Joan Pringle facts for kids

Joan Pringle was born on June 2, 1945. She is an American actress famous for her role as Sybil Buchanan in the TV show The White Shadow. In this show, she played a vice principal who later became the principal. She even won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her work.

Joan Pringle also starred in the soap opera Generations from 1989 to 1991. Later, she had important roles in other TV series like One on One and Girlfriends.

Early Life and Education

Joan Pringle grew up in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. She was born in the Harlem neighborhood. She and her sister were raised there.

Joan went to an Episcopalian private school. She was the only Black student in her class. As a teenager, she was a talented track athlete.

After high school, Joan studied English literature and drama at the City College of New York. She then went to Hunter College for a master's degree in drama. However, she decided to leave college to start her acting career. She learned acting from a famous teacher named Uta Hagen. In 1972, she moved to California to pursue her dreams.

Joan Pringle's Acting Career

Joan Pringle began her acting journey on the stage. She first appeared on Broadway in 1970. She played the character Rosita in a play called Camino Real. In the same year, she acted as Edith in the musical Operation Sidewinder.

Early TV Roles

In 1973, Joan Pringle signed a contract with Universal Studios. This was when she first appeared on screen. She played a pregnant woman in the TV show Emergency!. She also had a repeating role as Diana, a lawyer, in the crime drama Ironside.

She also appeared in an episode of The Waltons. In this show, she played Esther, a friend who faced unfair treatment because of her race when looking for a job.

Busy Years in the 1970s

The 1970s were a very busy time for Joan Pringle. She appeared in many popular TV shows.

• In 1974, she was on Sanford and Son and Kojak.
• In 1975, she joined That's My Mama as Tracy Curtis Taylor for its second season.
• In 1977, she appeared in The Bionic Woman and had a recurring role as nurse Beryl Keynes in Rafferty.
• She also appeared in an episode of Barnaby Jones called “The Deadly Valentine”.
• In 1978, she was on Starsky & Hutch.

Joan Pringle also acted in the movie J.D.'s Revenge in 1976. She starred alongside actors Glynn Turman and Louis Gossett, Jr.

Starring in The White Shadow

Starting in 1978, Joan Pringle became well-known for her role as Sybil Buchanan in The White Shadow. Her character was a high school vice principal. When another actor left the show, Joan's character became the new principal.

While working on The White Shadow, she also played Polly Dawson on the show Soap. She continued playing Sybil until The White Shadow ended in 1981. After the show finished, Joan mentioned it was sometimes hard to find new important roles.

During the 1980s, Joan Pringle made guest appearances on shows like:

• L.A. Law (1987)
• Simon & Simon (1988)
• Moonlighting (1989)

Later Career Highlights

From 1989 to 1991, Joan Pringle starred as Ruth Marshall in the daytime drama Generations on NBC. She also had roles in other soap operas, including General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful.

Joan Pringle appeared in TV movies too. She played Gwen Singleton, the boss of Barbara Eden's character, in Visions of Murder (1993) and its follow-up Eyes of Terror (1994). She also guest-starred in an early episode of Friends as Dr. Oberman.

In movies, Joan Pringle played a housekeeper named Sara in Original Sin (2001). She also played a judge in Tyler Perry's movie Daddy's Little Girls (2006).

On the TV show Girlfriends, Joan Pringle had a recurring role as Carol Hart. She played the mother of Tracee Ellis Ross's character, Joan Clayton. She also played Flex Alexander's mother, Eunice, on the sitcom One on One.

More recently, Joan Pringle appeared in the TV series Being Mary Jane (2014) and the movie The Lost City (2022).

Personal Life

Joan Pringle was married to actor Theodore "Teddy" Wilson from 1980 until he passed away in 1991. They had worked together on the TV series That's My Mama starting in 1974. Joan and Teddy had two children, twins named Robert and Nicole, who were born in 1980.

In 1998, Joan Pringle married Vernon L. Bolling, who is a producer. She also quit smoking by 1979.