Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge (born in Cleveland, Ohio, November 9, 1922, died September 8, 1965) performed in nightclubs with her sister Vivian in the song and dance group The Dandridge Sisters, and as a solo artist. Her first leading role in a movie was The Bright Road (1953) with Harry Belafonte, she co-starred with Belafonte again in Carmen Jones (1954) directed by Otto Preminger from the 1943 musical with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and music from the 1857 opera Carmen by Georges Bizet. For that performance she was the first African American woman to be nominated to an Academy Awards as Best Actress. She was nominated to a Golden Globe as Best Actress for Porgy and Bess (1959) with Sidney Poitier directed by Otto Preminger from the 1935 opera by George and Ira Gershwin. She acted with Curt Jurgens in Tamango (1958), with Trevor Howard in Malaga (1960) by László Benedek.