- She took care of James Earl Jones when he was an infant, while she was a member of his father's acting troupe.
- Her father was one of the first licensed plumbers in New York State.
- Was a Broadway producer.
- Her mother died of pneumonia at age 27 after giving birth to her brother in a Harlem hospital corridor because segregationist policies barred her from using a room.
- Suffered from rickets as a child and had to wear leg braces for 13 years.
- Suffered from diabetes for many years.
- She was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1999 for her services to the arts.
- Was directed by Orson Welles in a landmark, all-black version of "Macbeth" in the 1930s.
- Famous for portraying the role of Estelle Winslow on Family Matters (1989).
- Goddaughter of Bill Robinson.
- Husband Egbert Brown, who owned a fleet of cabs, died in 1974.
- Survived by her son William, one sister, Mary A. Francis, two brothers Wilmote Burton, and Warren Burton, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
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