Ja'Net is a multi-talented and diverse performer. She grew up in Brooklyn, NY and began her career on Broadway. She has appeared in various plays, including "Golden Boy" with Sammy Davis Jr. and Louis Gossett Jr., and "A Raisin in the Sun".
Ja'Net moved onto TV roles, receiving a Peabody Award for a 1969 CBS children's movie J.T. (1969). She then appeared in a daytime serial, Love of Life (1951); she is the first African American actress to have a regular serial role.
Ja'Net is best known for her role as the sexy, confident gossip, "Willona Woods", in the Norman Lear-created series, Good Times (1974). She composed and sang the theme song, "Movin' On Up", for another Lear series, The Jeffersons (1975). Ja'Net has appeared in many films, including the blaxploitation parody, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), as a tough and loving mother. She has also done voice-over work for which she received two Emmys.
Ja'Net is the co-founder of the "Pan African Film & Arts Festival", which showcases global films about people of African descent and fine arts. She is a community activist whose DuBois Care Foundation's mission is to empower youth by supporting afterschool programs. Ja'Net is also a painter who regularly exhibits her work. She released a CD in 2008, "Hidden Treasures", which includes the well-known TV theme song, "Movin' On Up".
