Actress, singer-songwriter Ja’Net DuBois, best known for her portrayal of Willona Woods on the sitcom Good Times, passed away on February 17, 2020, at the age of 74.
DuBois began her career in theater during the early 1960s, appearing alongside Sammy Davis Jr. and Louis Gossett Jr. in Golden Boy on Broadway. She later transitioned to television with the made for TV film J.T. and the soap opera Love of Life. Her role as Loretta Allen on Love of Life made her the first African-American female as a regular on a daytime serial. Additional early credits included the feature film Diary of a Mad Housewife and Lanford Wilson’s play The Hot l Baltimore at the Mark Taper Forum. This latter performance led to television producer Norman Lear casting DuBois in the CBS comedy series Good Times.
DuBois portrayed Willona Woods, neighborhood gossip and a friend of the Evans family, on the sitcom from 1974 to 1979. She also co-wrote and sang the theme song “Movin’ on Up” for The Jeffersons, which originally aired from 1975 until 1985. During the ‘80s, DuBois recorded the album Again, Ja’Net DuBois and appeared in former Good Times co-star Janet Jackson’s music video for “Control.” At the same time, DuBois operated the performing arts school, Ja’net DuBois Academy of Theater Arts and Sciences. She went on to voice one of the main characters on the stop-motion animated series The PJs, a role that earned her two Emmys for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1999 and 2001.
Throughout her later career, DuBois appeared in Maya Angelou’s play And I Still Rise, as well as I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Moesha, Sanford and Son, The Facts of Life, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Steve Harvey Show, A Different World, and The Wayans Bros. She also co-founded the Pan African Film & Arts Festival in Los Angeles with Danny Glover and Ayuko Babu.
As news of the DuBois’ death spread, many touching tributes poured in. Janet Jackson shared a post on Instagram, saying: “I am so very saddened to hear my longtime friend Ja’Net DuBois has passed away. I saw first hand how she broke stereotypes and changed the landscape for Black women in entertainment. I’m grateful in recent years I had a chance to see her and create more lasting memories. Thank you Ja’Net, I’ll miss you.”
Viola Davis, who starred in ABC’s live remake of Good Times, also paid tribute to DuBois. “Oh man!!! Just saw you! What a pleasure it was to meet you,” Davis wrote on Twitter. “You shaped so much of the best memories of my childhood! God bless you, Ja’Net DuBois! RIP.”
