<Tr> <Th> Spouse (s) </Th> <Td> James M. Brown, Sr . (m . 1914; d . 1968) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Children </Th> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> Zara Frances Cully (January 26, 1892--February 28, 1978) was an American actress . Cully was best known for her role as Olivia "Mother Jefferson" Jefferson on the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons, which she portrayed from the series beginning in 1975 until her death in 1978 . </P> <P> Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on January 26, 1892, Cully was one of ten siblings . She graduated from the Worcester School of Speech and Music, and was one of the oldest performers active in television at the time of her death . In 1940, after an appearance in New York City she became known as "one of the world's greatest elocutionists". After moving to Jacksonville, Florida, she began producing, writing, directing, and acting in numerous plays . For 15 years she was a drama teacher at her own studio as well as at Edward Waters College, and had become known as Florida's "Dean of Drama" before her inability or unwillingness to adapt to the then - prevailing social customs in the South directed her decision to leave for Hollywood, where she became a regular performer at the Ebony Showcase Theatre . </P>

Who played florence's mother on the jeffersons