Brenda Banks, One Of The First Black Women Animators In America, Dies At 72 Brenda Banks, who has died aged 72, blazed a quiet trail through the animation world, building up an impressive résumé in an industry where few Black women had succeeded before. As an animator, she worked with directors such as Ralph Bakshi — who claimed, erroneously, to have discovered her — and on iconic characters like the Looney Tunes and The Simpsons. Known as a private person, Banks shied away from the spotlight, but her talent spoke for itself. Although Banks passed away on December 31, 2020, the industry is only now learning of her death. This is largely thanks to historian and animator Tom Sito, who shared the news via Facebook, noting that he’d learned of her passing through the Animation Guild. It’s in this post — particularly the comments left by others — that we are now seeing a much clearer picture of the artist Banks was.