Gloria Foster (November 15, 1933 – September 29, 2001) was an American actress. She had acclaimed roles in plays such as In White America and Having Our Say, winning three Obie Awards during her career. Foster played the Oracle in The Matrix (1999) and its first sequel, The Matrix Reloaded (2003). She played the role of the mother of Yusef Bell in the miniseries The Atlanta Child Murders which aired in 1985.
Early life and education
Foster was born on November 15, 1933, in Chicago, Illinois. As a young child, Foster was put into the custody of her maternal grandparents. Foster never knew who her father was and she moved to Janesville, Wisconsin after her mother was hospitalized for a mental illness.
Foster attended the University of Illinois Chicago, where she participated in plays, but did not focus on acting. Foster decided to be a professional actor when her godmother introduced her to the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. One of her most influential instructors was Bella Itkin, who cast Gloria in many classical roles. People started to create parts for her, rather than expecting her to audition for roles. Foster searched for roles in which she could perform to the best of her ability. She once said, "Young people today, I think, are thinking in terms of stepping stones…I don't know that I ever thought that way. It sounds ridiculous, but I was always thinking in terms of a more difficult role". She was also active in television, appearing in such programs as I Spy, two episodes of Law & Order and The Cosby Show (1987).
Her character in both Law and Order episodes, named Satima Tate, was based on the widow of Malcolm X, Betty Shabazz. The first episode, titled Conspiracy (1992), was based on Malcolm X's assassination. Malcolm X was played by Hal Miller. The second episode, titled Entrapment (1997), focused on her character's children's acts of revenge against the people they believed were really responsible. She returned to theatre again in 1995, acting alongside Mary Alice (who was to later replace her in the second sequel of The Matrix following her death), appearing as 103-year-old Sadie Delany, in Having Our Say, on Broadway at the Booth Theatre, for which she received rave reviews. She played the Oracle in The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003);