The Emmy Awards commenced in a show of glitter and gold, but it was The Jeffersons actress Marla Gibbs who stole the show. Gibbs strolled out onto the red carpet and, at 92, wowed all in attendance with her lively demeanor and shimmering attire.
A singer, comedian, and writer as well as an actress, Gibbs is best known for playing Florence Johnston in the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons from 1975 to 1985. As a series regular, appearing in 207 episodes, Gibbs was nominated for a Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and TV Land Award. She won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – and this red carpet event is just part of her continually full work schedule!
92-year-old Marla Gibbs shimmers at the Emmy Awards
Gibbs’s smile and dress were equally dazzling. The 227 regular wore a long black gown covered from top to bottom in sparkles, embellished at the edges with white jewels. She kept her hair short and styled out of her face, showing off her subtly made-up face and long earrings.
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Gibbs was there with Abbott Elementary writer Quinta Brunson to present the Award for Supporting Actress in a Limited Anthology Series or Movie to Niecy Nash-Betts. The audience was already cheering before the winner was even announced, however, as soon as they saw Gibbs climb the stage.
Perhaps no one was more excited than her fellow presenter Brunson, who found herself positively awed to be beside someone with such an impactful, sprawling career as Gibbs.
Celebrating a sprawling career
Marla Gibbs is 92 and SLAYING! #Emmys #QuintaBrunson 📷 Getty 🔥 😍 pic.twitter.com/mRkTwrbDIe
— xoNecole (@xonecole) January 16, 2024
Brunson took a moment to celebrate Gibbs, describing her career as one that “literally spanned decades.” She then needed to know just how Gibbs, still very active in the industry, stays active for so long, matching and outpacing many a third her age.
Gibbs took this as an opportunity to incorporate some of her famous humor. “That’s easy, baby: the wage gap,” she jested, to great approval from the crowd. But actually, Gibbs set a schedule for herself, saying she needed to work “20 more years” before she could retire. However, she added, if Brunson wrote up a role for her in Abbott Elementary, things could work out. She finished by teasing, “Black don’t crack!”
The issue of getting Gibbs onto Abbott Elementary wouldn’t even be a retirement one; it would be a matter of squeezing it into Gibbs’s schedule. Since starting off with an uncredited role in 1968’s Yours, Mine and Ours, Gibbs has stayed very active in the industry, oscillating between film and TV. In 2022, she was in Bromates, Spirit Halloween: The Movie, and Grey’s Anatomy. Last year was for A Snowy Day in Oakland, The Ms. Pat Show, and History of the World: Part II.
Whatever comes next for Gibbs, it’s sure to be great!