Rose Weaver facts for kids

Rose Weaver is a talented American actress, singer, director, and writer. She is a very important person in the entertainment world in Rhode Island. Many people know her for her role in the movie Poetic Justice.

Rose Weaver's Early Life

Rose Weaver grew up in McDonough, Georgia, near Atlanta. Her family worked as sharecroppers, which means they farmed land owned by someone else. Rose was one of the first Black students to attend Joseph Emerson Brown High School in Atlanta. This school used to be only for white students. When she was young, she also joined the Emory University Upward Bound program. This program helps students prepare for college.

Rose Weaver's Career in Entertainment

Rose Weaver started singing in clubs in Boston and Rhode Island in the 1970s. She finished college at Wheaton College in 1973. That same year, she received a special three-year scholarship from Trinity Repertory.

Acting at Trinity Repertory

Rose spent 11 seasons acting at Trinity Repertory, which is a famous theater company. She played many different characters, like Silvia in Two Gentlemen of Verona. She also played Dussie Mae in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues. In 1994, she returned to Trinity for another 11 seasons. During this time, she acted as the Witch in Into the Woods and again as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill.

Television Work

Besides her theater work, Rose Weaver was also a producer and host. She worked on a TV show called "Sunday Sunday" on WJAR TV in the 1980s.

Film Roles

In 1993, Rose Weaver acted in the movie Poetic Justice. She played Aunt Audrey alongside famous stars like Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur.

Recent Work and Plays

Rose Weaver continues to act, sing, write, and direct today. She performed at the state inauguration in Rhode Island in 1999. In 2000, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Brown University.

In 2015, she was an artist in residence at Brown University's Rites and Reason Theatre. There, she created her play Skips The Record, which is about Alzheimer's disease and memory. Her play Menopause Mama, which she wrote, directed, and starred in, traveled to many countries. For this play, she received a fellowship in playwriting in 2017. In 2022, her play Silhouette of a Silhouette was shown for the first time. This play tells parts of her own life story.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Rose Weaver has received many awards and honors for her amazing work.

• 2019: Inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame
• 2018: Named Rhode Island Woman of the Year by GoLocalProv
• 2018: Received the Wheeler School Community Spirit Award
• 2018: Given an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Wheaton College
• 2016: Given an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Providence College
• 2002: Given an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Marymount Manhattan College
• 2001: Recognized as a History Maker by the Rhode Island Historical Society
• 2000: Won the Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts
• 1991: Included in "Who's Who in Rhode Island Jazz"
• 1973: Named Miss Congeniality at the Miss Massachusetts pageant
• 1973: Crowned Miss Foxboro

Selected Film and Television Roles

Rose Weaver has appeared in several films and TV shows.

• A Snow White Christmas (2018) - Mrs. Woods
• Brotherhood (2006) - Mrs. Lynch
• Poetic Justice (1993) - Aunt Audrey
• Tales From The Crypt, episode "Mute Witness to Murder" (1990) - Desk
• The Accused (1988) - Nurse
• Go Tell It On The Mountain (1984)
• In the Heat of the Night (1989)
• Brother to Dragons, Great Performances (1975) - Family Slave

Published Works

Rose Weaver has also had her writing published.

• "Mama's Helper" and "Chips on My Shoulder" were included in the book Monologues for Women by Women (1994).
• Her work appeared in NuMuse: an anthology of plays from Brown University's New Plays Festival (1994).