November 8 , 1920- November,17 1998 Born the daughter of a Florida vegetable farmer, she was the 10th of 18 children and went on to become a well-respected actress in Hollywood. While she made movies like Driving Miss Daisy, she was most famous for her role as Florida Evans in the 1970s sitcom, Good Times. She had previously been in the sitcom Maude and won the NAACP Civil Rights Leadership Award for helping to raise the image of Afro Americans in 1990. Adamantly opposed to Hollywood's black stereotypes, Rolle allowed producer Norman Lear to lure her away from Broadway for his ``Maude'' series only after he promised that she could portray a fully developed character and not ``just a Hollywood maid.'' ``We worked in the fields as children but my daddy made us promise never to be domestics, because he said, `I can't protect you in other people's houses,''' she told The Los Angeles Times in 1974. ``I wonder how he'd feel if he'd lived to see me famous as a maid.'' The series, Good Times, about the problems of a black family living in a housing project ran successfully until 1979, making a star of Jimmie Walker, who played elder son J.J. Rolle left the series in the fall of 1977, protesting that Walker's occasionally shady though humorous character set a bad example for black youths. She returned to a reformed J.J. for the series' final year. Considering her distaste for typecasting, Rolle played maids often -- not only in her two best-known sitcoms, but also in the television movie ``Summer of My German Soldier,'' which earned her an Emmy, and on the stage in the classic ``A Raisin in the Sun.'' She also portrayed the long-suffering housekeeper in the film ``Driving Miss Daisy.'' Rolle attended Spelman College in Atlanta, and earlier this month was honored by its alumnae as an important role model. ``You have to take time out to do something meaningful,'' the actress once told The Los Angeles Times, explaining why she always invited neighborhood children into her home to talk. She had long been involved in the struggle on matters of great concern to women. Rolle effectively spoke out on behalf of abused women and is a spokesperson for The National Council of Negro Women’s Black Family Reunion. Rolle was highly sought after for her motivational and inspiring presentations and is the recipient of three NAACP Image Awards. Ms. Rolle passed away from complications from diabetes. She is buried in Westview Community Cemetary in Pompano Beach, Florida.