Lena Horne

Biography

Lena Horne was an American singer, actress and dancer whose career in film, television and theater spanned more than seventy years. Born in Brooklyn, she joined the Cotton Club chorus at sixteen and worked as a nightclub vocalist before moving to Hollywood. She sang the title song of Stormy Weather (1943) on loan from MGM and appeared in musicals including Ziegfeld Follies (1945) and Till the Clouds Roll By (1946). Later she took a straight dramatic part in Death of a Gunfighter (1969) and played Glinda in The Wiz (1978). On television she was a frequent variety-show guest and starred in her own 1969 special. On Broadway she received a Tony nomination in 1958 for Jamaica, becoming the first African-American woman nominated for best actress in a musical. Her one-woman show Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music ran for more than 300 performances and earned a special Tony and two Grammy Awards.

92years old at death

Born June 30, 1917New York City
Died May 9, 2010New York City
Star sign: CancerThe sign runs June 21 to July 22
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (birth name)

Movie Career

Films: 8
Career span: 76 years1943 to 2019

Genres

Drama38%, 3 films
Musical38%, 3 films
Biography25%, 2 films
Comedy25%, 2 films
Documentary25%, 2 films

First and latest

Photos

Did you know?!

Behind the award
In 1958, Horne was nominated for a Tony Award for "Best Actress in a Musical" for her role in the "Calypso" musical Jamaica, becoming the first African-American woman nominated in that category.
A first
In 1957, Horne put out a live album called Lena Horne at the Waldorf-Astoria. At that time, it was the RCA Victor label's best-selling record by a female artist.

Lena Horne movies on Netflix

Sid & Judy2019IMDb rating 7.4as Himself
That's Entertainment! III1994IMDb rating 7.5as Self - Host
The Wiz1978IMDb rating 5.7as Glinda the Good
Death of a Gunfighter1969IMDb rating 6.3as Claire Quintana
Words and Music1948IMDb rating 6.4as Lena Horne
Till the Clouds Roll By1946IMDb rating 6.4as Julie LaVerne / Lena Horne
Ziegfeld Follies1945IMDb rating 6.4as Lena Horne ('Love')
Stormy Weather1943IMDb rating 7.3as Selina Rogers

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

Top

Stormy Weather1943 Comedy, Drama, Romanceas Selina Rogers
IMDb rating 7.33.2K votes
The Wiz1978 Adventure, Family, Fantasyas Glinda the Good
IMDb rating 5.720K votes
Death of a Gunfighter1969as Claire Quintana
IMDb rating 6.31.9K votes
That's Entertainment! III1994as Self - Host
IMDb rating 7.51.9K votes
Till the Clouds Roll By1946as Julie LaVerne / Lena Horne
IMDb rating 6.43.0K votes
Ziegfeld Follies1945as Lena Horne ('Love')
IMDb rating 6.44.1K votes
Words and Music1948as Lena Horne
IMDb rating 6.41.7K votes
Sid & Judy2019as Himself
IMDb rating 7.4640 votes

Most often with

Three actors appear in four of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

Top

Gene Kelly

Judy Garland

Cyd Charisse

Mickey Rooney

Fred Astaire

June Allyson

Films together

Gene Kelly4 films together, 1945 to 2019
Gene Kelly's page
- Sid & Judy2019IMDb rating 7.4Horne as HimselfKelly as Himself
- That's Entertainment! III1994IMDb rating 7.5Horne as Self - HostKelly as Self - Host
- Words and Music1948IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Lena HorneKelly as Gene Kelly
- Ziegfeld Follies1945IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Lena Horne ('Love')Kelly as Gentleman ('The Babbit and the Bromide')
Judy Garland4 films together, 1945 to 2019
Judy Garland's page
- Sid & Judy2019IMDb rating 7.4Horne as HimselfGarland as Himself
- Words and Music1948IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Lena HorneGarland as Judy Garland
- Till the Clouds Roll By1946IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Julie LaVerne / Lena HorneGarland as Marilyn Miller
- Ziegfeld Follies1945IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Lena Horne ('Love')Garland as The Star ('A Great Lady Has An Interview')
Cyd Charisse4 films together, 1945 to 1994
Cyd Charisse's page
- That's Entertainment! III1994IMDb rating 7.5Horne as Self - HostCharisse as Self - Host
- Words and Music1948IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Lena HorneCharisse as Margo Grant
- Till the Clouds Roll By1946IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Julie LaVerne / Lena HorneCharisse as Dance Specialty
- Ziegfeld Follies1945IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Lena Horne ('Love')Charisse as Ballerina (segment "Beauty")
Mickey Rooney3 films together, 1948 to 2019
Mickey Rooney's page
- Sid & Judy2019IMDb rating 7.4Horne as HimselfRooney as Himself
- That's Entertainment! III1994IMDb rating 7.5Horne as Self - HostRooney as Self - Host
- Words and Music1948IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Lena HorneRooney as Lorenz Hart
Fred Astaire3 films together, 1945 to 2019
Fred Astaire's page
- Sid & Judy2019IMDb rating 7.4Horne as HimselfAstaire as Himself
- That's Entertainment! III1994IMDb rating 7.5Horne as Self - Host
- Ziegfeld Follies1945IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Lena Horne ('Love')Astaire as Fred Astaire ('Here's to the Ladies') / Raffles ('This Heart of Mine') / Tai Long ('Limehouse Blues') / Gentleman ('The Babbit and the Bromide')
June Allyson3 films together, 1946 to 1994
June Allyson's page
- That's Entertainment! III1994IMDb rating 7.5Horne as Self - HostAllyson as Self - Host
- Words and Music1948IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Lena HorneAllyson as Alisande La Carteloise
- Till the Clouds Roll By1946IMDb rating 6.4Horne as Julie LaVerne / Lena HorneAllyson as Jane Witherspoon / Lou Ellen Carter
Also three films together1 more actor
- Lucille BremerThat's Entertainment! III (1994), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) and Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.

Awards

Twelve awards and honors from 1981 to 1999, four of them major.

Top

Lena Horne's awards and nominations, grouped by award
Year	Award	Film	Result
Grammy Awards
1999	Grammy Hall of Fame		Won
1995	Best Jazz Vocal Album	An Evening with Lena Horne	Won
1989	Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award		Won
1981	Best Female Pop Vocal Performance		Won
Other honors
1999	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Artist	Being Myself	Won
1987	Honorary degree from Spelman College		Honorary
1987	Radcliffe Medal		Won
1984	Kennedy Center Honors		Won
1984	Paul Robeson Award		Won
1983	Spingarn Medal		Won
1982	NAACP Image Award – Hall of Fame Award		Won
1981	Special Tony Award		Won

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

Top