Margaret Avery is an American actress. She began her career appearing on stage and later had starring roles in films including Cool Breeze (1972), Which Way Is Up? (1977), Scott Joplin (1977); which earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination, and The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Shug Avery in the period drama film The Color Purple (1985).

Cool Breeze is a 1972 American blaxploitation heist film directed and co-written by Barry Pollack and starring Thalmus Rasulala. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film is loosely based on W. R. Burnett's 1949 novel The Asphalt Jungle. It is the fourth film adaptation of the novel, after The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The Badlanders (1958) and Cairo (1963). The film was released with the tagline: "He hit the Man for $3 million. Right where it hurts. In the diamonds. And baby, that's cold."