Marla Gibbs has been a Hollywood icon for generations of fans. Now, at ninety-three, she chronicles her climb from a difficult youth in which she yearned for safety and love, to the high-stakes world of Hollywood where she became a confident powerbroker learning to work behind the scenes for fair pay, access, and more creative control for herself and her colleagues.
Told in her forthright voice, It's Never Too Late illuminates Gibbs' daring move to Los Angeles to rebuild her life after an abusive marriage, how she became an actor, and how she eventually learned to balance acting with show running. She was a “Boss Bae” decades before the term would become entertainment industry shorthand for a power flex. While developing 227 her lawyer won her “all rights, courtesies and privileges of an executive producer without the credit.” Though the authority she wielded behind the scenes created deep tensions on and off the set, her hard-luck young life had prepared her to succeed even as her tenacity was put to the test. Her experiences laid the groundwork for powerbrokers like Shonda Rhimes and Issa Rae.
It's Never Too Late by Marla Gibbs will be published February 24, 2026. Amistad/Harper Collins provided an early galley for review.
I have fond memories watching The Jeffersons and 227 with my grandmother. Gibbs was very much a memorable part of both of these classic comedies. I was eager to read about her life and career, in her own words.
The first half of the book is very personal, focusing on her pre-professional life with all its ups and downs. It is no surprise she became a strong, capable force with all she went through. I learned quite a bit too in the later half about her career both on screen and behind the scenes. It all ties together very well.
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