Judy Pace, the pioneering actress who opened doors for Black women in Hollywood with standout parts in “Peyton Place” and the seminal TV movie “Brian’s Song,” passed away in her sleep on March 11, 2026, while visiting family in Marina del Rey, California. She was 83.
Family spokesperson Joseph Babineaux confirmed Pace’s death to The Hollywood Reporter. Her daughters, attorney Shawn Pace Mitchell and actress Julia Pace Mitchell, said their mother “died peacefully in her sleep.” The graceful Los Angeles native leaves behind a legacy as one of the era’s most striking performers during a time when roles for Black actresses were severely limited.
Born June 15, 1942, Pace broke numerous barriers over the course of her career. She was the first Black woman signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures in the early 1960s, the first Black bachelorette on “The Dating Game” in 1965, and the first television and print spokesmodel for Fashion Fair Cosmetics — helping bring representation to advertising and fashion when such visibility was rare.
After graduating from Dorsey High School and studying sociology at Los Angeles City College, Pace trained as a model under the guidance of her sister Betty. In 1961 she became the youngest model chosen for the prestigious Ebony Fashion Fair, launching a career that spanned film, television, and advocacy.
Her film debut was in 1963’s “13 Frightened Girls,” directed by William Castle, in which she played the daughter of a Liberian diplomat. That role led to numerous television appearances on popular shows including “Bewitched,” “Batman,” “I Spy,” “Tarzan,” and “I Dream of Jeannie.”
Pace gained wide recognition for her recurring role as Vickie Fletcher in 15 episodes of the fifth and final season of ABC’s primetime soap “Peyton Place” (1968–69). Her depiction of a morally complex character marked the first time a Black actress portrayed a villain on network television — a break from the limited, respectable roles usually offered to Black performers.
“All the Black women in the movies seem to be nurses, school teachers, social workers,” Pace told Roger Ebert in 1969. “Black women lead real lives, baby. They’re not all doctors’ wives.”
She won an NAACP Image Award for Best Actress for her trailblazing role as attorney Pat Walters on ABC’s “The Young Lawyers,” which ran from September 1970 to March 1971 opposite Lee J. Cobb and Zalman King. The role presented Pace as a sharp, unapologetic career woman at a time when such portrayals for Black women were uncommon on American television.
In 1971 Pace co-starred in the landmark ABC telefilm “Brian’s Song” as Linda Sayers, wife of Chicago Bears running back Gale Sayers (played by Billy Dee Williams). The Emmy-winning film, which also starred James Caan as Brian Piccolo, attracted 55 million viewers when it aired on Nov. 30, 1971 — about half of American households with televisions at the time. The movie remains one of television’s most celebrated films and was ranked among the top “guy-cry” films in a 2005 Entertainment Weekly readers’ poll.
Pace’s movie credits include notable roles in “Cotton Comes to Harlem” (1970), directed by Ossie Davis, where she played the sharp-tongued Iris opposite Calvin Lockhart. She appeared in “Three in the Attic” (1968) with Christopher Jones — a performance that prompted Roger Ebert to call her “a quick, funny actress who can put an edge on a line.” Other credits include the ecological horror “Frogs” (1972) with Ray Milland and “The Slams” (1973) with Jim Brown.
Beyond acting, Pace worked to expand opportunities for other Black artists. In 1971 she co-founded the Kwanza Foundation with “Star Trek” actress Nichelle Nichols. The organization — described as the only philanthropic Black nonprofit honoring women in film both in front of and behind the camera — supported Black women in the industry and provided scholarships to minority students pursuing arts careers.
Her television work continued through the 1970s with guest roles on “The Mod Squad,” “Shaft,” “Medical Center,” “Kung Fu,” “Sanford and Son,” “That’s My Mama,” “What’s Happening!!” and “Good Times.” While she largely stepped away from Hollywood after the 1970s, she returned occasionally, including a small part in Spike Lee’s 2004 TV movie “Sucker Free City.” Her final acting credit was a four-episode arc on “Beauty and the Baller” in 2017.
Author Bob McCann, in his Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television, listed Pace among the “last generation of truly pioneering Black actresses,” alongside Brenda Sykes, Pam Grier, and Rosalind Cash.
While accepting an award in 2019, Pace reflected on her life. “This is my 77th year — I am having a ball,” she told a cheering audience. “I’m a native Californian. I have to thank my mom and my dad for getting the **** out of Jackson, Mississippi, and making their way to the Pacific Ocean, where you can be anything you want to be.”
Pace was married to actor Don Mitchell, known for his role on NBC’s “Ironside,” from 1972 to 1984; the couple had two daughters. She later wed baseball great Curt Flood in 1984 and remained a devoted advocate for his legacy after his death in 1997, campaigning for his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Despite broad support — including a 2020 letter from 102 members of Congress — Flood has not yet been inducted.
She is survived by her daughters, attorney Shawn Pace Mitchell and actress Julia Pace Mitchell, who played Sofia Dupre on “The Young and the Restless”; her grandson, Stephen Lamar Hightower III; and her son-in-law, Otto Strong.
The family has asked that gifts in Pace’s memory be made to the NAACP.