Janet MacLachlan was an American actress born on August 27, 1933, in Harlem, New York. Her parents, Iris South MacLachlan and James MacLachlan, were Jamaican immigrants. Janet attended P.S. 170 and Julia Ward Junior High School before graduating from Julia Richmond High School in 1950.

She earned her Bachelor's degree in psychology from Hunter College in 1955. While working clerical jobs, she studied acting at the Harlem YMCA, the Herbert Berghoff Acting Studio, and the Little Theatre of Harlem.

Her acting career took off in 1961 when she replaced Cicely Tyson in "The Blacks: A Clown Show" by Jean Genet. She worked alongside renowned actors like James Earl Jones, Louis Gossett Jr., Maya Angelou, and Roscoe Lee Brown.

In 1964, she signed a contract with Universal Studios and began appearing in numerous television shows, including "The Rockford Files," "Alias," "All in the Family," and "The Golden Girls."

Janet MacLachlan was best known for her role as Camille Johnson, a young teacher, in the film "Sounder" (1972). Her career spanned over 75 television shows and several feature films, such as "Up Tight" (1968), "Tick, Tick, Tick" (1970), "The Man" (1972), "Tightrope" (1984), and "Black Listed" (2003). She was often cast as a judge, nurse, doctor, psychiatrist, teacher, or social worker.

She also served as the grant committee chair of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She passed away on October 11, 2010, in Los Angeles, California, due to cardiovascular complications.