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Television icon Marla Gibbs, 93, is not ready to leave show business yet.
Gibbs cemented her name in the entertainment history books with her memorable performance in popular sitcoms such as “The Jeffersons” and “227.”
The five-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee received more deserving flowers at the 2025 American Black Film Festival Honors.
UNSPECIFIED – OCTOBER 05: In this screengrab, Marla Gibbs presents the award for Best Series – Comedy at the 46th Annual Gracie Awards on October 05, 2021. (Photo by Alliance for Women in Media Foundation/Getty Images for Alliance for Women in Media Foundation)Fellow “227” star and Academy Award winner Regina King, 54, presented Gibbs with the Hollywood Legacy Award at the ABFF Honors on Feb. 17 in Los Angeles.
Gibbs accepted the trophy at the star-studded gala alongside her agents, Mike Baldridge and Garry Purdy. She also expressed wanting to take part in more projects in her 90s.
“They know that I’m ready to work again,” Gibbs jokingly told the crowd inside the SLS Hotel, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Anybody got any projects?”
Fans of the comedian showered her with praise on social media. Several people reacted to the NAACP Image Award winner wanting to take on more acting roles.
“God bless her, give her [whatever] she wants,” someone on X declared. A similar tweet read, “Ok, let’s get her in some projects!!!”
One X user suggested that Gibbs connects with “Abbott Elementary” creator Quinta Brunson. That individual offered, “Give her a guest appearance on @AbbottElemABC.”
While some X users supported seeing Gibbs on screen again, one person advised, “Keep her far away from Tyler Perry.” However, someone replied, “Why? He’s the only one paying Black women fair wages.”
Another supporter of Tyler Perry pointed out Gibbs has already worked with the billionaire studio owner by tweeting, “[You’re] late because she was in an episode of ‘House of Payne’ and a ‘Madea’ movie.”
Gibbs made a cameo in Perry’s “House of Payne” sitcom in 2011. The following year, she was part of the cast for the Perry-led “Madea’s Witness Protection” movie.
By portraying Florence Johnston in “The Jeffersons,” Gibbs earned five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy from 1981 to 1985.
“The Jeffersons” debuted in 1975 and ended in 1985. After her stint on the CBS program, Gibbs spent five seasons playing Mary Hurley Jenkins in “227.” The series ran from 1985 to 1990.
“Before ‘The Jeffersons’, you didn’t see Black people on TV that much. It was kind of rare,” Gibbs stated in a recent interview with Essence.
She continued, “So just the idea that you were auditioning for something to be on television — the people that I grew up with were shocked.”
Gibbs has been a working actress since the 1960s. Over the last ten years, she appeared in TV shows like “This Is Us,” “Black-ish,” “NCIS,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Not Dead Yet.”
Additionally, the Chicago native showed up on a 2025 episode of the “Will Trent” crime drama as Ms. Pearl. Her most recent film credit was for “A Snowy Day in Oakland” in 2023.
“In the ‘80s, there were very, very few women of any color or complexion in Hollywood that were doing what Marla was doing,” King expressed when introducing Gibbs at the ABFF Honors.
Gibbs accepting the American Black Film Festival’s Hollywood Legacy Award adds another accolade to her illustrious seven-decade career.
Other 2025 ABFF Honors recipients included Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Excellence in the Arts Award), Giancarlo Esposito (Excellence in the Arts Award), Keke Palmer (Renaissance Award), and Aaron Pierre (Rising Star Award).
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