Born Donna Denise Nicholas on July 12, 1944 in Detroit, Michigan, she is an African-American actress and social activist who was involved in the American Civil Rights Movement. At age 16, she appeared on the August 25, 1960, cover of Jet magazine as a future school teacher prospect at the National High School Institute at Northwestern University. She graduated from Milan High School in 1961. Nicholas is the middle child of three, with an older brother, Otto, and a younger sister, Michele, who was murdered. She entered the University of Michigan as a Pre-Law major, but she later switched her major to Latin-American politics, Spanish, and English. She subsequently transferred to Tulane University, and majored in Fine Arts. She left college early to join the Free Southern Theater, during the Civil Rights Movement. After spending two years touring the deep South with that theater group, Nicholas went to New York City and joined the Negro Ensemble Company, working in all productions during the first season of that theatre ensemble. From the stage of the St. Mark's Playhouse in New York, Nicholas was cast as Liz McIntyre, the Guidance Counselor on ABC series Room 222 (1969-74).
Another notable role was as Councilwoman Harriet DeLong on the NBC/CBS drama series In the Heat of the Night (1989-1995). Nicholas wrote six episodes of the series, beginning her second career as a writer. When that show was cancelled, she enrolled in the Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. She has also received her Bachelor of Arts in Drama from USC. She eventually found her way to the Journeymen's Writing Workshop under the tutelage of author Janet Fitch. She worked with Fitch for five years. Nicholas also attended the Squaw Valley Community of Writers Workshop, and the Natalie Goldberg Workshop, in Taos, New Mexico.
Another notable role was as Councilwoman Harriet DeLong on the NBC/CBS drama series In the Heat of the Night (1989-1995). Nicholas wrote six episodes of the series, beginning her second career as a writer. When that show was cancelled, she enrolled in the Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. She has also received her Bachelor of Arts in Drama from USC. She eventually found her way to the Journeymen's Writing Workshop under the tutelage of author Janet Fitch. She worked with Fitch for five years. Nicholas also attended the Squaw Valley Community of Writers Workshop, and the Natalie Goldberg Workshop, in Taos, New Mexico.
Nicholas began her television acting career in 1968, with an episode of It Takes a Thief. She landed other roles in television shows such as The F.B.I. (1969), N.Y.P.D. (1967-1969), The Flip Wilson Show (1970), a Night Gallery episode "Logoda's Heads" (1971), Love, American Style (1972), Police Story (1975), and Rhoda (1975). Later TV roles include: Marcus Welby, M.D. (1975), Baby, I'm Back (1977-1978), The Love Boat (1980-82), Benson (1980), Diff'rent Strokes (1980), One Day at a Time (1983), Magnum, P.I. (1983), Hotel (1987), 227 (1988), Amen (1988), The Cosby Show (1989), A Different World as well as Law & Order (1990), Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992), The Parent 'Hood (1995), and Living Single (1997). Her film roles include Blacula (1972), Let's Do It Again (1975), A Piece of the Action (1977), Marvin & Tige (1983), Mother's Day (1989), Ghost Dad (1990), and Proud (2004).
Her first novel, Freshwater Road, was published by Agate Publishing, in August 2005. it received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and was selected as one of the best books of 2005 by The Washington Post, The Detroit Free Press, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Newsday and The Chicago Tribune. The novel won the Zora Neal Hurston/Richard Wright Award for debut fiction in 2006, as well as the American Library Association's Black Caucus Award for debut fiction the same year. Freshwater Road was reprinted by Pocket Books. Brown University commissioned Nicholas to write a staged adaptation of Freshwater Road, which was presented in May 2008.
In the 1970s, Nicholas married soul singer-songwriter Bill Withers. The couple later divorced. Nicholas later married former football player and CBS sports anchor Jim Hill, whom she divorced in 1984.
(bio via Wikipedia)
