{{short description|American actress and singer (born 1942)}} {{Infobox person | name = Ernestine Jackson | image = | caption = | birth_name = Ernestine Jackson | birth_date = {{birth date and age|September 18, 1942}} | birth_place = Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. | known_for = | education = | occupation = {{Flat list| *Actress *singer }} | spouse = | children = | years_active = 1966–2011
}} '''Ernestine Jackson''' (born September 18, 1942)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Betts |first=Graham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RG_LAwAAQBAJ&dq=Ernestine+Jackson+September+18,+1942&pg=PT277 |title=Motown Encyclopedia |date=2014-06-02 |publisher=AC Publishing |isbn=978-1-311-44154-6 |language=en}}</ref> is an American actress and singer.
==Early life== Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Jackson made her Broadway debut in 1967 as Irene Molloy in the all-black cast of ''Hello, Dolly!'' starring Pearl Bailey.
== Career == In 1973, Jackson originated the role of Ruth Younger in ''Raisin'', her performance winning her the Theatre World Award and a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. Additional Broadway credits include ''Applause'', ''The Bacchae'', and the 1976 all-black revival of ''Guys and Dolls'', for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. She also appeared in the 1966 revival of ''Show Boat'' at the New York State Theater and the 1967 revival of ''Finian's Rainbow'' at New York City Center.
Jackson portrayed Alberta Hunter in ''Cookin' at the Cookery: The Music and Times of Alberta Hunter'', a revue that originated at the Hippodrome State Theatre in Gainesville, Florida in 1997 and then played in various venues in the United States,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thehipp.org/cookin.html |title=Hippodrome State Theatre archives |access-date=2009-08-28 |archive-date=2008-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121132337/http://thehipp.org/cookin.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> such as the Lyceum Stage, San Diego, California in March and April 2003.<ref>Braunagel, Don. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-mar-31-et-braunagel31-story.html "Lady sings blues in 'Cookery'"] ''Los Angeles Times'', March 31, 2003</ref> Jackson appeared in the revue at the Boston University Theatre, presented by the Huntington Theatre Company, in June 2003.<ref>Cragin, Sally. [http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/events/theater/documents/02940459.asp "The Huntington heats up for 'Cookin’"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010104548/http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/events/theater/documents/02940459.asp |date=2015-10-10 }} ''Boston Phoenix'', Issue Date: June 13–19, 2003</ref>
She portrayed Billie Holiday in the 2005 Long Wharf Theatre (Connecticut) production of ''Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill''. In reviewing her performance, Frank Rizzo of ''Variety'' said she "nicely suggests rather than mimics the famous Holiday" and added, "Jackson handles the gliding jazz minimalism beautifully. She makes Holiday's fleeting happiness a joy and her suffering an art."<ref>Rizzo, Frank. [https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117928791.html?categoryid=33&cs=1"Review"] ''Variety'', November 6, 2005</ref> In 2007 she portrayed entertainer Ethel Waters in ''Ethel Waters: His Eye is On the Sparrow'' at the Bristol Riverside Theatre in Bristol, Pennsylvania.<ref>Lipton, Brian. [http://www.theatermania.com/new-york/news/01-2007/ernestine-jackson-to-star-in-ethel-waters-his-eye_9779.html "Ernestine Jackson"] TheaterMania.com, January 2, 2007</ref> Jackson's feature films include ''The Bonfire of the Vanities'', ''Freedomland'', ''Steam'', and ''Forged'', scheduled for release in 2010. On television she has appeared in ''Roots: The Next Generations'', ''A Man Called Hawk'', ''Law & Order'', ''The West Wing'', and ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''.
== Filmography ==
=== Film === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1975 |''Aaron Loves Angela'' |Cleo | |- |1982 |''Homework'' |Cookie's Mother | |- |1990 |''The Bonfire of the Vanities'' |Media Jackal | |- |1996 |''Girls Town'' |Nikki's Mom | |- |2006 |''Freedomland'' |Nurse | |- |2007 |''Steam'' |Nurse | |- |2010 |''Forged'' |Old Woman | |- |TBA |''Finding Home'' |Grandmother | |}
=== Television === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1979 |''Roots: The Next Generations'' |Lady |Episode: "Part IV (1918-1921)" |- |1989 |''A Man Called Hawk'' |Mrs. Carver |Episode: "Choice of Chance" |- |1994 |''Law & Order'' |Vanessa Petrie |Episode: "Wager" |- |1996 |''Swift Justice'' |Mama Em |Episode: "Takin' Back the Street" |- |2000 |''D.C.'' |Audra Freeman |Episode: "Justice" |- |2002 |''10,000 Black Men Named George'' |Mrs. Randolph |Television film |- |2002 |''The West Wing'' |Fiona, Diner Owner |Episode: "20 Hours in America" |- |2003 |''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' |Agnes Bates |Episode: "Stray" |- |2010 |''Gravity'' |Middle Aged Woman |Episode: "Damn Skippy" |- |2010 |''Rescue Me'' |Elderly Black Woman |Episode: "Cowboy" |- |2010 |''The Big C'' |Church Mom |Episode: "Divine Intervention" |}
=== Video games === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Year !Title !Role |- |1983 |''MysteryDisc: Many Roads to Murder'' |Juna Jamael |- |1999 |''Mugen'' |Voice |}
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== *{{IBDB name}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Ernestine}} Category:20th-century African-American women singers Category:20th-century American women singers Category:20th-century American singers Category:Actors from Corpus Christi, Texas Category:Musicians from Corpus Christi, Texas Category:Living people Category:African-American actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American film actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:21st-century African-American people Category:21st-century African-American women Category:1942 births