Margaret Avery is an American actress. She began her career appearing on stage and later had starring roles in films including Cool Breeze (1972), Which Way Is Up? (1977), Scott Joplin (1977) which earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination, and The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Shug Avery in the period drama film The Color Purple (1985).
Avery continued appearing in films like Blueberry Hill (1988), White Man's Burden (1995), Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008), Meet the Browns (2008), and Proud Mary (2018). From 2013 to 2019, Avery starred as Helen Patterson, lead character's mother, in the BET drama series Being Mary Jane.
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Early life and education
Margaret Avery grew up in San Diego and attended high school at the Point Loma High School in the city. She earned a degree in education in 1965 from San Francisco State University. While working as an elementary school teacher in Oakland, California, she began making singing and acting appearances. She studied with Judy Davis, the vocal coach for Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand as well as at the American Conservatory Theater. She moved to Los Angeles in 1968 to pursue acting full time, while working as a substitute teacher.
