Olivia Cole, who won an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Matilda, wife to Chicken George in the landmark miniseries “Roots,” has died, a burial association executive said. She was 75.
Cole died last Friday at her home in San Miguel de Allende, a central Mexico city, said Linda Cooper, executive secretary of the 24 Horas de San Miguel de Allende cremation and burial group.
The cause of death was a heart attack, Cooper said Thursday.
Cole received an Emmy Award for her role in ABC’s smash hit 1977 drama based on African-American writer Alex Haley’s book “Roots,” which dramatized the lives of his ancestors from West Africa to slavery and post-Civil War.
She was the first African-American to win in the Emmy category of best supporting actress in a miniseries.