Celebrities like Jaleel White and Al Roker are booking it to Wilmington Public Library this fall, and they’re not the only stars.
On Tuesday, the library announced it will welcome another famous person this season: Marla Gibbs, a Hollywood Walk of Fame inductee, who is recognized for her roles on TV shows “227” and “The Jeffersons.”
Gibbs is coming to the library for a free event on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Tickets are limited, so patrons should reserve their spot ASAP.
Before Wilmington Library gives Gibbs her honorary flowers, here’s what you need to know about her and the other major events headed to the library this season.
Who is Marla Gibbs?
Marla Gibbs attends Lenny Kravitz’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony on March 12, 2024, in Hollywood, Calif. Gibbs and Kravitz’s mom, Roxie Roker, both starred on the classic sitcom “The Jeffersons.”
Marla Gibbs is a 93-year-old actor from Chicago who has been nominated for five Emmy Awards. She’s most famous for portraying the sassy maid Florence in the iconic sitcom “The Jeffersons” (1975-1985). The show followed wealthy Black couple the Jeffersons (Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford) who live in an upscale apartment and their comical relationship with their neighbors and wisecracking maid, Florence.
Gibbs is also known for starring as the matriarch Mary on the Black sitcom “227.” The show, which ran from 1985 to 1990, took place in an apartment complex where Mary was a neighborhood gossip and housewife. One of her children in the show was played by a teenage Regina King, who would later win an Oscar for her role in the film “If Beale Street Could Talk” (2018).
Marla Gibbs aims to go viral on TikTok for great-grandchild
Even in her early 90s, Gibbs is still making appearances in new projects. Her latest role is in the 2024 short film “Mildred 4 a Million,” per IMDB. The synopsis on IMDB says the comedy is about a great-grandmother who desperately wants to bond with her “7-year-old tablet-obsessed great granddaughter” so bad that she’s on a mission to gain 1 million TikTok followers.
