Sanford was born Eloise Gwendolyn Sanford in Harlem, New York City, to Josephine (née Perry) and James Edward Sanford. She was the youngest of seven children and was the only child to survive beyond infancy. Sanford's mother Josephine was devoutly religious and insisted that her daughter attend church every Sunday, and occasionally made her attend on weeknights. As a teenager, Sanford aspired to be an actress, but her mother discouraged her dream, as she felt that show business was "the road to degradation." Sanford disobeyed her mother and began performing at local clubs.[1] She also performed at amateur night at The Apollo Theater.[2] After graduating high school, Sanford joined Harlem's American Negro Theater and The Star Players. She made her professional stage debut in 1946 in On Strivers Row, and appeared in several off-Broadway productions while also working as a keypunch operator at IBM.[2][3][4] In 1945, Sanford married house painter William Edward "Sonny" Richmond, with whom she had three children. Their marriage was tumultuous (a euphemism of the time for domestic violence), and they later separated.[2][5]
Career
In 1960, Sanford withdrew money from her retirement fund, boarded a bus with her three children, left her husband in New York, and moved to Los Angeles. Soon after her arrival, she was asked to join the national production of Here Today by actress Tallulah Bankhead.[2] In 1965, she made her Broadway debut in James Baldwin's The Amen Corner. This role led to her being cast in the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.[4] In the film, she was credited as Isabell Sanford, playing the role of the maid "Tillie Binks." Her performance was noted and earned good reviews, despite limited screen time.[6] She caught the attention of major Hollywood players, including Norman Lear, who cast Sanford in the role of Louise Jefferson in All in the Family. Sanford and her TV husband Sherman Hemsley were so popular that Norman Lear decided to spin off the characters into their own weekly series The Jeffersons. Sanford was initially reluctant to commit to working on a weekly series, as she was already working steadily, but decided to accept the offer. The Jeffersons premiered in January 1975, and was an immediate hit with audiences, ultimately running for 11 seasons.[3] For her role in the series, Sanford earned five Golden Globe Award nominations and seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1981, making her the first African-American actress to win in that category and remained the only African-American actress to do so until 2023-24 when Quinta Brunson achieved this feat for her role as Janine Teagues on Abbott Elementary.[6]
Sanford later reprised her role as Louise Jefferson in a touring company of The Real Live Jeffersons stage show in the mid-1990s alongside Sherman Hemsley. She and Hemsley also made a cameo appearance in the film Sprung, and guest-starred in The Parkers, Mafia!, and two episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The two also appeared in a series of advertisements for Denny's and Old Navy.[3] In January 2004, Sanford received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to the television industry.[3] She made her final television appearance the following month as an animated version of herself in The Simpsons episode "Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore."[9]
Personal life
Sanford married house painter William Edward "Sonny" Richmond in 1945. The couple had three children—two sons (Sanford K. Richmond and Eric Richmond) and a daughter (Pamela Richmond Ruff) before separating in 1960.[2][5] Following the separation, Sanford and the children moved to Los Angeles. Richmond remained in New York and died later that same year.[5]
