Before she gained widespread fame as Florida Evans in Maude and Good Times, Esther Rolle had a distinguished career as a dancer and on stage:

Rolle attended Booker T. Washington High School in Miami, Florida and then Spelman College for a year before moving to New York. She supported herself by working in a pocketbook factory while auditioning for the theater. While taking drama classes at George Washington Carver School in Harlem, she got a scholarship to study acting at New York's innovative New School for Social Research. During this time she met and became a member of African dance master Asadata Dafora's dance troupe, Shogola Oloba, she became the troupe's director in 1960.

Two years later Rolle made her acting debut as Felicity in Jean Genet's The Blacks. During the 1960s, she appeared in such productions as Blues for Mr. Charlie 1964, Amen Corner and Day of Absence 1965.

In addition to her previously mentioned Emmy nomination, Esther was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1974. Although she didn't win the award for "Actress In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy Series," she was in good company. The nominees that year were:

Carol Burnett in The Carol Burnett Show
Valerie Harper in Rhoda
Mary Tyler Moore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Esther Rolle in Good Times
Jean Stapleton in All In the Family

The award went to Valerie Harper.

In 1981 the City of Pompano Beach had NW 3rd Avenue renamed Esther Rolle Avenue.

Esther Rolle is buried in Pompano Beach's Westview Cemetery.