Mary Alice was born on December 3, 1936 in Indianola, Mississippi, USA to parents Ozelar Jurnakin (Smith) and Sam Smith. She was an actress, known for The Matrix Revolutions (2003), Awakenings (1990) and Malcolm X (1992). She taught in Elementary School before her acting career took off. When she was still a struggling actress doing stage plays, she made a living doing her castmate's laundry for a salary of $200 a week. She was a lifelong liberal Democrat, feminist, and civil rights activist. Was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2000. She retired from acting in 2005. She died of natural causes on July 27, 2022 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Upon her death, she was buried with her siblings at Oak Wood Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois, in regard for her last wishes.

Filmography

• Kojak — Joyce
• 2004The Burly Man Chronicles
• The Jury
• 2003The Matrix Revolutions — The Oracle
• 2002Sunshine State — Eunice Stokes
• 2001The Last Brickmaker in America — Dorothy Cobb
• Soul Food — Mrs. Pettaway
• 2000The Photographer — Violet
• 1999Catfish in Black Bean Sauce — Dolores Williams
• Providence — Abby Franklin
• 1999The Wishing Tree — Mattie
• 1998Down in the Delta — Rosa Lynn Sinclair
• Oz — Eugenia Hill
• 1996Bed of Roses — Alice
• Cosby
• 1995Heading Home — Mary Jones
• 1995Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder
• 1994The Inkwell — Evelyn
• 1994The Mother — Black Lady
• 1994The Vernon Johns Story — Altona
• Touched by an Angel — Georgia Bishop
• 1993A Perfect World — Lottie
• Laurel Avenue — Maggie Arnett
• 1993Life with Mikey — Mrs. Gordon
• 1992Malcolm X — School Teacher
• I'll Fly Away — Marguerite Peck
• Performance — Black lady
• 1990Awakenings — Nurse Margaret
• Law & Order — Virginia Bryan
• 1990The Bonfire of the Vanities — Annie Lamb
• 1990To Sleep with Anger — Suzie
• 1989The Women of Brewster Place — Fannie Michael
• The Women of Brewster Place — Fannie Michael
• A Different World — Lettie Bostic
• L.A. Law — Maxine Manley
• 1985Charlotte Forten's Mission: Experiment in Freedom — Blind Lily
• 1984Beat Street — Cora
• 1984Teachers — Linda Ganz
• 1984The Killing Floor — Lilah Dean
• 1983The Brass Ring — Mrs. Hauser
• 1982A House Divided: Denmark Vesey's Rebellion — Beck
• American Playhouse — Lilah Dean, Blind Lily
• 1980Joshua's World — Housekeeper
• 1979Lawman Without a Gun — Minnie Hayward
• 1976Just an Old Sweet Song — Helen Mayfield
• 1976Sparkle — Effie
• Good Times
• Police Woman
• 1974Sty of the Blind Pig — Alberta Warren
• 1974The Education of Sonny Carson — Moms
• Sanford and Son
• Great Performances
• Green Acres

Appearances as themselves (2)

• 2004The Matrix Recalibrated — Self
• 2003What I Want My Words to Do to You — Self