Nell Carter
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Nell Ruth Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy; September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American singer and actress. Beginning her career in 1970, Carter started in theater; singing and later crossed over to television. Carter was perhaps best known for her role as Nell Harper on the NBC sitcom Gimme a Break! which originally aired from 1981 to 1987. Carter received two Emmy and two Golden Globe award nominations for her work on the series. Prior to Gimme a Break!, Carter won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical in 1978 for her performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin', as well as an Primetime Emmy Award for her reprisal of the role on television in 1982.

Born Nell Ruth Hardy in Birmingham, Alabama, she was one of nine children born to Horace and Edna Mae Hardy. When she was two years old, her father was electrocuted when he stepped on a live power line. As a child, she began singing on a local gospel radio show and was also a member of the church choir. At the age of 15, she began performing with the Renaissance Ensemble that played at area coffee houses and gay bars. On July 5, 1965, Hardy, then 16 years old, was raped at gunpoint by a man she knew who gave her a ride home from a performance with the Renaissance Ensemble. Hardy became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Tracey, the following year. Hardy attempted to raise Tracey alone, but found it too difficult. She sent Tracey to live with her elder sister Willie (Carter would later say Tracey was the product of a short lived marriage, but revealed the truth in an interview in 1994). At the age of 19, Hardy left Birmingham and moved to New York City with The Renaissance Ensemble, changing her surname to Carter. While living in New York City, Carter sang in coffee shops before landing her first role on Broadway in 1971.