Emily Yancy

{{Short description|American actress (born 1939)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Emily Yancy

| image = Emily Yancy The Johnny Carson Show.jpeg

| caption = Yancy performing during The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1939|4|28}}

| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.

| occupation = Actress

| years_active = 1963–present

| education =

}}

Emily Yancy (April 28, 1939){{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/emily-yancy-84988#broadway|title=Emily Yancy – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB|website=www.ibdb.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily-yancy|title=Emily Yancy - Rotten Tomatoes|website=www.rottentomatoes.com}} is an American actress and singer. She began her acting career appearing on Broadway as Irene Molloy in the 1967 all-black version of Hello, Dolly! opposite Cab Calloway.{{Cite web|url=https://www.callondolly.com/emily-yancy/|title=Emily Yancy}} She later performed on musicals Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope, Your Own Thing, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and Man of La Mancha.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/08/04/archives/emily-yancy-signs-for-la-mancha-role.html|title=Emily Yancy Signs For ‘La Mancha’|date=August 4, 1977|via=NYTimes.com}}

Of African American heritage, Yancy was born and raised in New York City and began working as a model before acting and singing. In 1965, she recorded her debut studio album titled Yancy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/4192246-Emily-Yancy-Yancy|title=Emily Yancy - Yancy|date=September 8, 1965|via=www.discogs.com}} Yancy made her screen debut playing minor role in the 1968 comedy film What's So Bad About Feeling Good?. She later appeared in the comedy-drama Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970), and in the blaxploitation films Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) and Blacula (1972). On television, Yancy guest-starred in a more than 30 shows, including Love, American Style, Sanford and Son, Starsky & Hutch, Diff'rent Strokes, Picket Fences, The Practice, Frasier, How to Get Away with Murder and Criminal Minds.

In 2018, Yancy played Gayla, the housekeeper of Patricia Clarkson's character, in the HBO miniseries, Sharp Objects. In 2023, she appeared in the biographical drama film, Origin playing the role of Isabel Wilkerson's mother.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2023/02/ava-duvernay-caste-movie-adds-victoria-pedretti-blair-underwood-others-1235266573/|title=Ava DuVernay’s ‘Caste’ Adds Blair Underwood, Victoria Pedretti, Finn Wittrock, Others|first=Matt|last=Grobar|date=February 21, 2023}}{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/origin-review-ava-duvernay-caste-1235714530/|title=‘Origin’ Review: Ava DuVernay’s Monumental Look at ‘Caste’ Frames America’s Most Difficult Conversation|first=Peter|last=Debruge|date=September 6, 2023}}