Early life and career DuBois was born Jeannette Theresa Dubois in
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. In the early 1960s, DuBois moved to
Brooklyn She appeared in the drama
A Raisin in the Sun with
Louis Gossett Jr., though not the original Broadway production. After appearing in the play
The Blacks in October 1963, she became an understudy for the housekeeper role, portrayed by Gertrude Jeannette, in the comedy
Nobody Loves an Albatross, which ran through June 1964. DuBois next appeared in the Broadway musical
Golden Boy with
Sammy Davis Jr.,
Billy Daniels,
Lola Falana and
Johnny Brown. DuBois portrayed Anna, the sister of Davis's character, through the entire original run from October 1964 to March 1966.
Career DuBois's early television acting credits include the 1969 television film
J.T. and as Loretta Allen on the soap opera
Love of Life from 1970 until 1972, becoming one of the first African-American female regular cast members on a daytime series. DuBois's first film appearance was her portrayal of Vera in
Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970). She landed the role of Stormy Monday in the 1973 comedy
Five on the Black Hand Side and appeared in
Lanford Wilson's play
The Hot l Baltimore that same year. During her time in the play, television producer
Norman Lear watched DuBois on stage at the
Mark Taper Forum and was impressed with her performance. He cast her in his CBS sitcom
Good Times as Wilona Woods, the Evanses' neighbor and best friend of family matriarch Florida Evans, portrayed by
Esther Rolle. DuBois appeared in the show from February 1974 until the show ended in August 1979. DuBois began the show as a costar alongside Rolle and
John Amos (who departed the show in 1976). In 1977, DuBois's role became more prominent during the fifth season after Rolle had left the cast. DuBois returned to her costarring role when Rolle returned in the sixth and final season in 1978. After
Good Times ended in 1979, DuBois recorded the album ''Again, Ja'Net DuBois
on her Peanuts and Caviar label in 1983. She appeared in former Good Times'' co-star
Janet Jackson's 1987 "
Control" music video as her mother. In 1992, she costarred with
Clifton Davis in
And I Still Rise, a play written and directed by
Maya Angelou. DuBois co-starred in the films ''
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), and on television in Moesha, The Steve Harvey Show, A Different World, Touched by an Angel and The Wayans Bros.''
Other ventures and accolades During the 1980s, DuBois operated the Ja'net DuBois Academy of Theater Arts and Sciences, a performing arts school for teenagers on Long Island, New York. In 1995, DuBois won a
CableACE award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Lifetime film ''Other Women's Children
. DuBois won Emmy Awards for her voiceover work on the animated program The PJs in 1999 and 2001. DuBois, along with the other cast members of Good Times'', received the Impact Icon Award at the 2006
TV Land Awards. In 2000, DuBois served as grand marshal for the North Amityville Community Parade and Festival Day in
Amityville, New York. DuBois was an honorary member of the
Zeta Phi Beta sorority. == Personal life ==