1964), and divorced in 1985. Weather
anchor Al Roker and Roxie Roker are first cousins once removed.
American actress who portrayed Helen Willis on the CBS sitcom The
Jeffersons (1975â€"1985), half of the first interracial couple to be
shown on regular prime time television. Roker was the mother of rock
musician Lenny Kravitz and the grandmother of actress Zoë
Kravitz.Roker was born in Miami, Florida. Her mother, Bessie Roker
(née Mitchell), was from Georgia and worked as a domestic. Her
father, Albert Roker, was a native from Andros, The Bahamas and a
porter. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York.Roker portrayed Helen Willis
on The Jeffersons. She began her professional career with the Negro
Ensemble Company and became a successful stage actress. She won an
Obie Award in 1974 and was nominated for a Tony Award for her
portrayal of Mattie Williams in The River Niger. She was a reporter on
WNEW-TV in New York in the 1970s and hosted a public affairs show for
the station known as Inside Bed-Stuy, dealing with events in the
Brooklyn neighborhood. She appeared in guest starring roles on many
United States television shows from the 1970s through the 1990s,
including "Stone in the River" starring Hal Miller for NBC, Punky
Brewster, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, A Different World, Murder, She
Wrote, The Love Boat, 227, Beat the Clock, Fantasy Island, and ABC
Afterschool Specials. She had roles in the television miniseries Roots
and in the movie Claudine. Roker was also a children’s advocate who
was cited by the city of Los Angeles for her community work.Roker
graduated from Howard University, where she was a member of Alpha
Kappa Alpha sorority. She was married to television producer Sy
Kravitz in 1962. The couple had a son, singer-songwriter and actor
Lenny Kravitz (born May 26, 1964), and divorced in 1985. Weather
anchor Al Roker and Roxie Roker are first cousins once removed.
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