Margaret Avery

Margaret Avery is an American actress. She began her career appearing on stage and later had starring roles in films including ''Cool Breeze'' (1972), ''Which Way Is Up?'' (1977), ''Scott Joplin'' (1977); which earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination, and ''The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh'' (1979). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Shug Avery in the period drama film ''The Color Purple'' (1985).

Avery continued appearing in films including ''Blueberry Hill'' (1988), ''White Man's Burden'' (1995), ''Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins'' (2008), ''Meet the Browns'' (2008), and ''Proud Mary'' (2018). From 2013 to 2019, Avery starred as Helen Patterson, lead character's mother, in the BET drama series ''Being Mary Jane''. Provided by Wikipedia