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Madge Sinclair
Sinclair
Biographical information
Born

April 28, 1938

Died

December 20, 1995 (age 57)

Career information
Years

1972–1995

Work

The Lion King

Madge Dorita Sinclair (April 28, 1938 – December 20, 1995) voiced Sarabi in The Lion King.

Biography[]

Sinclair was born Madge Dorita Walters in Kingston, Jamaica. Sinclair married Royston Sinclair, a policeman, and had two sons. She worked as a teacher in Jamaica until 1968, when she left for New York to become an actress, leaving her sons with their father. She was divorced from Sinclair the following year.

In New York, Sinclair started her new career as an actress. She began modeling, and later acted with the New York Shakespearean Festival and at Joseph Papp's Public Theatre.

In the early 1980s, while working on Trapper John, M.D., Sinclair was diagnosed with leukemia, but she continued working regardless. In 1982, she married an actor named Dean Compton to who she remained married until her death.

Best known for playing opposite James Earl Jones, Sinclair played Queen Aoleon opposite James Earl Jones's King Jaffe Joffer in Coming to America. Later, she would reteam with Jones as King and Queen with the role of Sarabi, Simba's mother, in the blockbuster animated film, The Lion King.

Approximately a year after the release of The Lion King, Sinclair died from leukemia after having the disease since the early 1980s. Her body was cremated, and her ashes were spread in Jamaica. She was 57.

Other Roles[]

  • Coming to America - Queen Aoleon
  • Roots - Bey Reynolds
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation - Captain Silva La Forge
  • Trapper John, M.D. - Nurse Ernestine Shoop

External Links[]

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