Madge Sinclair is best known for her roles as the take-no-mess Queen in Coming To America and as “Belle,” the devoted wife of “Kunta Kinte” in the miniseries, Roots, but Madge has also made a big impact with many other roles in the 1970’s movies Cornbread, Earl, and Me, Convoy, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; and also in the 80’s TV show, Trapper John M.D. and as the voice of of “Sarabi,” “Simba’s” mother, in The Lion King.

Still there are still several facts that many never knew about her, so we wanted to pay homage to this Old School legend by highlighting a few facts about her life:

• Madge Sinclair passed away from leukemia in 1995. Many people didn’t know this because there was not a lot of mainstream media coverage about it (although there should have been in my humble opinion). She was diagnosed with leukemia just 2 years after being nominated for an Emmy for her incredible portrayal of “Belle” in the Roots miniseries. Her diagnosis just lit a fire up under Madge and made her even more determined to accomplish all that she’d set out to accomplish when she made the trek from her native country Jamaica, to America. Madge is survived by her husband, Dean Compton, and her two sons, Garry and Wayne Sinclair. She was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, where she was a school teacher. She ultimately made the very risky decision to leave her secure life in Jamaica in 1968, at the age of 30, to pursue her dream of acting in the United States. At that time, Madge was married to her then-husband, Royston Sinclair and they have two sons. She later divorced and married actor, Dean Compton in 1982.