Novella Nelson
Biography
Novella Nelson was an American actress and singer whose career began in music and then grew across off-Broadway, Broadway, and cabaret stages. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she went to Brooklyn College in the late 1950s, where an acting exercise in a speech class led her to change her major to theater. From 1961 she spent decades working in the theater as a performer, director, and producer, mostly in New York. In 1970 she was a featured Broadway performer in the musical Purlie, and in 1975 she directed La Femme Noire at The Public Theater. Her movie work began with a small role in An Unmarried Woman (1978), and she later acted in film and television for many years. She was best known for playing Mrs. Tate in Antwone Fisher (2002). Nelson died in 2017.
77years old at death
- Born Brooklyn
- Died Brooklyn
- Star sign: SagittariusThe sign runs November 22 to December 21
- Also credited as Novella Christine Nelson
Movie Career
- Films
- 16
- Career span
- 45 years1978 to 2023
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First role
Nelson's film career started when she was 39, taking a small role in the 1977 movie An Unmarried Woman. She went on to appear in movies and television for the next several decades.
Early training
Nelson took a speech class at Brooklyn College that turned out to be an acting course, and she was asked to perform in a play.
Behind the camera
Nelson took on directing duties for the play La Femme Noire, which was staged at The Public Theater in 1975.
Novella Nelson movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Five actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Allen Garfield's page
David Marshall Grant's page
Adriane Lenox's page
Alison Elliott's page
Paul Butler's page
Box office
What Novella Nelson's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$246 million
8 of the 16 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 16 films: 8 worldwide figure; 2 us gross only; 2 never in cinemas; 4 figure not found.
- 8Worldwide figure
- 2US gross only
- 2Never in cinemas
- 4Figure not found
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$128M52.0% of the total
- 2$26M10.5% of the total
- 3$24M9.7% of the total
- 4$24M9.7% of the total
- 5$23M9.5% of the total
- 6$13M5.2% of the total
- 7$7.7M3.1% of the total
- 8$502K0.2% of the total
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.