Basic Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | A’lelia Mae Perry Bundles |
| Born | June 7, 1952 |
| Birthplace | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Education | B.A. magna cum laude (Harvard/Radcliffe), M.S. Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism |
| Occupation | Journalist, Television News Producer, Author, Curator of the Madam Walker Family Archives |
| Notable Works | On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker; Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance |
| Family Legacy | Great-granddaughter of A’lelia Walker; Great-great-granddaughter of Madam C. J. Walker |
| Public Roles | Founder and curator of the Madam Walker Family Archives; Cultural commentator and public speaker |
A Story Written in Ink, Hair Oil, and Headlines
I grew up knowing my family’s history wasn’t just tucked into a dusty scrapbook — it was braided into America’s own narrative. Imagine being raised with names like Madam C. J. Walker and A’lelia Walker echoing through dinner table stories, not as mythical figures but as flesh-and-blood relatives whose photos smiled down from the walls. For me, history never needed a museum pass; it was as close as the jar of Walker pomade in my grandmother’s cabinet or the archives I now tend like an heirloom garden.
By the time I graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and walked across Columbia’s Journalism stage with my master’s degree in hand, I knew the newsroom would be my training ground. For three decades, I cut my teeth on breaking stories, from NBC’s Today to ABC’s World News Tonight. Newsrooms are adrenaline factories — deadlines thrum like basslines, lights burn hot, and every script is a performance. But even in the swirl of headlines, the family story tugged at me. I began to realize my real beat wasn’t the nightly news — it was the intergenerational story I had been born to tell.
The Family Ensemble
Think of this family like a cinematic ensemble cast — each role vital, each character distinct, all orbiting around the gravitational pull of Madam C. J. Walker.
| Relation | Name | Introduction |
|---|---|---|
| Mother | A’lelia Mae Perry Bundles (1928–1976) | A powerhouse in her own right, she was vice president of the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, active in civic life, and a keeper of the family’s flame. |
| Father | S. Henry Bundles Jr. (1927–2019) | Executive mind and community builder, he ran Summit Laboratories and founded Indianapolis’s Center for Leadership Development, mentoring generations. |
| Great-grandmother | A’lelia Walker (1885–1931) | Dubbed the “Joy Goddess” of the Harlem Renaissance, she turned her salon into a cultural epicenter where Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston laughed and dreamed. |
| Great-great-grandmother | Madam C. J. Walker (1867–1919) | Entrepreneurial force, haircare magnate, philanthropist — the woman who built an empire from a $1.25 hair treatment and rewrote the script for Black wealth and independence. |
Each of them handed me a torch — my mother’s civic drive, my father’s leadership compass, my great-grandmother’s artistic exuberance, and Madam Walker’s audacity. Together, their stories gave me a compass and a calling.
Career Highlights and Milestones
Chronology doesn’t usually thrill me, but sometimes dates make the story sing. Here are the beats that shaped my journey:
- 1974 — Graduated magna cum laude from Harvard/Radcliffe, Phi Beta Kappa tucked into my gown sleeve.
- 1976 — Master’s from Columbia’s Journalism School, the ink on my diploma barely dry before I stepped into the NBC newsroom.
- Late 1970s–1990s — Produced at NBC (Today, Nightly News), then at ABC (World News Tonight, deputy bureau chief in Washington, talent development). The newsroom became my second skin.
- 2001 — Published On Her Own Ground, the definitive biography of Madam C. J. Walker, later a New York Times Notable Book.
- 2020 — Watched my book inspire Netflix’s Self Made. Seeing Octavia Spencer play my ancestor was surreal — part pride, part side-eye at the liberties Hollywood took.
- 2025 — Released Joy Goddess: A’lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance, peeling back the glitter and giving readers the heartbeat of my great-grandmother’s world.
Awards sprinkled through the years — an Emmy here, a duPont Baton there — but those shiny plaques are secondary to the work itself: making sure Madam Walker and A’lelia Walker are remembered not as footnotes, but as chapters.
Wealth, Worth, and What Really Matters
People often ask about my net worth, as if history can be tallied in dollar signs. Truth is, no official number floats out there — only speculation. And honestly, the currency I traffic in isn’t financial, it’s narrative. What’s priceless is the Madam Walker Family Archives, the books, the speaking tours, the mentoring — the way legacy is kept alive, repackaged for new audiences, and passed on like a story told by candlelight.
The Netflix Spotlight — Hollywood Meets History
When Self Made premiered on Netflix, I sat in my living room with a strange cocktail of emotions. There was pride — seeing Madam Walker’s journey beam into millions of homes. But there was also critique. The miniseries, in true Hollywood style, bent history into drama. And so I did what journalists do: I responded, wrote, explained. I reminded people that fact and fiction waltz differently, and if you want to know the truth, you go to the archives, the letters, the diaries. Still, that moment gave Madam Walker a pop-culture megaphone, and I’ll never dismiss the power of that.
FAQ
Who is A’lelia Mae Perry Bundles?
She is an American journalist, television producer, author, and family historian, born in 1952, who curates and preserves the legacy of Madam C. J. Walker.
What are her most notable books?
Her most notable works are On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker and Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance.
How is she connected to Madam C. J. Walker?
She is Madam Walker’s great-great-granddaughter and A’lelia Walker’s great-granddaughter.
Did she have a career in television?
Yes, she spent nearly three decades producing and leading teams at NBC and ABC News.
Does she manage family archives?
Yes, she founded and curates the Madam Walker Family Archives, the largest private collection of Walker family materials.
Is her personal net worth known?
No — there are speculative numbers online, but no authoritative public figure.
What did she think of Netflix’s Self Made?
She praised its reach but critiqued its historical inaccuracies, clarifying the real story in her writings and talks.
What style do her books use?
They blend meticulous archival research with narrative storytelling, making history read like a novel without sacrificing truth.
