Irma P. Hall, Soul Food actress and Cannes prize winner, dies at 91
Hall played Josephine “Big Mama” Joseph in the 1997 film and won a Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for The Ladykillers.
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Irma P. Hall died on 10 November 2026 at 91, her family confirmed. She was known for playing Josephine “Big Mama” Joseph in Soul Food, a role that earned her the 1998 NAACP Image Award for outstanding supporting actress in a motion picture.
In The Ladykillers, Hall played Marva Munson, a religious landlady, opposite Tom Hanks. Her performance earned her a Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
From teaching to the screen
Hall taught French, Spanish and other languages in high schools in Houston and Dallas before beginning to act full time in 1984. Her film debut came in 1973, after director Raymond St. Jacques saw her at a poetry reading and offered her the role of Georgia Brown in Book of Numbers.
After Soul Food became a box-office hit, Hall reprised her character in fantasy sequences in its television spinoff, Soul Food: The Series.
Her family described Hall as an actress, author, poet, educator and public speaker, and said her legacy of talent, dedication and compassion would continue to inspire generations. The family said it would announce details of funeral services, memorial arrangements and special tributes later.
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