Novella Christine Nelson (December 17, 1939 – August 31, 2017) was an American actress and singer. She established her career as a singer, both on the off-Broadway and Broadway stage^[1] and in cabaret-style locales.^[2]

Starting in 1961, Nelson had a decades-long stage career, performing, directing and producing, primarily in New York.^[3] She was a featured performer on Broadway in 1970 in the musical Purlie. In 1975, Nelson directed the play La Femme Noire at The Public Theater.^[4] Her film career began at age 39 with a small part in 1977's An Unmarried Woman, and continued for the next several decades with roles in movies and television.^[5][6]

She may be best known for her role as Mrs. Tate in the 2002 movie Antwone Fisher.^[7]

Nelson was born on December 17, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York, to James and Evelyn (formerly Hines) Nelson. Her father was a pastor and a taxi driver. Her mother was an executive assistant at magazine publisher Women's Wear Daily.^[8]

An African American, she attended the predominantly white Brooklyn College in the late 1950s, majoring in biochemistry. She took a speech class, which was an acting course, and was asked to perform in a play. For the play she took on the role of Berenice, the housekeeper, in The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers.^[9] After being on stage in this and other plays, the future actress changed course becoming a theatre major.^[10][11]

Nelson died of cancer on September 1, 2017, aged 77, in her native Brooklyn, New York.^[12][13]