Novella Nelson was born on December 17, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014), The Ten (2007) and A Perfect Murder (1998). She was married to George Blanchard. She died on August 31, 2017 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA.
Theatre actress and singer, she was honored by the New Federal Theatre in June 2016 for her exceptional commitment to African American theatre and film.
Has one daughter Alesa.
Alumna of the AADA (American Academy of Dramatic Arts), Class of 1961.
[on herself looking like a man in An Unmarried Woman (1978)] I can't pin me down and that doesn't worry me. Everyone sees different parts of me. But like the character in the movie, I am a free spirit. She has a grip on things and so do I.
I felt I could express my commitment to my blackness, to my recognition of who I am, much better as a singer than an actress. But I don't think of myself as a rebel. I preach love -- a coming together. (1968)
I know people won't believe this, but I was quite shy. When I was growing up, people used to chase me home from school calling me a black Jew.