Arnetia Walker is an American actress and singer, active since 1971. She played Nurse Annie Roland in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

sitcom ''

Nurses Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...

'' from 1991 to 1994.

Life and career

Walker was born in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

, Walker was very young when her mother died, and she never knew her father. She later moved to New York City and attended New York's prestigious High School of the Performing Arts when she was cast in her Broadway debut, ''The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window'' by

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was a playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin in the Sun'', highlig ...

. She would later be

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

's standby as Dorothy in the original Broadway run of ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown (writer), William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's childr ...

''. In 1987, she starred in the Broadway revival of ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,Gro ...

'' in the role of Lorrell Robinson, and eventually achieved the distinction of being the only woman to have played all three of that show's principal characters. She performed in both New York and Los Angeles. In 1982, Walker made her big screen debut appearing in the comedy film ''

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grange ...

''. She later appeared in films ''

The Wizard of Speed and Time ''The Wizard of Speed and Time'' is a 1988 low-budget feature film written, directed, and starring animator Mike Jittlov, as well as a 1979 16 mm short film, also by Jittlov. 1979 short film In the original short film, a young man in a green w ...

'' (1988), ''

Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills ''Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills'' is a 1989 American black comedy film co-written and directed by Paul Bartel. The film re-unites Bartel with his ''Eating Raoul'' co-stars Mary Woronov and Robert Beltran. It also stars Jacqueline ...

'' (1989), and '' Love Crimes'' (1992). Her television films credits include '' Cast a Deadly Spell'' (1991), ''

The Cherokee Kid ''The Cherokee Kid'' is a 1996 American made for television western film directed by Paris Barclay for HBO. The film's stars were Sinbad, James Coburn, Burt Reynolds, Gregory Hines, A Martinez, Ernie Hudson, Dawnn Lewis and Vanessa Bell Cal ...

'' (1996) and ''

Geppetto Geppetto ( , ), also known as Mister Geppetto, is an Italian fictional character in the 1883 novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collodi. Geppetto is an elderly, impoverished woodcarver and the creator (and thus 'father') of Pinocchio ...

'' (2000). In 1991, Walker was cast as one of leads alongside

Stephanie Hodge Stephanie Hodge (born December 24, 1956) is an American actress and stand-up comedian, known for her roles as Nurse Sandy Miller in the NBC sitcom ''Nurses'' from 1991 to 1993, and as Jennie Malloy on the WB sitcom ''Unhappily Ever After'' from ...

Mary Jo Keenen Mary Jo Keenen is an American former television actress. She had regular roles as Nurse Julie Milbury on the ''Empty Nest'' spin-off ''Nurses'', Gloria Elgis on ''City'' with Valerie Harper, and Stephanie James on '' My Wildest Dreams''. She ...

and

Ada Maris Ada Maris (born June 13, 1957) is an American actress known for her starring roles in the sitcoms ''Nurses'' and ''The Brothers Garcia''. Maris was born in East Los Angeles and grew up there. Her college education came at Boston University and UCL ...

in the NBC sitcom ''

'', a spin-off of ''

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to April 29, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Ric ...

''. The series ran three season and 68 episodes. Walker also was regular cast member in the short-lived ABC sitcoms ''

Singer & Sons ''Singer & Sons'' is an American sitcom starring Harold Gould and Esther Rolle that was originally broadcast on NBC as a summer replacement series from June 9 to June 27, 1990. Synopsis Nathan Singer is a Jewish widower who becomes the third gene ...

'' (1990) and '' The Big House'' (2004). She guest starred in a number of shows, including ''

Quantum Leap ''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physi ...

'', ''

Living Single ''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Lee Bowser that aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who shared personal and professi ...

'', ''

Midnight Caller ''Midnight Caller'' is an American drama television series created by Richard DiLello, which aired on NBC from October 25, 1988, to May 17, 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growin ...

'', ''

Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch and ...

'', '' City of Angels'', ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced b ...

'', ''

The Steve Harvey Show ''The Steve Harvey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on The WB from August 25, 1996, to February 17, 2002. It was created by Winifred Hervey and directed by Stan Lathan. Synopsis Steve Hightower (Steve Harvey) is a 1970s funk ...

'', ''

Just Shoot Me ''Just Shoot Me!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 4, 1997, to November 26, 2003, with a total of 145 half-hour episodes spanning seven seasons. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive p ...

'', ''

Renegade Renegade or The Renegade may refer to: Aircraft *Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design *Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design *Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design Games *'' Comman ...

'', and ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

''. From 1999 to 2000, she had a recurring role in the WB comedy-drama series, ''

Popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

''. In 2008, she played the role of Grandma Clara in the comedy film ''

College Road Trip ''College Road Trip'' is a 2008 American family comedy film directed by Roger Kumble and starring Martin Lawrence, Kym Whitley, Raven-Symoné, Brenda Song, Margo Harshman, and Donny Osmond. The film centers on college-bound teen Melanie Porter (R ...

''. In 2017, she was cast in a recurring role of Luella Culhane in the CW prime time soap opera, ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

''.

Personal life

She is married to television news anchor/reporter Elliott Francis, and they have one child, Trevor.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Arnetia African-American actresses American film actresses American television actresses Living people Actresses from Georgia (U.S. state) Actors from Columbus, Georgia Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women