Who was Marva Hicks? Tributes pour in as Broadway star dies aged 47

Popular R&B singer and actress Marva Hicks recently passed away on September 16 at the age of 47. Her cause of death has not yet been revealed, and it remains unknown if she was suffering from any health-related issues.

Her husband Akwasi Taha, along with her family, announced the news while speaking to Ebony magazine and said,

Hicks’ close friend and actress Holly Robinson-Peete also paid tribute to her on social media.

Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Marva Hicks became a familiar name in all these years due to her frequent appearances on film, television, and stage. When people heard about her demise, Twitter was flooded with tributes.

In brief, about Marva Hicks

Although her date of birth remains unknown, Marva Hicks was born in Petersburg. She gained recognition for her work on TV, which included her performances on One Life to Live, Sister, Sister, and Star Trek: Voyager.

She even portrayed Roberta Williams in the 1999 film Asunder and in the 2013 film Labor Day. Apart from her TV and movie work, she was best known for her Broadway and off-Broadway plays. Her notable performances included plays like Motown the Musical, Caroline, or Change, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, and more.

She won the Helen Hayes Award thrice and toured with popular artists like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, James Ingram, and Sheryl Crow. She became famous after her song Never Been In Love Before reached the 7th position on the R&B chart in 1991. The song was from her self-titled CD, which was released the same year.

Before her successful career in the entertainment industry, she went to New York and developed an interest in theater. She also enrolled in acting courses in Washington, D.C. She recorded a few demos and released Looking Over My Shoulder in 1981.

Hicks then ended up singing in Lena Horne’s Broadway show for three years and met Stevie Wonder while touring London. She started touring with him during the mid-80s and was a background singer for his LP, Characters. She then joined Polydor Records Ltd. in the late 1980s and released her first self-titled LP in 1991. However, it was not a commercial success.

She even portrayed Rafiki in the musical play The Lion King, based on the 1994 Walt Disney Animation Studios’ animated film of the same name. She even sang the gospel song There’s No Hiding Place Down Here in an episode of the space opera television series, Babylon 5. She was then featured on the album Mosquito by the indie rock band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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