Michelle Thomas was born in Boston but raised in New York and New Jersey. She attended the Montclair School of Arts and the Broadway Dance Center. She is survived by her parents, Phynjuar Thomas (a stage actress and acting coach) and Dennis D.T. Thomas (a founder and current member of the 1970s funk band Kool & The Gang); her brother, David Thomas; her grandfather, Cecil G. Saunders, Sr.; her aunt, Eleanor Johnson; her uncle, Paul T. Goodnight; and numerous other family members. Miss Thomas played “Betsy Brown” on stage in Philadelphia. She also appeared on the CBS soap opera, The Young and the Restless (1973) as “Callie Rogers”; on The Cosby Show (1984) as “Justine Phillips”, the girlfriend of “Theo” (played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner); and on Family Matters (1989) as “Myra Monkhouse”, the girlfriend of “Steve Urkel” (played by Jaleel White). She made guest appearances on a number of other TV shows and also performed in tons of music videos, in Los Angeles theater productions, and in several movies, including Hangin’ with the Homeboys (1991). Just prior to her death, Michelle Thomas had received an NAACP Image Award nomination for outstanding actress in a daytime drama series for The Young and the Restless (1973).
