Marcella Lowery (born April 27, 1946) is an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. She is known for her roles as

Geoffrey Owens Geoffrey Louis Owens (born March 18, 1961) is an American actor known for his role as Elvin Tibideaux on ''The Cosby Show'' (1985–1992). He is the son of United States Congressman Major Owens. Early life and education Owens was born in Brookl ...

' mother, Francine Tibideaux, on ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...

'', Jamal Jenkins' grandmother on ''

Ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

'' from 1992 to 1995, Anna Eldridge in the 1996 film, ''

The Preacher's Wife ''The Preacher's Wife'' is a 1996 American comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall and starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, and Courtney B. Vance. It is a remake of the 1947 film ''The Bishop's Wife'', which in turn was based on the 1 ...

'' and as Principal Karen Noble on 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 ''

City Guys ''City Guys'' is an American television sitcom that aired for five seasons on NBC from September 6, 1997, to December 15, 2001. The series aired as part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC. Plot ''City Guys'' was mainly centered on it ...

''. Lowery was born in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

. She had a recurring role on ''

'' as Francine Tibideaux, the mother of Elvin Tibideaux and mother-in-law of

Sondra Huxtable Sondra Huxtable Tibideaux is a fictional character from the 1980s television series, ''The Cosby Show''. Background and production Sondra Huxtable did not appear in the pilot episode of the show. Sondra was created when Bill Cosby wanted the sh ...

, as well as a brief role in ''

What About Bob? ''What About Bob?'' is a 1991 American black comedy film directed by Frank Oz and starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. Murray plays Bob Wiley, a troubled patient who follows his self-centered psychotherapist Dr. Leo Marvin (Dreyfuss) on v ...

''. She was also in ''

'' and guest-starred in four episodes of ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

''. She is most recently known for portraying

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before his NFL career, he played football and b ...

's mother in

Campbell's Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...

Chunky Soup commercials. Lowery has also appeared on the commercials for

Colonial Penn The Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company (often known as simply Colonial Penn) is an American life insurance company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded by philanthropist and AARP co-founder Leonard Davis, owned by CNO Financial Group. ...

. She also played Maybelle in the Off-Broadway premiere of ''

Before It Hits Home ''Before It Hits Home'' is a play by Cheryl West. Background The show was originally workshopped by the Seattle Group Theatre at the Multicultural Playwrights Festival in 1989, then later was given a reading at the Circle Repertory Company in 199 ...

''.

Filmography

External links

* 1946 births People from Queens, New York Living people African-American actresses American television actresses Actresses from New York City 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women {{US-tv-actor-1940s-stub