Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad’s Mom Vivian Turns 100: ‘The True Renaissance Woman’
“THANK YOU for giving us a path of Light, Love, Fight and Faith to follow” Debbie Allen wrote in a post on Instagram celebrating her mom
Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad’s mom Vivian Ayers Allen is 100.
The mother of the two actresses — who is a former literary agent, Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet and activist — recently turned 100 and to celebrate, Debbie shared a loving tribute to her on Instagram on Thursday.
“Mom ❤️ You are the true Renaissance Woman Lish, Vivian, Condola, Carmen, Gel, Tracey, Natalie, Chloe, Shiloh, Avi, and I aspire to [be],” she captioned the post, along with a carousel of photographs.
In the first photo, Debbie and her mom smiled together in matching black dresses at a formal event, while other shots showed Vivian’s centenary birthday celebrations, including a group shot of family and friends, a beautifully decorated birthday cake created in the shape of the number 100 and a sweet photo of the mother and daughter smiling at one another.
THANK YOU for giving us a path of Light, Love, Fight and Faith to follow. ✨,” Debbie continued in her post. “We celebrate your 100 Years around the sun! ☀️”
Vivian was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for her collection of poems titled “Spice of Dawns” in 1952, which was followed by a widely celebrated poem titled “Hawk” in 1957, according to the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture
She also studied classical Greek Essence reported, and received honorary doctorates from Bennett College and Wilberforce University. Vivian has four children — sons Hugh and Andrew Allen Jr. and Grey’s Anatomy actress Debbie, as well as The Cosby Show actress, Rashad, who has also talked about the influence of her mother.
“It was my mother who taught us choral speech; it was my mother who taught us to tumble across the living room floor,” she told NPR in 2010.
Rashad continued, “It was my mother who gave us a real appreciation for art and literature as living things, not just as something hung on the wall or placed on the shelf — an appreciation for ideas and the power of thought and human intention.”
The now 100-year-old has regularly attended premieres and award shows with her daughters over the years, perhaps inspired by the lessons Debbie says their mom taught her and Rashad when they were growing up
“This is something I always say to parents: Take your children with you wherever you go,” Vivian said on Instagram Live a few years back, per Essence. “No matter how difficult it is. That’s how Phylicia and I have become who we are. Mommy always told us that we were children of the universe, and we had no boundaries,” she added.
