Esther Rolle was born on November 8, 1920 in Pompano Beach, Florida, the 10th child in a family of 18. Rolle graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia in 1942, and honed her acting chops as a member of the critically acclaimed theater group The Negro Ensemble Company. She received acclaim for her performances in Blues for Mister Charlie, The Amen Corner, A Raisin in the Sun and A Member of the Wedding. It was in one such production that Norman Lear noticed her immense talent and cast her as the feisty maid Florida in the television sitcom Maude (1972). The straight-talking maid was so popular that Lear thought Florida could be the focus of her own show. Good Times debuted in 1974 and was immediate hit. A comedy set in a high-rise housing project on Chicago's South Side, the series dealt honestly with the ever-changing political and social climate of the 1970s and issues that often arise within families living in impoverished conditions. The series was also notable for being the first prime-time show to feature a nuclear black family and a strong black father figure, something Rolle had insisted upon. But as the show's ratings continued to rise. Good Times began to stumble in social responsibility. Increasingly the show began to focus on the "jive-talking," woman-chasing and often decidedly shady schemes of the J.J. character. Critics of the time were disapproving of the direction of the show and so was Rolle. She tried to pressure the producers to make significant changes and even boycotted the series for one season. Eventually Rolle did return to the show that made her a household name, but Good Times was cancelled in 1979. The end of her series was certainly not the end of her career. Rolle went on to perform in numerous television series and specials.   She won an Emmy Award for her outstanding performance in the TV film, Summer of My German Soldier, and several other awards including multiple NAACP Image Awards. On the big screen, Rolle appeared in Driving Miss Daisy (1990), Rosewood (1997) and Down in the Delta. Rolle struggled with diabetes for many years, and complications from the disease claimed her life on November 17, 1998. She was 78 at the time of her passing.