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Who Was Dorothy Dandridge?
She is one of the earliest black movie stars and the first woman of color to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress , which was for her performance in Carmen Jones During her early career, she performed as a part of The Wonder Children, later The Dandridge Sisters , and appeared in a succession of films, usually in uncredited roles. She has been recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Dandridge was married and divorced twice, first to dancer Harold Nicholas the father of her daughter, Harolyn Suzanne and then to hotel owner Jack Denison. Dandridge died under mysterious circumstances at age
Quick Facts
The young Dorothy and her sister Vivian began performing publicly as children and in the s joined a third unrelated girl as the Dandridge Sisters, singing and dancing. She did not sing in Carmen Jones , however; the singing was dubbed by mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne. Because she was a black woman in a racially tense era, film offers thereafter did not come readily, though she did appear in Island in the Sun , which dealt with miscegenation and costarred Harry Belafonte , as well as in The Decks Ran Red , Tamango , and Moment of Danger At age 42 she was found dead in her West Hollywood apartment, either a suicide or a victim of an accidental drug overdose. Dorothy Dandridge. Article Media.
Follow Us. As the first woman of colour to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, Dorothy Dandridge became a powerful symbol of black womanhood. Dressed in a cherry-red skirt, plunging blouse and giant gold earrings, she plays the titular heroine, a fiery femme fatale who is arrested after fighting with her co-worker at a North Carolina factory. She eventually seduces the soldier tasked with delivering her to the authorities, escapes, and resurfaces in a Louisiana nightclub. Through it all, Carmen is outspoken and wilful, a modern woman with a daring wardrobe to match think candy-coloured cocktail dresses, silk robes and a beaded ballgown accessorised with diamonds. The role earned Dandridge an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in , the first for a black actress, and cemented her reputation as a Hollywood siren. Carmen Jones marked her first major breakthrough, and it was soon followed by a Golden Globe-nominated turn in the musical Porgy and Bess , in which she co-starred with Sidney Poitier. However, actresses of colour have continued to pay tribute to her trailblazing work, including Halle Berry. Subscribe Newsletter. Facebook Twitter Pinterest.