A memoir from actor Marla Gibbs is coming in 2026.
Amistad will publish Gibbs’ It’s Never Too Late next year, the press announced in a news release. The publisher says the book “reveals her difficult journey from a tempestuous childhood to becoming a confident Hollywood powerbroker and groundbreaker who paved the way for today’s superstar talents.”
Gibbs, 94, acted in blaxploitation films including Sweet Jesus, Preacherman and Black Belt Jones before being cast in the sitcom The Jeffersons as Florence Johnston, the wisecracking maid to wealthy George and Louise Jefferson. She acted in the series for 11 seasons, earning five Emmy nominations.
After the series ended, she went on to co-produce and star in the sitcom 227 from 1985 to 1990. Since then, she’s made guest appearances on series including Dawson’s Creek, Touched by an Angel, ER, and Will Trent.
In her book, Amistad says, Gibbs “chronicles her climb from a difficult youth in which she yearned for safety and love, to the high-stakes world of Hollywood where she became a confident powerbroker learning to work behind the scenes for fair pay, access, and more creative control for herself and her colleagues.”
“It is an honor that Amistad, one of the most esteemed African-American imprints in publishing, has chosen my life story to be among their selective canon of powerful narratives,” Gibbs said in a statement. “My hope is that my memoir will serve as an inspiration to those that continue to show me love and support. I believe no matter the challenges one faces, it is never too late to turn your life around or make a difference.”
It’s Never Too Late is slated for publication on February 24, 2026.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
