Biography

Isabel Sanford was born in the Harlem section of New York, the youngest of seven children and sadly, the only one to survive infancy. Young Isabel always wanted to act. Her mother was against the idea, so she sneaked out of the house to perform in nightclubs. Despite winning third place in an amateur contest at the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem, she gave up her extracurricular activities and became a cleaning woman.

Sanford then married William "Sonny" Richmond, had three children and worked as a keypunch operator in the New York City welfare department. She was in her late 20s when her desire to act finally became a reality. Sanford joined the American Negro Theater, and in 1946, made her stage debut in the play "On Strivers Row."

Sanford moved to Los Angeles in 1960 to pursue a TV and film career. She landed bit parts on TV shows such as Bewitched (1964) and Mod Squad (1968) and had a semi-regular spot on The Carol Burnett Show (1967). Her performance in the 1965 Broadway production of "Amen Corner" caught the eye of director Stanley Kramer. He cast her in the then-daring Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) as a sharp-tongued maid who has words with Sidney Poitier's character about marrying a white woman.

Three years later, TV producer Norman Lear cast Sanford in the recurring role of Louise "Weezy" Jefferson, Archie Bunker's next door neighbor on the landmark TV comedy series All in the Family (1971). In 1975, the characters of Louise and husband George Jefferson ('Sherman Hemsley') were given their own spin-off TV show, The Jeffersons (1975). The series, about an African American couple who move from the working class Queens district of New York to Manhattan's affluent Upper East Side, was a hit that ran for 11 seasons. In 1981, Sanford made history as the first African American woman to win an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.

When the show was canceled in 1985, Sanford and Hemsley continued to appear together in TV commercials for Old Navy stores, Denny's restaurants and Nick at Nite, the cable TV network then airing reruns of The Jeffersons (1975). In later years, she also made cameos on shows such as the TV comedy series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990) and the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless (1973). In addition to her many Emmy nominations and one win, Sanford was honored with five Golden Globe nominations and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Mykol

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 15, 2004. She was joined at the ceremony by about 300 excited fans, family members and friends, including All in the Family (1971) and The Jeffersons (1975) creator Norman Lear and Marla Gibbs, who played the Jeffersons' maid Florence Johnson.

First African-American woman to receive the Emmy Award for "Best Actress in a Comedy" for her work on The Jeffersons (1975).

Joined the American Negro Theatre in Harlem following her graduation from high school. Also was a member of the theatre company The Star Players down the road.

Once performed comedy as a teen at the Apollo Theatre's amateur night.

Was over twenty years older than her The Jeffersons (1975) co-star Sherman Hemsley who played her husband on the series.

Cousin of Dorothy Butts.

Best known by the public for her role as Louise Jefferson on the situation comedies All in the Family (1971) and The Jeffersons (1975).

Friends with Marla Gibbs, Carroll O'Connor, Robert Guillaume and Barbara Billingsley.

She was a lifelong Democrat.

Had seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

If there's anything in life you consider worthwhile achieving -- go for it. I was told many times to forget show business, I had nothing going for me. But I pursued it, anyway. Voila!

I was very comfortable having a steady job on a hit show, and who knew in The Jeffersons (1975) would catch on?

On the only child who was born on August 29, after Josephine's other children had passed away, she said: I was the only child born to Josephine Perry that survived. Mama had six other children before me and all had passed very quickly and very young, all succumbing to a combination of illness and disease and the lack of strength to fight off both. As for me, I was both strong and healthy, and, if you believed the rumors, I wasn't too bright.