Women making movies

Oscar night in Hollywood is still being celebrated. After all, history was made, and Halle Berry and Denzil Washington shone brightly. On the local scene each year, the Actor Boy and the Doctor Bird Awards pay homage to local actors and actresses and long-serving members of film and theatre. In both genres, women have distinguished themselves. All Woman recognises the contribution they have made over the years with a peek into the careers of some Jamaican actresses.

Leonie Forbes

Regarded as Jamaica’s First Lady of Theatre and Film, Leonie Forbes, or ‘Miss Lee’, has had an illustrious career in both spheres.

“There is simply no role that she cannot fit herself into,” notes Lennie Little-White, CEO of Mediamix who directed Forbes as “Dorcas” in the 1978 film, Children of Babylon.

A graduate of the UK Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Forbes has done dramatic roles ranging from Wiles to Walcott, Brecht to Baldwin, William Shakespeare to Trevor Rhone. She is noted for leading roles in more than a dozen LTM pantomimes, and is remembered especially for her performances in Rhone’s Old Story Time, Easton Lee’s Rope and the Cross and Basil Dawkins’ Champagne and Skyjuice. Forbes has also figured on the international stage, performing in India, Australia, Britain, Canada, New York and the Caribbean.

A 1980 recipient of the Order of Distinction, she also holds four Actor Boy Awards, and silver and bronze Musgrave Medals from the Institute of Jamaica. In 1999, she was awarded the Jambiz International Award of Excellence and a Doctor Bird Award in 2000.

Lois Kelly-Miller

This theatre veteran actress has lived the dream of perhaps every actor/actress — to play opposite a major Hollywood star. She played alongside two of Tinsel Town’s biggest actors, Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins, in the blockbuster movie, Meet Joe Black in 1989.

A powerful and versatile actress, she graced the stage for many years in the Little Theatre Movement’s annual pantomime. From the hilarious Oliver-At-Large to The Father, her boundless talent has always stood out.

In October 2000, she was awarded the Order of Distinction for service in the performing arts.

Madge Sinclair (1938-1995)

Madge Sinclair left us with an unforgettable performance as a royal African queen in Eddie Murphy’s box office hit, Coming to America, before she died on December 20, 1995.

At 57, she was in the prime of her acting career having made a mark in the film industry with lead roles in prime time’s Trapper John MD, Roots, Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones and the sci-fi movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

“Sinclair was unique in Hollywood’s milieu. That she was black was one thing, but whenever she spoke one could not escape the fact that she was Jamaican. No contrived ‘twang’ for her, she spoke as she was, a proud Jamaican. Her talent commanded serious roles that made her a household name,” writes Joan-Simpson in her book, Jamaican Women: A Celebration.

Sinclair succumbed to leukaemia in 1994.

Tobi Phillips

Phillips is hailed for her brilliant role in Children of Babylon which provided her with her first acting opportunity. The role was particularly challenging since she was not allowed to say a word during her whole performance.

Phillips admits that she was terrified by the responsibility she shouldered in the leading role, but the whole experience has made her more secure about her capabilities as a performer.

When Phillips left high school, she wanted to study law. However, she was always fascinated by the world of professional modelling. While living in England, she received training and on-the-job experience in that field, which has made her one of the top fashion models in the Caribbean.

Twice married and divorced, she is the mother of two children. She works as a passenger agent with an airline.

Sheryl Lee Ralph

You’ve seen her in many roles — exuding the spirit of Jamaica in several television sitcoms, including ‘Dee’ in the sitcom Moesha. Ralph has had recurring roles on Designing Women and the Broadway hit Dreamgirls.

Not only does she act, Ralph also writes and directs; her first film, Secrets, was recently aired on American national television. But, Ralph is not just Hollywood; she has put Jamaica’s name in lights too. In 1999, she created the Jamerican Film Festival which brings together some of the world’s biggest names in film and entertainment.

Dorothy Cunningham

Actress, playwright, producer, now businesswoman, Dorothy Cunningham has done the gamut in Jamaican theatre. With some 15 pantomimes to her credit, Cunningham has been a marquee name in the theatre for many years. She has an impressive list of plays and musicals to her credit, including Operation P; Office Chase; Ozzie; Labour Ward; Flatmate; Stepfather; Dis ah Reggae and When The Cat’s Away.

Dorothy is remembered best for her nine-year role as scriptwriter and cast member (Miss Zella) in the Jamaican sitcom Lime Tree Lane. She has also appeared in movies such as Wide Sargasso Sea, Milk and Honey, Piranha II; Clara’s Heart and Going to Extremes.

She was awarded a bronze Musgrave Medal for her contribution to Jamaican theatre in 1994.

Barbara McCalla

She has performed in unforgettable stage roles since 1967 but this effervescent personality will be remembered as the aging and barren Agatha Langley of Jim Nelson’s Masquerade, and the philandering Donna Robinson of the long-running local soap opera Royal Palm Estate.

Her work has also taken her to Barbados, where she played one of Derek Walcott’s most interesting male lead characters, Makak, in Dream on Monkey Mountain. She has worked in the United States, playing Gloria in Trevor Rhone’s classic Two Can Play at the Black Theatre Festival.

McCalla was a member of the Pan Caribbean Theatre Company which participated in the Commonwealth Theatre Festival in England in 1986. A student of respected theatre personalities such as Dennis Scott, Wycliff Bennett, Tom Cross and Trevor Rhone, she is a founding member of the Drama School which evolved from the Little Theatre Movement (LTM) in 1967.

Louise Bennett-Coverly

The honourable Louise Bennett-Coverly is Jamaica’s Lady of song, music and theatre. No cultural happening is ever complete without a rendition of one of her feisty dialect verses which speak of the triumps, disappointments and contradictions of daily life in Jamaica.

Born in 1919, ” Miss Lou” began to perform in dialect at age 19. Since then, she has never paused and is celebrated and loved throughout the Caribbean and well beyond.

Her robust demeanour punctuated with that thrilling and spontaneous laughter echos on the literary stage all across the island. “Miss Lou” made her debut on Eric Coverley’s Christmas Morning variety show after graduating from Excelsior School where she later taught drama for several years.

Gracing the stage both locally and overseas, she did stints for Radio Jamaica, the former Jamaica Boadcasting Corporation and the British Broadcasting Commission. She has also been featured in several films including Calypso and Club Paradise.

Famous for her signature Ring Ding show, she also excelled in the literary arts penning Jamaica Labrish, Anancy stories, among others. She has received numerous local and international awards including the Order of Jamaica, the Norman Manley Award for Excellence and the Most Important Personality of the Century by the International Theatre Institute’s Jamaica Centre granted in 200.

– Archival materials obtained from Mediamix Resource Centre and Joan Simpson’s new book, Jamaican Women: A Celebration.