Actress Suzzanne Douglas Passes Away at 64

Contributed By Scott Lipscomb

Suzzanne Douglas, best known from the sitcom The Parent ‘Hood, has passed away at the age of 64.

Douglas’ cousin shared the sad news via her Facebbok on July 6:


“Suzzanne Douglas a beautiful and talented actress made her transition today. She warmed our hearts on movie screens and television sets all over the world. This beautiful soul was my cousin.

“I can remember growing up, there weren’t very many black actresses who had starring roles but there was my cousin with the lead role in “Tap” starring alongside great dancers such as Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr. She also performed with Angela Bassett and Whoopi Goldberg in “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” The Inkwell, Jason’s Lyric and so much more the list goes on. The world will miss your talent but your soul will live on forever Rest in Paradise my beautiful cousin Suzzane you will be missed RIP”

Douglas was born in Chicago and raised in public housing on the city’s south side by her single mother along with her three siblings. After developing an interest in the arts at a young age, she earned a Bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University before later earning a Master in Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music reported Essence.

For her lead role in Tap in 1989, Douglas won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. From there she went on to star in other feature films such as The Inkwell, Jason’s Lyric, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back. In 2015, she portrayed Cissy Houston in the Lifetime biopic Whitney.