american singer and actress nell ruth hardy was born in birmingham alabama on september 13 1948.
she fell right in the middle of the birth order as one of nine children she lost her father when
she was just a toddler when he was electrocuted after stepping on a live power line in a field
next to their home nell sadly was a witness to the tragedy singing and entertaining was something
she began and enjoyed doing as a young child rey's presbyterian she performed in church youth singing
groups and on a local gospel radio show in her early teens she began performing with a youth
group called the renaissance ensemble then at the age of 16 nell would have a horrific experience
that she wouldn't speak publicly about for decades after a performance with her group one night nell
accepted a ride home from a guy she knew he pulled the car over told her to get out and at gunpoint
raped her as a result she became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter the following year initially
nell claimed that the child was the product of a brief teen marriage but she eventually revealed
the truth in an interview in 1994. she would also speak years later about how badly other people
from religious leaders to hospital staff and even her own mother made her feel about the incident
nell vividly recalled feeling like what happened to her was her fault she was used goods and that
god was punishing her when raising the baby on her own became too difficult she sent her daughter to
live with her older sister willie nell eventually left birmingham for new york city when she was 19
and changed her last name to carter as the little 4 foot 11 actress got settled in her new home in
the big apple she sang in coffee shops nightclubs and cabarets before landing her very first role
on broadway nell made her broadway debut at the age of 22 in the unsuccessful 1971 rock opera
soon other early credits include small parts and various stage musicals including
don't bother me i can't cope dude and jesus christ superstar after training in london as a dramatic
actress she would finally make her mark in the musical ain't misbehavin which ran on broadway
for nearly four years her role would win now a tony award in 1978. nell has said that the night
she won was her greatest stage triumph and also the night she tried cocaine for the first time
nell would find her way onto the small screen as ethel green on soap opera ryan's hope from 78 to
79. to do the role nell actually gave up the role of effy white in the broadway musical dream girls
that jennifer holliday later took over then in 1981 nell would land the lead role of nell harper
on the tv sitcom gimme a break the series was a ratings hit and savior for nbc who was struggling
at the time an earn nell golden globe and emmy award nominations she would win one of the latter
the pressure to keep the ball rolling though would lead nell down a dark path
by the time the show was in its second season things really spiraled out of control she
was making fifty thousand dollars a week and spending up to two thousand dollars a day on blow
she also excessively drank alcohol ate and shopped nell married austrian businessman george kernicki
whom she met in san francisco several years before in 1982. she also converted to judaism
at this time it wasn't until her addiction began to take a toll on her work and marriage that nell
realized she had a serious problem on one occasion after her phone went unanswered for several days
two of her close friends went to her home to check on her she would have been alone since her husband
spent so much time in his native austria after forcing their way in they found her unconscious
on the floor and immediately rushed her to a hospital she told the washington post in 1988
they didn't ask me if i needed help they just told me i was going to get help i mean we're talking
heavy drugs i had no idea how bad it was everyone did cog i just did it more than other people
in early 1984 nel took a trip to london to see her friend liza minnelli perform however before
the show she made an attempt to take her own life nell swallowed a large amount of sleeping pills
and chased it with a bottle of wine liza put her on a plane back to the u.s to an inpatient drug
and alcohol addiction treatment center in minnesota she completed the program
and left 90 pounds lighter the weight loss success wouldn't last long though and continue
to pose issues on the set of her show nbc would pull the plug on gimme a break after six years
after its cancellation nell left la for new york and returned to the nightclub circuit after a
couple of years of her mostly long-distance marriage george and nell separated the divorce
though never went through and they would later make an effort to reconcile nell very much
wanted more children but would experience several miscarriages she finally filed for divorce in 1989
and just four months later adopted a baby boy one would become two very quickly when nell heard
about another baby boy who needed a home both infants would end up in nell's care the timing
no doubt greatly helped nell deal with a painful loss nell's brother bernard was at the end of his
battle with aids and would pass away that year he was the best brother he was the best friend
he started me singing he made me learn the hallelujah chorus when i was five years old
he made me learn all the parts and i loved it in the 90s nell would return to series television
with the short-lived you take the kids and the much more successful hanging with mr cooper
nell also married for the second time during this period to canadian record producer roger larocque
in 1992 after meeting on a blind date she was also bigger than ever at nearly 300 pounds
one month later nell would suffer a major medical emergency she was rushed to the hospital with an
excruciating headache that turned out to be a double brain aneurysm fortunately she would make
a full recovery her marriage to roger wouldn't last long and they divorced the following year
in 1997 nell appeared on broadway in a revival of annie as miss hannigan she became upset when she
learned that the promotional material for the show featured a white woman in her role the producers
denied that there was any racism involved saying that the advertisements which were
made during an earlier production were too costly to reshoot during her year-long stint in the show
nell was plagued by health problems and one night collapsed on stage from an insulin insufficiency
her character was ultimately replaced by sally struthers by the early 2000s nell's career was on
the upswing again she landed roles in independent films as well as tv roles on show's reba and ally
mcbeal she was also thinner than she had been in years and was enjoying life more than ever
not surprisingly people wanted to know what she did to lose the weight her publicist said it was
a new diet while other reports claim she underwent weight loss surgery nell really needed things to
pick up in her professional life in 2002 she fell for bankruptcy for the second time the first time
around was back in 1995. on january 23 2003 nell collapsed and died at her home in beverly hills
her 13 year old son joshua discovered her body on the bathroom floor per a provision in nell's will
no autopsy was performed using blood tests x-rays and a cursory physical examination
the los angeles county coroner's office ruled that her death was the likely result of heart disease
complicated by diabetes she was 54 years old just before her death nell had begun rehearsals
to play mama in the long beach california revival of raisin the 1973 musical adaptation of lorraine
hansberry's 1959 drama a raisin in the sun she hoped the role would return her to broadway and
launch a new career phase as a dramatic leading actress nell's final on-screen appearance would be
in the 2005 comedy film back by midnight starring rodney dangerfield several surprises were revealed
after nell's death one was her assets or lack thereof reports claim that nell had barely 200
in her bank account and her deaths were in excess of 1 million another major shock nell's friend ann
kaiser would inherit her property and take custody of her two youngest children for years anne was
referred to as nell's friend and business partner it wasn't until her death that everyone was made
aware that they were also domestic partners their relationship apparently began in the mid 90s
nell carter's life was filled with highs and lows but aside from her personal tragedies
she will always be remembered for her outstanding talent and success in the world of entertainment
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