Isabel Sanford was the youngest of seven children and was the only child to survive beyond infancy.
13 Facts About Isabel Sanford
2.
Isabel Sanford performed at amateur night at The Apollo Theater.
3.
Isabel Sanford made her professional stage debut in 1946 in On Strivers Row, and appeared in several off-Broadway productions while working as a keypunch operator at IBM.
4.
Isabel Sanford married house painter William Edward "Sonny" Richmond, with whom she had three children.
5.
Isabel Sanford caught the attention of major Hollywood players, including Norman Lear, who cast Sanford in the role of Louise Jefferson in All in the Family.
6.
Isabel Sanford was initially reluctant to commit to working on a weekly series, as she was already working steadily, but decided to accept the offer.
7.
Isabel Sanford 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.
8.
Isabel 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.
9.
In January 2004, Isabel Sanford received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to the television industry.
10.
Isabel Sanford was married to house painter William Edward "Sonny" Richmond.
11.
Isabel Sanford was a Democrat who attended an event with Dennis Weaver for presidential candidate Jesse Jackson in 1988.
12.
In September 2003, Isabel Sanford underwent preventive surgery on her carotid artery.
13.
Isabel Sanford was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles.