Dorothy Dandridge

Biography

Dorothy Dandridge was an American actress and singer who began as a child in a song and dance act, the Wonder Children, later renamed the Dandridge Sisters, and went on to sing in New York nightclubs, among them the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1922, she first appeared on screen at 12 and spent years in small, often uncredited parts before her first credited role in Four Shall Die (1940), and she had a small part in Sundown (1941). Her breakthrough was the title role in Carmen Jones (1954), which made her the first African American nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress; she also earned a BAFTA nomination for that performance and Golden Globe and Laurel nominations for Porgy and Bess (1959). Her other films included Island in the Sun (1957). She died in 1965 and was later honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

42years old at death

Born November 9, 1922Cleveland
Died September 8, 1965Hollywood
Star sign: ScorpioThe sign runs October 23 to November 21
Dorothy Jean Dandridge (birth name)Also credited as Dottie Mae, Miss D, The black bomshell, Dottie and Bessie Mae

Movie Career

Films: 6
Career span: 61 years1941 to 2002

Genres

Drama67%, 4 films
Romance67%, 4 films
Music50%, 3 films
Adventure17%, 1 film
Comedy17%, 1 film

First and latest

Photos

Did you know?!

First role
At 12 years old, Dorothy Dandridge made her first screen appearance. She doubled for a member of The Cabin Kids in Mississippi, the 1935 musical comedy starring Bing Crosby and W. C. Fields.
Big break
Otto Preminger could not picture Dandridge as the femme fatale of Carmen Jones and wanted her for the smaller role of Cindy Lou, but she worked with Max Factor makeup artists to look like Carmen and won the title role.
A first
Dorothy Dandridge made history on November 1, 1954, when she appeared on the cover of Life. She was the first black woman to be featured there.
A first
Dandridge opened at the Empire Room of New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel on April 11, 1955, the first black performer to do so. Her success as a headliner led the hotel to book other black performers.