Actress Ja’Net DuBois died on Tuesday at her home in Glendale, Calif. at the age of 74. The actress, known for her role in the 70s sitcom “Good Times” as Wilona, the Evans family neighbor, died unexpectedly in her sleep. She appeared in several other films and shows throughout her career including “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” “Roots,” “Home Improvement” and “Sister Sister.” DuBois was a veteran actress who began her career in the 1960s and went on to become the first African American woman who was a regular cast member on a daytime serial for the television soap opera “Love of Life.” She won two primetime Emmy’s for outstanding voice-over performance in 1999 for the series “The PJs” and in 2001 for “The PJs: Let’s Get Ready to Rumba.”
Reps for the Pan African Film Festival, where DuBois was one of the co-founders, said in a statement, “she will be deeply missed.” Celebs and fellow friends in the industry, including “Good Times” co-star BernNadette Stanis, took to social media to react to the news of DuBois’ death.
Read some of the reactions below:
Nobody made an entrance like Willona. Rest, JaโNet Dubois.โค๏ธ pic.twitter.com/6iieXh3dau
— Rex Chapman๐๐ผ (@RexChapman) February 18, 2020
Oh man!!! Just saw you! What a pleasure it was to meet you. You shaped so much of the best memories of my childhood! God bless you, Jaโnet DuBois! RIP๐ pic.twitter.com/tiEGNn9dVO
— Viola Davis (@violadavis) February 19, 2020
What a joy to have met
JaโNet Dubois, who became famous playing the role of Willona Woods on the hit 70s sitcom Good Times …Thank you for keeping this latch key kid entertained.. condolences to her children #rip pic.twitter.com/iV5uNjLHWp— Loni Love (@LoniLove) February 18, 2020
Devastated to hear of the sudden passing of the iconic Ja'Net Dubois ๐
We all cherished her as the beloved Willona on #GoodTimes. Got to work with her on Hangin With Mr. Cooper. I followed her around like a puppy dog. She shared so much wisdom. I loved and will miss her dearly๐น pic.twitter.com/YzBcuE73nv— Holly Robinson Peete๐ท๐ฅฐ (@hollyrpeete) February 18, 2020
Rest in peace.https://t.co/vz6QURxIX0
— Marsha Warfield (@MarshaWarfield) February 18, 2020