Denise Nicholas

Denise Nicholas
Nicholas in 2011.
Born	Donna Denise Nicholas (1944-07-12) July 12, 1944 (age 72) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Milan High School University of Michigan
Occupation	Actress, social activist
Years active	1968–2004
Spouse(s)	Gilbert Moses (m. 1964–65) Bill Withers (m. 1973–74) Jim Hill (m. 1981–84)

Donna Denise Nicholas (born July 12, 1944) is an American actress and social activist who was involved in the Civil Rights Movement. She is known primarily for her role as high school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre on the ABC comedy-drama series Room 222, and for her role as Councilwoman Harriet DeLong on the NBC/CBS drama series In the Heat of the Night.

Nicholas was born in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Louise Carolyn and Otto Nicholas. She spent her early years in Detroit. With the remarriage of her mother to Robert Burgen, she moved to Milan, Michigan, a small town south of Ann Arbor. At the age of 16, she appeared on the August 25, 1960, cover of Jet magazine as a future school teacher prospect at the National High School Institute at Northwestern University. She graduated from Milan High School in 1961. Nicholas is the middle child of three, with an older brother, Otto, and a younger sister, Michele, who was murdered.

She entered the University of Michigan as a Pre-Law major. While at Michigan, she switched her major to Latin-American politics, Spanish, and English. She subsequently transferred to Tulane University, where she majored in Fine Arts. Her acting debut was in a Spanish language play presented by her language class. She left college early to join the Free Southern Theater (FST), during the Civil Rights Movement. After spending two years touring the deep South with the FST, Nicholas went to New York City and joined the Negro Ensemble Company, working in all productions during the first season of that theatre ensemble. From the stage of the St. Mark's Playhouse in New York, Nicholas was cast as Liz McIntyre, the Guidance Counselor on ABC series Room 222. Nicholas received her Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of Southern California, after living in Southern California for a number of years.