Vivian Ayers is the mother of Deborah Kaye Allen and her sister Phylicia Rashad. Vivian’s daughter Phylicia is an actress, singer, and director and Debbie Allen is an actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, and producer. Debbie’s most notable role as Lydia Grant in the 1982 TV series Fame led her to win several nominations, accolades, and even more recognition in Hollywood. She is an ex-member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
Vivian Ayers: Bio Summary
| Name | Vivian Ayers |
| Age | 100 years old as of 2023 |
| Born | 1923 |
| Birthplace | South Carolina, United States |
| Famous as | mother of Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad |
| Parents | Robert Smart Ayers and Vivian Ayers |
| Spouse | Andrew Arthur Allen Sr |
| Children | Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, Andrew Arthur Allen Jr, Hugh Allen |
| Occupation | artist, poet, playwright, scholar, and publisher |
Who is Vivian Ayers?
Vivian Ayers is mostly known as the mother of Debbie Allen and her siblings. Vivian was born in July 1923 to Robert Smart Ayers and Vivian Ayers. She is also known as Dr. Vivian Elizabeth Allen (Ayers), and affectionately called “Ma Turk”.
Vivian Ayers was born in South Carolina, United States. She was a pupil at Brainerd Institute in Chester. She studied at Barber-Scotia College and Bennett College as well. She earned Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Bennett College and Wilberforce University.
Vivian Ayers became a poet, artist, playwright, scholar, and publisher. She began her literary career in Houston, Texas with the publication of “Spice of Dawns” (1952), an anthology that was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. She was the first poet in the state of Texas to get the Pulitzer Prize Award nomination.
Vivian Ayers got the nickname the “Poet Laureate of Texas”. Somewhere in the late 1950s, her poetry, “Hawk”, an allegory of freedom made analogous to space flight was in the spotlight. Hawk was published on July 11, 1957, and caught a lot of attention even that of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
It got praise from NASA at their Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center where enlarged reproductions of the writings are exhibited and for about twenty years Hawk was the only poetry celebrated by NASA. She studied classical Greek at Rice University, Columbia University, and Princeton University.
Ayers also studied and translated texts on Mayan culture and astronomy. She was employed as an apprentice librarian at the Fondren Library of Rice University and was accorded faculty status, becoming the first African American to be so qualified.
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At Rice, Vivian organized and published The Adept Quarterly, an important contribution to the small publications movement of the time. Her work, “Workshops in Open Fields”, was hailed and recommended to the nation as a “prototype of grassroots programming” by the director of NEA.
Vivian Ayers found the Adept New American Museum–a museum for art and history of the American Southwest; which features “Juneteenth” Black Cowboys, American Indian Sand Painting, seminars on the Emancipation Proclamation, and Mayan studies–in Mount Vernon, New York.
Ayers became the leader in the arts community in the New York area. She was invited to be an advisor to the endowment as a member of The Associated Councils of the Arts. She is also the Founding Director of the Brainerd Institute Heritage. Her Workshops in Open Fields have been active on the Brainerd Institute campus in Chester.
In addition to visual arts education, the program also serves Chester residents and surrounding areas by presenting Free Dance Days, with faculty from the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, as well as a Summer Preschool Literacy Program.
Personal Life
Vivian Ayers married orthodontist Andrew Arthur Allen. They are the parents of Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen, Andrew Arthur Allen Jr, and Hugh Allen. Phylicia Rashad became an actress, singer, director, and dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University.
Debbie Allen became an actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and a former member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Andrew Arthur Allen Jr. (Tex Allen) became a musician. Hugh Allen became a real estate banker in Charlotte, North Carolina. Vivian Ayers and Andrew Arthur Allen Sr got divorced. Andrew Arthur Allen Sr took his last breath on 14 October 1983, in Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA, at age 62.
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Is Vivian Ayers Still Alive?
Vivian Ayers is still alive and living in good health. She will be celebrating her 100th birthday in 2023. As she celebrated her 99th birthday, her daughter Debbie Allen shared a series of beautiful photos and wrote the caption: Happy 99th B’Day, Mommy! 🙏🏼💕
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