Olivia Jefferson
Olivia Jefferson is a fictional character on the show The Jeffersons played by Zara Cully. She was George & Henry's mother and was often referred to as Mother Jefferson and was born in New York City in 1895.
"Mother Jefferson", a catty senior, often insulted George's wife Louise; in fact, she took almost every opportunity she could to insult Louise. Louise tried to be nice to her but often became frustrated and occasionally responded with a wisecrack, although they did get along on some occasions, especially when George was venting anger out on Louise. She often tells Louise how she disapproves of her marriage to George, lamenting his previous girlfriends whom he left prior to marrying Louise.
When actress Zara Cully died in 1978, her death was not incorporated into the show immediately. In September of that year, it was mentioned in the first part of the "Homecoming" episode that Mother Jefferson had died, but there was no full episode centering on her death.
The character appeared once on All in the Family before the show The Jeffersons began. When George and Louise Jefferson had a party for Lionel Jefferson and Jenny Willis, Archie Bunker referred to Olivia as George's "mammy." She became enraged and lashed out at both Archie and George.
Trivia
- Her [fictional} husband's name was William T. Jefferson. A plot hole is an early epsiode when Louise tells that her father-in-law told her that the Jeffersons came from Africa; yet another epsiode has the elder Jefferson dying when George Jefferson was 10 years old!
- On The Jeffersons it was a running joke about how Mother Jefferson would always overindulge in a Bloody Mary (cocktail). On one episode where George and Louise renew their wedding vows, Mother Jefferson stops sipping punch when she's told it has no alcohol.
- One memorable exchange between Mother and Louise Jefferson is when Mother Jefferson replaces Louise's picture with one of her own-taken when she was younger. Louise sarcastically asks if it was taken during the Civil War.