Estelle Rolle Evans (October 1, 1906 – July 20, 1985) was a Bahamian-American actress during the 20th century. Some of her more famous appearances were in the movies The Quiet One (1948), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), and The Learning Tree (1969).

Evans was the older sister of actresses Rosanna Carter and Esther Rolle.

Biography Evans was born Estelle Rolle on October 1, 1906, in Exuma, Bahamas to parents Jonathan and Elizabeth Iris Rolle (née Dames). She was the oldest of 18 children. Her father moved to Florida to work for the railway; the family followed in 1920.

Evans attended Florida Memorial College or Florida A&M University and became a teacher at Pompano Beach Elementary School. She married to Walter Evans, an architectural draftsman and the couple moved to New York City in 1935. Evans worked as a teacher at PS 156 in Manhattan.

In New York, Evans studied drama at Hunter College, and at American Negro Theater alongside Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte.

Evans played the mother in The Quiet One and Calpurnia in the 1962 film version of To Kill a Mockingbird and acted in several other major movies and television shows. For her work in The Learning Tree, she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture.

Evans died on July 20, 1985, in New York City, and she was buried in Westview Community Cemetery in Pompano Beach, Florida. She was age 76. She was survived by 1 son and 1 daughter.

Filmography

+ Film and television appearances of Estelle Evans Title Year Role Notes Daddy-Long-Legs 1919 Uncredited The Quiet One 1948 The Mother documentary To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 Calpurnia Naked City 1963 Crossing Guard TV series The Learning Tree 1969 Sarah The Jeffersons 1975 Mary TV series Good Times 1975 Alice TV series A Piece of the Action 1977 Alberta Ballard See China and Die 1981 1st Maid TV movie The Clairvoyant 1982 Francine Tales of the Unknown South 1984 TV movie, segment "The Half-Pint Flask"

References

External links

Estelle Evans and the Learning Tree: How Bahamas-Born Actress Got Star Role in Parks' Film