Film, stage, and television star Blair Underwood joins us to discuss “A Soldier’s Wife: My Mother, the Marvelous Mrs. Marilyn A. Underwood,” his moving biography and memoir that pays homage to his mother, sharing her well-lived life, and key lessons learned as a fashion designer, mother, and soldier’s wife.
Born in Buffalo, New York, Marilyn Ann Scales Underwood dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. Moving to New York City to study at the Traphagen School of Fashion, she became an assistant designer and eventually returned to her hometown, where she began her career as the first Black female executive at Barmon Brothers Company. Independent and content with being single, she wasn’t interested in marriage until she met Lt. Frank Underwood.
Blair Underwood honors his mother with this remarkable work, bringing into sharp focus her life as a soldier’s wife, mother, and successful entrepreneur, drawn from his memories, her letters, and interviews with family and friends. Told thematically, organized around essential pillars, Underwood gently peels back the layers of his mother’s life and character to reveal highly triumphant—and sometimes scary—moments told in Marilyn’s warm and witty voice that connects with readers.