Anna Maria Horsford

Anna Maria Horsford (born March 6, 1948) is probably best known for her roles in two highly successful sitcom shows during the 1980's to the late 1990's: NBC-TV's Amen opposite actor/evangelist Clifton Davis and actor Sherman Hemsley of The Jeffersons fame, and the WB's (now the CW network) The Wayans Bros. opposite comedic actors Sean and Marlon Wayans and veteran comedian John Witherspoon. In addition to these shows, Anna has an extensive resume of works on both films and television as well as the stage, where she got her start in acting.

Anna Maria Horsford Biography

Early life and career

Anna was born and raised in Harlem, New York. Her parents immigrated to the United States from island nation of Antigua & Barbuda in the West Indies (then a British colony) during the 1940s. Anna grew up not really feeling American but not West Indian either, just somewhere in between. However, she vacationed in the Caribbean, and this stoked her desire to see the world. After high school she went to Stockholm, Sweden, to attend college.

Her mother always knew Anna would be something big because she was very talkative, and kept Anna enrolled in community centers, after-school programs, church events, etc. She auditioned for the New York High School of Performing Arts and was accepted. As she recollects, "My first big break came when I auditioned at the New York Shakespeare Festival."

Major acting roles

Anna's first major break in television comedy came in 1986, when she was cast as Thelma Frye on the NBC-TV hit sitcom Amen opposite Davis's character, Rev. Reuben Gregory, also as Sherman Hemsley's Deacon Ernest Frye's daughter, who was infatuted with Rueben; the show remained in the Nielsen Ratings Top 10 until its cancellation in 1992.

After Amen's cancellation, Anna kept busy on both the stage and screen, appearing in guest roles in such sitcoms as The Fresh Prince Of Belair, Sparks (along with Hemsley), and Rhythm and Blues, and the off-Broadway play Dancing On Moonlight in 1996.

Anna landed two more major roles in 1995, first as Mrs. Jones, opposite rapper/actor Ice Cube (Craig Jones), Witherspoon (Mr. Willie Jones, Craig's father), and comedian/actor Chris Tucker (Smokey), later of the Rush Hour films fame in the blockbuster comedy Friday, then as Dee Baxter on the WB channel's sitcom The Wayans Bros. again opposite Witherspoon and Sean and Marlon Wayans. This show remained in top 20 in the Nielsen Ratings until its cancellation in 1999. Anna would reprise the role of Mrs. Jones from Friday in two more sequels, Next Friday (2000) and Friday After Next (2002), this time, in addition to appearing again with WItherspoon and Ice Cube, Anna would also appear with comedians Mike Epps, Don "D.C." Curry, and comedienne Sommore.

Working in many different aspects of show business has allowed her to venture into areas other than acting, such as directing. She also has an Art Institute in upstate New York. Her father was a Garveyite (following the "back-to-Africa" teachings of Marcus Garvey), journeyed to Africa and lived in Liberia for five years. As Anna said, "He clearly taught us to love being black and not be ashamed of being black. We are all warriors and have to work to do."