Debbi Morgan

Debbi Morgan, born Deborah Ann Morgan on September 20, 1956 in Dunn, North Carolina, has built a career that spans over five decades, making her one of the most enduring figures in American film and television. She began her professional journey in 1971, quickly moving from early television roles on shows like What’s Happening!! and Good Times to a memorable breakthrough as Alex Haley’s great‑aunt Elizabeth Harvey in the 1979 miniseries Roots: The Next Generations. Morgan’s most iconic role arrived in 1982 when she originated Angie Baxter‑Hubbard on the ABC soap All My Children, a character who, alongside Darnell Williams’s Jesse Hubbard, formed the first African‑American supercouple on daytime television. Her groundbreaking performance earned her a historic Daytime Emmy Award in 1989, making her the first Black actress to win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. After a successful soap run, Morgan expanded into prime‑time television and film, delivering a critically acclaimed turn as the clairvoyant Mozelle Batiste‑Delacroix in Kasi Lemmons’ Eve’s Bayou (1997), an effort that garnered an Independent Spirit Award and a Chicago Film Critics Association Award. She continued to showcase versatility with roles in She’s All That, The Hurricane, Love & Basketball, and Coach Carter, while also appearing in popular series such as Charmed, The Young and the Restless, and the Starz crime drama Power. In recent years, Morgan has embraced biographical work, portraying Toni Braxton’s mother in Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart and Keyshia Cole’s mother in the Lifetime biopic, while also venturing into the Marvel universe with a part in The Defenders. Throughout her extensive career, Morgan has not only broken barriers for Black actresses but also remained a steadfast presence on screen, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to her craft and a remarkable ability to reinvent herself across genres and generations.