Gloria Foster

Gloria Foster (November 15, 1933 – September 29, 2001) was an American actress. She had acclaimed roles in plays such as In White America and Having Our Say, winning three Obie Awards during her career. Foster played the Oracle in The Matrix and its first sequel, The Matrix Reloaded (2003). She played the role of the mother of Yusef Bell in the miniseries The Atlanta Child Murders which aired in 1985.

Early life and education Foster was born on November 15, 1933, in Chicago, Illinois. As a young child, Foster was put into the custody of her maternal grandparents. Foster never knew who her father was and she moved to Janesville, Wisconsin after her mother was hospitalized for a mental illness.

Foster attended the University of Illinois Chicago, where she participated in plays, but did not focus on acting. Foster decided to be a professional actor when her godmother introduced her to the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. One of her most influential instructors was Bella Itkin, who cast Gloria in many classical roles. People started to create parts for her, rather than expecting her to audition for roles. Foster searched for roles in which she could perform to the best of her ability. She once said, "Young people today, I think, are thinking in terms of stepping stones…I don't know that I ever thought that way. It sounds ridiculous, but I was always thinking in terms of a more difficult role". She was also active in television, appearing in such programs as I Spy, two episodes of Law & Order and The Cosby Show (1987).

Her character in both Law and Order episodes, named Satima Tate, was based on the widow of Malcolm X, Betty Shabazz. The first episode, titled Conspiracy (1992), was based on Malcolm X's assassination. Malcolm X was played by Hal Miller. The second episode, titled Entrapment (1997), focused on her character's children's acts of revenge against the people they believed were really responsible. She returned to theatre again in 1995, acting alongside Mary Alice (who was to later replace her in the second sequel of The Matrix following her death), appearing as 103-year-old Sadie Delany, in Having Our Say, on Broadway at the Booth Theatre, for which she received rave reviews. She played the Oracle in The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003); however, she died during filming of the second film and was thus unable to portray her role in the third film. As a result, Mary Alice replaced her in The Matrix Revolutions and Enter the Matrix.

Personal life and death Foster and Williams in an episode of The Mod Squad in 1970. Foster guest starred as a blind friend of Linc Hayes. Foster married the actor Clarence Williams III in 1967. She appeared on Williams's television show The Mod Squad that ran from 1968 to 1973; Foster made two guest appearances. The two acted together in a 1963 film, The Cool World. They later divorced in 1984. Williams was the one to announce her death in 2001. While Foster did not have many close relatives, she stayed in contact with her Delta Sigma Theta sorority sister, Cicely Tyson. Tyson stated that, although they did not see each other often, their telephone conversations would often last for hours.

Foster died on September 29, 2001, at the age of 67. The cause of her death was diabetes. A memorial was held at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn on October 15, 2001. Martin Duberman, the author of In White America, told the audience about her 1963 performance that, "she embodied it. At the end of the scene each night, there were tears streaming down her face, her body was trembling, but her dignity was intact…Foster had to be covered with blankets in order to calm her shaking".

Filmography Film The Cool World (1963) as Mrs. Custis Nothing But a Man (1964) as Lee The Comedians (1967) as Mrs. Philipot The Angel Levine (1970) as Sally Man and Boy (1972) as Ivy Revers Leonard Part 6 (1987) as Medusa City of Hope (1991) as Jeanette The Matrix (1999) as The Oracle The Matrix Reloaded (2003) as The Oracle (released posthumously) The Matrix Resurrections (2021) as The Oracle (archive footage)

Television I Spy (1968) as Shana The Outcasts (1968), "Take Your Lover in The Ring", Episode #5, as Sabina Mod Squad (1969) as Jenny The Bill Cosby Show (1970) as Dolores Winters To All My Friends on Shore (1972) as Serena Top Secret (1978) as Judith The Files on Jill Hatch (1983) as Mrs. Hatch House of Dies Drear (1984) as Sheila Small The Atlanta Child Murders (1985) (miniseries) as Camille Bell The Cosby Show (1987) as Dr. Barbara Bracy Separate but Equal (1991) as Buster Law & Order (1992 and 1997) as Mrs. Tate Percy & Thunder (1993) as Sugar Brown