Quick Facts
Biography
Barbara Montgomery (born June 25, 1939) is an American stage, television and film actress, and theatrical and film director.
Career
Born in Queens, Montgomery began her career on the stage in the 1960s in Off-Off-Broadway theatrical groups. She was a member of Negro Ensemble Company and the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. In the early 1970s, she starred as "Mama" in the Off-Broadway production of My Sister, My Sister for which she earned an Obie Award. The play later ran on Broadway from April to August 1974 for which Montgomery reprised her role.
In 1986, Montgomery won the role of Cassietta Hetebrink on the NBC sitcom Amen. Montgomery played the role for four years before leaving the series in 1990. Later that year, she starred in the short-lived ABC program Married People as Olivia Williams. She has also appeared on many shows such as A Different World, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Disneyland, and Living Single.
In 2013, Montgomery made her directorial debut with the historical film Mitote, starring Ruby Dee and S. Epatha Merkerson.
Work
| Stage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Play | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | My Sister, My Sister | Mama | |
| 1975 | The First Breeze of Summer | Aunt Edna | |
| 1976 | Kennedy's Children | Wanda | |
| 1981 | Inacent Black | Mana Essie Rydell | |
| 1985 | The Tap Dance Kid | Dulcie | |
| 2008 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Dialect Coach | |
| Film | |||
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | Moscow on the Hudson | Mrs. Marlowe | |
| 1991 | A Fond Little Memory | ||
| 1993 | The Meteor Man | Dre's mother | |
| 2001 | Lift | France | |
| 2007 | Blackout | Mrs. Germaine | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | The First Breeze of Summer | Aunt Edna | Television movie |
| 1985 | Evergreen | Miniseries | |
| 1986 | A Fight for Jenny | Mrs. Martin | Television movie |
| 1986–1990 | Amen | Casietta Hetebrink | 88 episodes |
| 1989 | The Women of Brewster Place | Miss Eva | Miniseries |
| Polly | Mrs. Conley | Television movie | |
| 1990 | Married People | Olivia Williams | Unknown episodes |
| Polly: Comin' Home! | Mrs. Conley | Television movie | |
| 1992 | A Different World | Imogene Douglas | 2 episodes |
| The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Woman #2 | 1 episode | |
| 1993 | Quantum Leap | Vivian | 1 episode |
| Bloodlines: Murder in the Family | Juvy Judge | Television movie | |
| Bodies of Evidence | Nurse Halli Mashler | 1 episode | |
| 1994 | Sister, Sister | Odessa | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Women of the House | Sapphire Jones | 1 episode |
| Living Single | Ruth | 1 episode | |
| Dave's World | Shel's Mother | 1 episode | |
| 1996 | ABC Afterschool Special | Geneva | 1 episode |
| 1999 | Cosby | Betty | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Grey's Anatomy | Louise | 1 episode |