Julia Baker: 10 Famous TV Moms: Costume Ideas

In Julia, Diahann Carroll played Julia Baker, a nurse in a doctor’s office. The character was a widow with a young son, Corey. They lived in an apartment.

Her husband, a pilot and army captain, had been killed in Vietnam when Corey was very young. The program was significant partly in that it showed an African American woman in a non-stereotypical lead role.

She was also an early representation of a working single mother on television.

While I have a couple of pages of books, games and dress-up doctor and nurse outfits for children, when you look for nurse costumes for adults, you’re most likely to find something like a sexy or zombie nurse. Again, we could look at archetypes. But this is primarily about costumes.

The Adult Nurse Halloween Costume includes the dress and cap. The Women's Nurse Outfit is also a more subtle look that would work as a costume. The Classic Nurse Adult Costume comes with the dress, an apron and headpiece.

View a selection of nurse Halloween costumes from cute to zombie, for men and women. Your zombie nurse costume doesn't have to be like everyone else's. Accessories, plus size nurse costumes and some clearance items, too.

Campy costumes like the Nurse Miss Diagnosed come in different sizes.

Running  for 3 seasons, 1968- 1971, Diahann Carroll won a Golden Globe for Best TV Star Female in 1968 for her role as Julia.

The series was not without controversy. Some viewers felt that the characters did not depict African Americans as they truly were and did not adequately address what was going on socially at the time. Similar controversy would come up with later programs such as The Cosby Show.

Carroll later played the glamorous Marion Gilbert, mom to series regular Whitley Gilbert in A Different World, 1989–1993. This was a spin-off from The Cosby Show. She appeared in seven episodes.

Another program where she had a recurring role was the prime time soap, Dynasty where she played Dominique Deveraux.

The Barbie Julia Doll wears a re-creation of Julia's nurse's uniform.


The doll features rooted eyelashes, bendable legs and a Twist 'N Turn waist. This is one of the most loved 1960s Barbie dolls. If you like celebrity dolls, check her out. What a doll!

This doll, at least the reproduction doll that is widely available today is part of the Barbie Doll Pink Label Collection. This collection includes many of the Celebrity dolls such as those representing characters such as Marilyn Monroe and some from Hitchcock films, the Twilight saga,Star Trek and The Wizard of Oz. These are not considered to be limited edition dolls from what I've read.


Diahann Carroll's autobiography is available as a Kindle eReader edition, paperback and in audio CD versions:
The Legs Are the Last to Go: Aging, Acting, Marrying, and Other Things I Learned the Hard Way. Diahann Carroll is a breast cancer survivor.


"In December of 1968 Carroll told Time, 'Why are we singled out as a TV show? The fact that the show went on the air at all is a plus, and a plus long overdue. Somebody decided, Let's have a black lady starring on TV in 1968-in 1968. Why not attack that? That it took so long? Isn’t that an outrage?'

"In her autobiography, however, written fifteen years after Julia left the air, Carroll, downplayed the criticism the show received from its inception, arguing that 'It was slightly controversial, but not enough to interfere with the ratings.'

"When discussing the criticism more directly and the comments by the producer, Hal Kanter, -- excerpted from AmericanHistory4Travelers

Lorraine Hansberry, 1959

during his media blitz to publicize the sitcom, she admitted, 'Looking back now, I can understand that we were probably asking for it because there was a great deal of advance publicity hyping Julia’s significance as a racial breakthrough.'"

As this post is being updated we're excited to mention that Ms.Carroll is preparing a return to Broadway the spring of 2014 opposite Denzel Washington in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.



Women In Film Crystal Lucy Awards June 2012

Become A Nurse ~ Your Country Needs You Shirts by libertyboys
Make custom teeshirts at Zazzle.

Celebrate Nurses and Nursing, discover some movies you might not know about:

Nurses in the movies: Dramas

Nurses in the movies: War & Military Films

Nurse in the movies: Comedies

You can have the photo at the top of the page:
Julia: Diahann Carroll, Lloyd Nolan Poster Print available in different sizes and styles.

What other TV Moms will be on the list
of 10 Costume-worthy Mamas? 

Who do you think belongs on the list?

We began with June Cleaver, then

Cher, Samantha Stephens & Endora, Cersei Lannister, Lily Munster and now Julia Baker. 

Four more to go.

The Moms and Dads are in no particular order

Previously there was 

The Famous TV Dads Costume Ideas list

** The 10 Famous TV Dads Costume Ideas Series began with Andy Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show.

Information is from various sources
When significant updates are added to pages, there will be a message with the date of last update.


Andy Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show
Gomez Addams
George Jetson
Paul Teutul Sr. from American Chopper
Ricky Ricardo in I Love Lucy
Herman Munster
Ben Cartwright from Bonanza
Homer Simpson
King Friday the 13th from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood
Bruce Jenner were the 10 Famous TV Dads.


Some of the information used in this article excerpted from:
An Historical Myth: Julia as a Groundbreaking Television Show
By AmericanHistory4Travelers July 11, 2012  
http://americanhistory4travelers.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/an-historical-myth-julia-as-a-groundbreaking-television-show/