Hattie Winston

Hattie Mae Winston (born March 3, 1945) is an American television, film and Broadway actress best known for her role as Margaret on Becker and as a prominent cast member of the PBS children's series The Electric Company.

Winston was born in Lexington, Mississippi, and raised in Greenville, Mississippi.She began her career onstage. Winston starred in the Broadway hit The Tap Dance Kid; she also appeared on Broadway in Two Gentlemen of Verona, I Love My Wife, and The Me Nobody Knows. She was a member of the Negro Ensemble Company.

Winston rose to prominence during the mid-1970s as a member of the cast of the PBS children's series The Electric Company, produced by the Children's Television Workshop. Her most notable character was Valerie the Librarian, who was best friends with Easy Reader (portrayed by Morgan Freeman). She also played many villainess roles versus Spider-Man on the Spidey Super Stories sketches, such as the Fox, the Thumper, the Queen Bee, and the Queen of Diamonds. Winston joined the series during the third season (1973–1974), replacing Lee Chamberlin. She remained with the series until its cancellation in 1977.