Early life and education Marla Gibbs was born Margaret Theresa Bradley on June 14, 1931, After months in Detroit, Gibbs returned to Chicago, re-enrolling at Phillips where she graduated in June 1949.
Career In 1963, Gibbs relocated to Los Angeles to recuperate from an ulcer and began working as a reservations agent for
United Airlines. She first acted in local Los Angeles black theater before she got her first acting job in the early 1970s, in the
blaxploitation films
Sweet Jesus,
Preacher Man and
Black Belt Jones. In 1975, she was cast in the CBS comedy series
The Jeffersons as
Florence Johnston, the family's maid. For the first two years with CBS, Gibbs continued working for United Airlines. She would work at CBS during the day and then leave for her second job, where she worked the night shift. Two decades later, Gibbs teamed with former
227 co-star
Jackée Harry, in
The First Family, where Gibbs had a recurring role as Grandma Eddy, the mother of Harry's character. She worked with Harry again in the independent film
Forbidden Woman. Gibbs had a number of supporting film roles. She also guest starred on
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,
Martin,
Touched by an Angel (with
Della Reese),
Judging Amy,
ER, and
Southland. From 1998 - 2002 she had a recurring role on
The Hughleys. Gibbs appeared in the 2012
Tyler Perry film ''
Madea's Witness Protection, and starred in the 2012 independent film Grantham & Rose''. In 2015, Gibbs made two appearances in the
Shonda Rhimes' drama series,
Scandal. She later guest starred on
Hot in Cleveland,
American Horror Story: Hotel and
This Is Us. In 2018, she was cast in a recurring role on the ABC drama series
Station 19. Gibbs also had starring roles in two television pilots:
Old Soul alongside
Ellen Burstyn and
Rita Moreno for NBC in 2014, and ABC's
Jalen Vs. Everybody in 2017. In film, she co-starred in
Lemon and
Please Stand By. and Marla Gibbs receiving honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Next Dimension University on August 17, 2019. In 2019, Gibbs reprised her role as Florence on ''
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons'', less than a month before her 88th birthday. In 2021, Gibbs began appearing as
Olivia Price in a recurring role on
Days of Our Lives. That same year, for her contributions to the television industry, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In early 2025, Gibbs received the American Black Film Festival Legacy Award, alongside
Giancarlo Esposito, Aaron Pierre,
Keke Palmer and
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who was also among the honorees.
Other ventures From 1981 to 1999, Gibbs owned a jazz club in
South Central L.A. called Marla's Memory Lane Jazz and Supper Club. She released a number of albums as a singer. In 1990, she moved her Crossroads Arts Academy and Theatre into the former
Leimert Theatre in Los Angeles. Plans included the construction of a second stage, but the project ended in debt in June 1997. ==Personal life==