# Jackie Richardson

Jackie Richardson CM (born January 4, 1947) is a Canadian singer and actress. Richardson is known for her screen roles in Turning to Stone, The Gospel According to the Blues, The Doodlebops, and Sins of the Father. She is also known for her appearance on the YTV show Catwalk where she played the grandmother to Atlas (Christopher Lee Clements).

## Early life

Richardson was born in Donora, Pennsylvania in 1947, and is of African-American descent. In 1954, Richardson moved with her family to Toronto.

## Career

Richardson was a member of 1960s Toronto-based girl group The Tiaras along with Brenda Russell, Arlene Trotman, and Colina Phillips.
Richardson is a three-time nominee for the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Gemini Award, and won the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for The Gospel According to the Blues. In 2003 she was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in a Television Movie for Sins of the Father. Richardson is also a noted stage performer, winning a Dora Award in 2004 for the musical Cookin' at the Cookery. Other high-profile projects include Milk and Honey, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Hey Lady! and 3 Men and a Baby.
The musical Big Mama! The Willie Mae Thornton Story was conceived of and written by Audrei-Kairen Kotaska for Richardson, who starred in the production first in 1999 and then again in 2012.
In 2017, Richardson won the Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award for her theater and music achievements.

## Personal life

Her daughter, Kim Richardson, is also a singer.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1987 | Three Men and a Baby | Edna |
| 1987 | Taking Care | Carol |
| 1988 | Switching Channels | Abigail |
| 1988 | Dreams Beyond Memory | Nurse |
| 1994 | Car 54, Where Are You? | Madam |
| 1996 | Harriet the Spy | Janie's Mother |
| 1996 | Maximum Risk | Large Woman |
| 1996 | Extreme Measures | Triphase Nurse |
| 1997 | Critical Care | Mrs. Steckler |
| 1999 | Woman Wanted | Lydia |
| 1999 | The Wishing Tree | Marianne Brooks |
| 2001 | On Their Knees | Mother |
| 2004 | Welcome to Mooseport | Martha |
| 2024 | Don’t Mess with Grandma | Grandma |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Turning to Stone | Dunky | Television film |
| 1986 | John Grin's Christmas | Mrs. Alcott | Television film |
| 1987 | Nightstick | Woman Singing | Television film |
| 1987, 1992 | Street Legal | Evelyn Fischer / Joanne | 2 episodes |
| 1988 | War of the Worlds | Blanche | Episode: "A Multitude of Idols" |
| 1988 | T. and T. | Aunt Martha Robinson | 26 episodes |
| 1989 | Glory! Glory! | Bessie | Television film |
| 1989 | Inside Stories | | Episode: "Gracie" |
| 1989 | Friday the 13th: The Series | Frances | Episode: "Hate on Your Dial" |
| 1989 | Katts and Dog | Mrs. Chan | Episode: "Double Exposure" |
| 1990 | Kaleidoscope | Social Worker | Television film |
| 1990 | E.N.G. | Jenny | Episode: "Striking Out" |
| 1991 | The Hidden Room | Black Woman | Episode: "Taking Back the Night" |
| 1991 | In the Nick of Time | Nurse | Television film |
| 1992 | The Broken Cord | Black Mother | Television film |
| 1992 | Quiet Killer | Pauline Styles | Television film |
| 1992 | Forever Knight | Blood Bank Nurse | Episode: "Dark Knight" |
| 1992–1993 | Catwalk | Aunt Ellen | 9 episodes |
| 1994 | RoboCop | Bea | 3 episodes |
| 1994 | Getting Gotti | Juror No. 1 | Television film |
| 1994 | Harlequin: Another Woman | Anna | Television film |
| 1994 | Due South | Receptionist | Episode: "A Cop, a Mountie, and a Baby" |
| 1994, 1997 | The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon | Various roles | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | Degree of Guilt | Mrs. Velez | Television film |
| 1996 | Lives of Girls & Women | Baptist Singer | Television film |
| 1996 | Road to Avonlea | Megget Lydie | Episode: "Return to Me" |
| 1996 | Mr. and Mrs. Loving | Mama Jeter | Television film |
| 1996 | Her Desperate Choice | Frances | Television film |
| 1996 | Under the Piano | Mrs. Syms | Television film |
| 1996 | Traders | Principal | Episode: "High Flyer Down" |
| 1997 | Fast Track | Gospel Singer #1 | Episode: "Lap of Faith" |
| 1997 | Color of Justice | Judge Winslow | Television film |
| 1998 | More Tales of the City | Emma | 3 episodes |
| 1998 | Free of Eden | Ela | Television film |
| 1998 | The Famous Jett Jackson | Mrs. Darden | Episode: "Who's the Man" |
| 1998 | Mr. Music | Rhonda Grace | Television film |
| 1999 | The Love Letter | Ella | Television film |
| 1999 | Dangerous Evidence: The Lori Jackson Story | Aunt Lily | Television film |
| 1999 | Happy Face Murders | Judge Hoyle | Television film |
| 1999 | A Holiday Romance | Bea Buskins | Television film |
| 2000 | Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble | Daphne | Television film |
| 2000 | Cheaters | Mrs. Fadely | Television film |
| 2000 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Viney | Episode: "The Miracle Worker" |
| 2001 | Bojangles | Bedella | Television film |
| 2001 | Twice in a Lifetime | Mabel Jamal / Loretta | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Further Tales of the City | Emma Ravenel | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | They Call Me Sirr | Grams | Television film |
| 2001, 2002 | Doc | Shawn's Grandma | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Sins of the Father | Mama Jones | Television film |
| 2002 | Street Time | Cleo | Episode: "No Excuses" |
| 2002 | Monk | Wendy Maas | Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger" |
| 2002–2005 | Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 2003 | Big Spender | Sally McNeal | Television film |
| 2004 | Soul Food | Joan | Episode: "In the Garden" |
| 2005 | This Is Wonderland | Lucia Smith | 2 episodes |
| 2006–2007 | The Doodlebops | Jazzmin | 39 episodes |
| 2009–2011 | Majority Rules! | Mrs. DeMarco | 14 episodes |
| 2010 | The Gospel According to the Blues | Momma-Lou | Television film |
| 2010 | Living in Your Car | Althea | Episode #1.6 |
| 2013 | Cracked | Woman | Episode: "Voices" |
| 2014 | Dear Viola | Rennie Jasper | Television film |
| 2014 | A Day Late and a Dollar Short | Geraldine | Television film |
| 2014 | Working the Engels | Mama | Episode: "The Crazy Family" |
| 2020 | Hey Lady! | Rosie | 8 episodes |
| 2020 | Lockdown | Luke's Grandma | Miniseries |
| 2020 | Marry Me This Christmas | Hazel Treadgold | Television film |
| 2021 | Pretty Hard Cases | Maureen Gray | 4 episodes |
| 2021 | In the Dark | Margie | Episode: "Arcade Fire" |
| 2021 | Riverfront Romance | Marianne Cooper | Television film |
| 2022 | Overlord and the Underwoods | Judge D. Redd | Episode: "Do-over and Over and Over" |
| 2022 | Take Note | Mable | Episode: "Courage" |
| 2023 | Total Drama Island | Leshawna's Grandmother | Episode: "Off the Hook!" |