Irma Dolores Player Hall (born June 3, 1935) is an American actress who has appeared in films and television shows since the early 1970s. Hall often played matriarchal figures in films including A Family Thing, The Ladykillers and Soul Food, in which she portrayed Josephine "Big Mama Joe" Joseph, a role she reprised in the television series of the same name. Hall earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for portraying the character in the film version.
She also appeared in Collateral and two films by director Werner Herzog. For her performance in The Ladykillers, she won the Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
Early life Hall was born Irma Dolores Player Hall in Beaumont, Texas, on June 3, 1935, the daughter of Samuel Player, a saxophone player for the Rhumboogie Café, and Josephine Hall, who worked as an admission clerk at a hospital. She and her parents moved to Chicago's South Side in 1942, as Hall's parents wanted their daughter to have better opportunities in education. Hall attended Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa,Irma P. Hall Biography - Yahoo! Movies but transferred at Texas College, from which she graduated in 1956.
Beginning in 1962, she taught French, Spanish, and other languages at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston, and James Madison High School in Dallas. Hall continued to teach until she began acting full time in 1984.
Career Hall's first acting role was Georgia Brown in an independent film, Book of Numbers, at the age of 37. Actor/director Raymond St. Jacques hired her as an interim publicist for the film. He saw her performing at a poetry reading and liked her so much that he offered her a role on the spot. St. Jacques opined Hall was a natural and that she should act professionally. She discovered a love for acting, and soon co-founded the Dallas Minority Regional Theater with Reggie Montgomery.
She worked steadily in films and TV throughout the 1980s, and appeared in the films Backdraft (1991) and Mo' Money (1992). However, Hall remained relatively unknown until her role as the loving Aunt T. in 1996's A Family Thing. Multiple critics believed Hall stole every scene she was in. She won the Chicago Film Critics Association Award and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role, and the success of that film helped establish her as a major supporting actress in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Sizable roles in major films such as Nothing to Lose and Steel followed. Hall then landed the role of Big Mama Joseph in the film Soul Food. A film reviewer claimed Hall was "perfectly cast" in the role of Mama Joseph. For her work in this film, she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture in 1998. Soul Food was a hit at the box office, prompting a television spinoff, Soul Food: The Series, in which Hall reprised her role in fantasy sequences. In 2001, Hall received a second NAACP Image Award nomination, in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for playing Mama Joseph.
Also in 1997, she acted in the Clint Eastwood-directed film adaptation of John Berendt's novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Her character, root doctor Minerva, was based on Valerie Boles."Reclusive voodoo priestess of 'Midnight' fame dies" – Savannah Morning News, May 8, 2009 Hall appeared in the television films A Lesson Before Dying (1999), Something to Sing About (2000), and Miss Lettie and Me (2002). Hall portrayed Glory St. Clair, a psychic nurse, in the short-lived series All Souls.
Hall landed another acclaimed role in the 2004 remake of The Ladykillers as Marva Munson, a religious landlady. A reviewer believed Hall was "outstanding" in the film, while Justin Flowers felt Hall was the funniest actor in an otherwise negative review for the film. She won a special Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for her performance. Additionally, Hall received an NAACP Image Award nomination as Marva Munson.
She made guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Game, and Chicago Fire. Hall portrayed a day care operator in Meet the Browns (2008), also having a minor role in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009). Hall appeared as an employee for a white family in Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012) and recurred as Meemaw in Hap and Leonard in 2017.
Personal life Hall lives in Dallas with her family. She has two children and four grandchildren.
She is a practicing Catholic.Irma P. Hall (The HistoryMakers A2008.045), interviewed by Denise Gines, March 12, 2008, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 9, Irma P. Hall recalls her early experiences of religion
Car crash Shortly before the 2004 film release of The Ladykillers, Hall was seriously injured in a car crash in Chicago. In the midst of a snowstorm, she lost control of her vehicle, crossed lanes into oncoming traffic, and hit another car head-on. She underwent emergency open-heart surgery for a puncture wound to her aorta caused by a broken rib. In addition, Hall also suffered a shattered ankle and a broken arm. She was cited for driving with a suspended license, and not staying in her lane.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1973Book of NumbersGeorgia Brown1982Split ImageMaid1986On Valentine's DayAunt Charity1987Square DancePreacher DixonThey Still Call Me BruceMrs. Brown1991BackdraftNurse1992Straight TalkEthelFanny BailyMo' MoneyLady on Phone1996Aunt TChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress1997BuddyEmmaNothing to LoseBertha "Mama" DavidsonSteelGrandma OdessaSoul FoodJosephine "Mother Joe" JosephNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureMidnight in the Garden of Good and EvilMinerva1998BelovedEllaPatch AdamsJoletta1999Clotelia2002Don't Let GoHazelBad CompanyMrs. Banks2004Marva MunsonCannes Film Festival - Jury PrizeWomen Film Critics Circle Award for Best Comedic PerformanceBlack Reel Award for Best ActressNominated - Saturn Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion PictureCollateralIda2005P.N.O.K.Mildred BurnettShort filmGift for the LivingCarrie MaeShort film2008Meet the BrownsMildredUncross the StarsLuluRainRosalie2009Binnie RogersMy Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?Mrs. RobertsHurricane SeasonGrandma Rose20113 Blind SaintsSister LouiseRedMother MabelShort film2012Jayne Mansfield's CarDorothyWolfBrendaChanging the GameGrandma BarnesHiding in Plain SightIda Mae Blackmon2013Lady LuckMrs. Bailey 2014Night VetMabel 2015Steps of FaithDorothy Lee
Television Year Title Role Notes1978DallasTillyEpisode: "Bar-B-Que"1979Dallas Cowboys CheerleadersDoraTV film1980Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders IIDoraTV film1980SkywardMrs. SinclairTV film1981Crisis at Central HighLulu RichardsTV film1981Broken PromiseWillistonTV film1984He's Not Your SonNurse Anne HallTV film1984DallasRosaEpisode: "Shadow of a Doubt"1985Cecilia HowlettTV film1986TV film1987Uncle Tom's CabinMammyTV film1990Mrs. SmithTV film1992In the Shadow of a KillerForemanTV film1993In the Company of DarknessApartment ManagerTV film1993Missing PersonsMrs. DavisonEpisodes: "I Can't Even Imagine", "Right Neighborhood... Wrong Door"1994Missing PersonsMrs. DavisonEpisode: "What Do You Want... A Signed Confession?"1995WishboneDr. Thelma BrownEpisode: "Digging Up the Past"1996To Sir, with Love IIOld WomanTV film1998Mae MullenTV film1998Touched by an AngelEffie TaylorEpisode: "Seek and Ye Shall Find"1998Getting PersonalMrs. BuckleyEpisode: "Guess Who Else Is Coming to Dinner?"1999Miss EmmaTV filmNominated - Black Reel Award for Best Actress: T.V. Movie/Cable1999Judging AmyBeverly RaymondEpisode: "An Impartial Bias"20007th HeavenHattieEpisode: "All By Myself"2000Something to Sing AboutMemawTV film2000-2002Soul FoodMama JoeRegular role (14 episodes)2001Great Aunt T (voice)TV film2001A Girl ThingAliceTV film2001All SoulsNurse Glory St. ClaireRecurring role (5 episodes)Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series2002Our AmericaJune JonesTV film2002Aunt LivaEpisodes: "Sweet Home Chicago: Parts 1 & 2"2002Miss Lettie and MeRose GriffinTV filmCAMIE Award for Best Performance2003MaryTV film2006Take 3Mildred BurnettTV film2010-2011Diary of a Single MomDessaRecurring role (5 episodes)2011Harry's LawAnna NicholsonEpisode: "Heat of Passion"2011Law & Order: Special Victims UnitLorna TalcottEpisode: "Reparations"2012Episode: "Grand Opening, Grand Closing"2012Chicago FireMrs. GradyEpisode: "One Minute"2013Getting OnCordelia MeadeEpisode: "The Concert"2017Hap and LeonardMeemawRegular role (6 episodes)
Awards and nominations Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films 2005, Best Actress: The Ladykillers (Nominated) Black Reel Awards 2005, Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy: The Ladykillers (Winner) 2000, Best Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series/Television Movie: A Lesson Before Dying (Nominated) Cannes Film Festival 2005, Jury Prize for Acting: The Ladykillers (Winner)
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