Gloria Foster

Gloria Foster was an American actress who built a long career on stage and screen, winning three Obie Awards. Born in Chicago, she trained at the Goodman School of Drama before beginning her Broadway work in 1963 with the role of Ruth in A Raisin in the Sun and her first professional performance in In White America, which brought her an Obie. She became known for her work with Joe Papp, acting in his stagings of Long Day's Journey into Night, The Cherry Orchard, Mother Courage, and Coriolanus. On film, she made her feature debut in The Cool World (1963) and later appeared in Nothing But a Man (1964). She played the Oracle in The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003). Her television work included The Atlanta Child Murders (1985), The Cosby Show (1987), and Law & Order. In 1995, she returned to Broadway in Having Our Say, earning rave reviews. She died in 2001.