02.12.1915 - 11.05.1993 (77 years) (Norfolk, Virginia, United States)
Minnie Gentry (December 2, 1915 – May 11, 1993) was an American actress. Gentry was born Minnie Lee Watson in Norfolk, Virginia, the daughter of Mincie and Taylor Watson. Her family moved to Cleveland during her childhood, where she began studying piano at the age of nine, at the Phyllis Wheatley School of Music. She began acting at the Friendly Inn Settlement and married Lloyd Gentry in 1932. Subsequently, she appeared in many plays at the African-American theater the Karamu House. During the 1940s, Gentry performed in a number of Broadway productions and later appeared in several films, including School Daze, Def by Temptation, and Jungle Fever, as well as the television series All My Children and The Cosby Show.Gentry's great-grandson is actor Terrence Howard.