This is a Madge Sinclair appreciation post!
As the internet gathered around their screens for the sequel to “Coming To America,” we are paying tribute to actress Madge Sinclair, born Madge Dorita Walters. She regaled us as Queen Aoleon in the original movie and was the voice of Simba’s mother and Mufasa’s wife, Sarabi, in “The Lion King.”
She was born on April 28, 1938, in Kingston, Jamaica, where she worked as a teacher until she was 30 before moving to NYC in 1966 to pursue her acting career. Sinclair began modeling and got her first role in 1974 as Mrs. Scott in “Conrack,” which earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination. Then she received her first nomination for Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series in 1977 for her role as Bell Reynolds in the TV mini-series “Roots.” Sinclar would be nominated five times for Primetime Emmys and go on to win an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series in 1991 for her role as Empress Josephine in “Gabriel’s Fire.”
The last film she appeared in was “The Lion King” in 1994 before she passed from leukemia after a 13-year fight on December 20, 1995, at 57. She appeared in 27 TV shows and 17 films during her 20-year career and received the Order of Distinction from the Prime Minister of Jamaica and two Image Awards from the NAACP.
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May her legacy live on forever!
Photo Credit: I Love Old School Music/Getty