Roxie Roker - Life and Career

Life and Career

Roker was born in Miami, Florida. Her mother, Bessie (née Mitchell), was from Georgia and worked as a domestic, and her father, Albert Roker, was a native of The Bahamas and a porter.

She grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She attended and graduated from Howard University, where she was a member of the drama club and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Roker began her professional career with the Negro Ensemble Company and became a successful stage actress. She won an Obie Award in 1974 and was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal of Mattie Williams in The River Niger.

She was a reporter on WNEW-TV in New York in the 1970s and hosted a public affairs show for the station known as Inside Bed-Stuy, dealing with events in the Brooklyn neighborhood.

She appeared in guest starring roles on many United States television programs from the 1970s through the 1990s, including Punky Brewster, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, A Different World, Murder, She Wrote, The Love Boat, 227, and Beat the Clock. She also had a small role in the television miniseries Roots and in the movie Claudine.

Roker was also a children’s advocate who was cited by the city of Los Angeles for her community work.

Roker was married to television producer Sy Kravitz from 1962 to 1985, and had a son, Lenny Kravitz.

Roker died in Los Angeles, California on December 2, 1995 of breast cancer at the age of 66.