Black Actresses, Classic Era 1. List 1 of 2 lists
by road-traveled | created - 11 Aug 2015 | updated - 27 Dec 2019 | PublicList 1 of 2. Born 1866 - 1930.
1. June Richmond
Actress | Liebe, Jazz und Übermut
June Richmond was born on July 9, 1915 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Liebe, Jazz und Übermut (1957), Ebony Parade (1947) and The Tour of the Grand Dukes (1953). She was married to Guy Provence. She died on August 14, 1962 in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden.
9 credits, '37-'59
1915-1962, 47
2. Paulene Myers
Actress | My Cousin Vinny
Paulene Myers was born on November 9, 1913 in Ocilla, Georgia, USA. She was an actress, known for My Cousin Vinny (1992), The Sting (1973) and Playhouse 90 (1956). She died on December 8, 1996 in Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA.
73 credits, '38-'92.
1913-1996, 83.
3. Carolle Drake
Actress | Band of Angels
Carolle Drake was born on August 29, 1923 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She was an actress, known for Band of Angels (1957). She was married to Billy Eckstine and Capt. Rev. Matthew C. Faulkner. She died on August 17, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
1 acting credit
4. Fredi Washington
Actress | Imitation of Life
Fredi Washington was a pioneering African-American actress whose fair skin and green eyes often were impediments to her showing her extraordinary acting skills. Her talent was often overlooked because of people's obsession with her race and color. In the few films in which she acted her enormous ...
10 acting credits, 22-37.
Co-founder, head, Negro Actors Guild.
Equal Rights advocate.
Activist.
1903 - 1994, 90.
5. Myra D. Hemmings
Actress | Go Down, Death!
Myra Davis Hemmings was a schoolteacher in the San Antonio public school system for over fifty years; she was also active in the African-American community, particularly in amateur theatrics. She and her husband John formed the Hemmings Players, a group of amateur actors who put on plays and other ...
3 credits, '43-'46.
Teacher over 50 years in San Antonio.
Formed Hemmings Players.
1887-1968, 81.
6. Lillian Yarbo
Actress | You Can't Take It with You
The 'Real' Billie
Lillian--aka "Billie"--Yarbo. A forgotten name, to be sure (at least ever since the 1949 release of Look for the Silver Lining (1949), featuring Yarbo's final onscreen appearance, uncredited as were the great majority, in a career spanning not quite 15 years), yet the face that ...
1905-1996. (91).
48 credits, 1936-1949.
7. Linda Hopkins
Actress | Leprechaun 2
Linda Hopkins was born on December 14, 1924 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Leprechaun 2 (1994), Great Performances (1971) and The Kitchen (2019). She died on April 10, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
1924 - 2017, 92.
Blues singer, Honkytonk Man (1982). 1982.
8. Billie Holiday
Soundtrack | Minority Report
Billie Holiday was a true artist of her day and rose as a social phenomenon in the 1950s. Her soulful, unique singing voice and her ability to boldly turn any material that she confronted into her own music made her a superstar of her time. Today, Holiday is remembered for her masterpieces, ...
1915-1959. (44).
3 acting credits, 1933-1976.
2 music department credits.
1 writer credit.
1 soundtrack department.
9 self credits, 1935-1959.
176 soundtrack credits, 1935-2016.
9. Helen Martin
Actress | Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
Helen Martin was born on July 23, 1909 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996), Death Wish (1974) and Bulworth (1998). She died on March 25, 2000 in Monterey, California, USA.
61 credits, 1955-2000.
2 writer credits.
1 soundtrack credit.
4 self credits, 1988-1996.
1909-2000. (90).
Attended University.
In Orson Welles's - 1941 Native Son.
A Co-founder, American Negro Theater.
Thank you to Daniel S. for the mention of Helen Martin.
10. Ella Fitzgerald
Soundtrack | Sphere
On Saturday, June 15th, 1996, an era in jazz singing came to an end, with the death of Ella Fitzgerald at her home in California. She was the last of four great female jazz singers (including Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Carmen McRae) who defined one of the most prolific eras in jazz vocal ...
6 acting credits, 1942-1981.
2 composer credits.
95 self credits, 1949-2013.
160 soundtrack credits, 1938-2016.
1917-1996, (79).
11. Clarice Taylor
Actress | Play Misty for Me
Clarice Taylor was born on September 20, 1917 in Buckingham County, Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for Play Misty for Me (1971), The Cosby Show (1984) and Smoke (1995). She was married to Maxwell Glanville. She died on May 30, 2011 in Englewood, New Jersey, USA.
24 credits, 1968-1998. Clarice Taylor was in her 50s in 1968.
3 self credits, 1986, 1987, 2002.
1917-2011. (93).
Co-founder, Harlem's American Negro Theater.
Thank you to Daniel S. for this addition to the list.
12. Cicely Tyson
Actress | The Help
Cicely Tyson was born in Harlem, New York City, where she was raised by her devoutly religious parents, who had come from the Caribbean island of Nevis. Her mother Theodosia was a domestic worker and her her father William was a carpenter and painter. Tyson was discovered by a fashion editor at ...
1924 -
91+ credits, 1951-2016.
112 self credits, 1963-2012.
13. Lynn Hamilton
Actress | Sanford and Son
A veteran actress, Lynn, a native of Yazoo City, Mississippi, made her film debut in Shadows (1958) directed by John Cassavetes. She may be best known for her role as "Donna Harris", a licensed practical nurse and girlfriend of Fred Sanford on Sanford and Son (1972), from 1972-77. Hamilton also had...
1930 -
64 acting credits, 1959-2009.
3 self credits, 2003-2015.
14. Zara Cully
Actress | The Jeffersons
Zara Cully was born on January 26, 1892 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. She was an actress, known for The Jeffersons (1975), All in the Family (1971) and Sugar Hill (1974). She was married to James M. Brown. She died on February 28, 1978 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
1892-1978. (86).
13 credits, 1965-1977.
15. Virginia Capers
Actress | Howard the Duck
With plenty of heart and soul, singer/actress Virginia Capers served up loads of music in an entertainment career that spanned several decades. The benevolent, plus-sized talent was born Eliza Virginia Capers on September 22, 1925, in South Carolina and attended Howard University in Washington, D.C...
1925-2004. (78).
105 credits, 1961-2003.
4 self credits, 1974-2005.
16. LaWanda Page
Actress | Friday
Best known for her role as Aunt Esther Anderson on "Sanford And Son", she appeared in many films including "Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood" (1996), "Friday" (1995), "The Legend of Dolemite" (1994), "West From North Goes South" (1993), "The Meteor Man" (1993...
1920-2002. (81).
32 credits, 1977-2004.
19 self credits, 1975-2000.
17. Sheila Guyse
Actress | Sepia Cinderella
Beautiful multi-talented Sheila Guyse was a popular, well-loved figure on the stage and screen of the Dorothy Dandridge era. Some critics even felt she was a better actress than Dandridge, some said if Sheila ever decided to go to Hollywood, she would give her a run for her money. She appeared in ...
5 credits, '47-'57
1925-2013, 88
18. Theresa Merritt
Actress | Billy Madison
Theresa Merritt was born on September 24, 1922 in Newport News, Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for Billy Madison (1995), The Wiz (1978) and The Goodbye Girl (1977). She was married to Benjamin Hines. She died on June 12, 1998 in The Bronx, New York, USA.
1924-1998. (73).
26 credits, 1969-1998.
19. Doris Ake
Actress | Up Jumped the Devil
Doris Ake was born on August 31, 1916 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Up Jumped the Devil (1941). She died on October 5, 1985 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
9 credits, '41-'53
1916-1985, 69
20. Billie Allen
Actress | Losing Ground
Billie Allen attended Hampton Institute, now Hampton University then came to New York to study dance and acting. "On the Town" was her first Broadway musical with many others to follow. She studied acting and directing with Lee Strasburg, Lloyd Richards and Howard Clerman. Some of her Broadway ...
15 acting credits, '49-'96
1925 -12/29/15. (90).
Attended University.
Stage Director and Drama Coach.
21. Ernestine Anderson
Self | In Between the Raindrops
Ernestine Anderson was born on November 11, 1927 in Houston, Texas, USA. She died on March 10, 2016 in Seattle, Washington, USA.
1916-1978. (61).
1 acting credit.
2 soundtrack credits.
4 self credits.
22. Juliette Ball
Tall, statuesque beauty Juliette Ball was one of the many gorgeous starlets of the 1930's and 1940's who had dreams of movie stardom. Juliette Ball worked in films as a dancer in "Cabin In The Sky," "Stormy Weather," and "Broadway Rhythm." She appeared as a dancer and extra in a few Lena Horne ...
8 credits.
1923-2010, 87
23. Sylvia Birdsong
Actress | A Daughter of the Congo
Sylvia Birdsong was born in 1908 in Panama. She is an actress, known for A Daughter of the Congo (1930) and Wages of Sin (1929).
2 credits, '29,'30
24. Kathryn Boyd
Actress | Black Gold
Kathryn Boyd was born on September 13, 1897 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for Black Gold (1928), The Flying Ace (1926) and Deceit (1923). She was married to Abraham L. Roach, Milton M. Cloud, M.D. and Irvin C. Miller. She died on March 16, 1965 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
3 credits, '23-'32
25. Mildred Boyd
Actress | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Gorgeous and reserved actress and dancer Mildred Boyd had a three decade movie career, starting in the 1920s in silents to the 1950s she graced the screen with her modest but illuminating, youthful presence whether in bit parts or dancing parts. Mildred Boyd is another unsung black performer and ...
36 credits, 1928-1952
26. Hadda Brooks
Actress | In a Lonely Place
Hadda Brooks was born on October 29, 1916 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for In a Lonely Place (1950), The Thirteenth Floor (1999) and The Crossing Guard (1995). She was married to Earl Morrison. She died on November 21, 2002 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
8 credits, 1950-2000
1916-2002, 86
27. Evelyn Pope Burwell
Evelyn Pope Burwell was born on November 19, 1904 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. She was an actress. She died on June 2, 1974 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
2 credits, '29,'51.
1904-1974, 69
28. Thelma Carpenter
Actress | The Wiz
Thelma Carpenter, the only child of Mary and Fred Carpenter, was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 15, 1922, and her career spanned seven decades. She was performing on radio programs like Jack Darrell's "Kiddies Hour" and the "Horn and Hardart Children's Hour" at age 5 and had her own show on ...
1922-1997. (75).
11 credits, 1943-1976.
29. Savannah Churchill
Soundtrack | Souls of Sin
Savannah Churchill was born on August 21, 1915 in Colfax, Louisiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Souls of Sin (1949), Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) and Harlem Follies of 1949 (1950). She died on April 19, 1974 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
3 credits, '48-'50
1919-1974, 54
30. Flo Clements
Actress | Within Our Gates
Flo Clements was born in May 1892 in Shelby County, Tennessee, USA. She is known for Within Our Gates (1920) and The Brute (1920).
2 credits, 1920
31. Inez Clough
Actress | The Gunsaulus Mystery
Inez Clough was born on March 1, 1873 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. She was an actress, known for The Gunsaulus Mystery (1921), Ties of Blood (1921) and Secret Sorrow (1921). She was married to Henry Hogan. She died on November 21, 1933 in Elgin, Illinois, USA.
5 credits, '21-'22.
1873-1933, 60
32. Janet Collins
Actress | Flamingo
Janet Collins was born on March 7, 1917 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Flamingo (1942), Carmen (1952) and The Admiral Broadway Revue (1949). She died on May 28, 2003 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
3 credits, '42-46.
1917-2003, 86
33. Willa Pearl Curtis
Actress | Second Chorus
Willa Pearl Curtis was born on March 21, 1896 in Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for Second Chorus (1940), The Wages of Sin (1938) and Mom and Dad (1945). She died on December 19, 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
1896-1970. (74).
39 credits, 1938-1964.
In top 5 credits in 3 films.
Keep Out of Reach of Adults (1964)
34. Ardelle Dabney
Actress | Thirty Years Later
Ardelle Dabney was born on September 19, 1889 in Portsmouth, Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for Thirty Years Later (1928), Wages of Sin (1929) and The Broken Violin (1927). She was married to Elijah Dabney and William Taylor. She died on March 13, 1965 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
3 credits, '27-'29
1884-1965, 81
35. Dora Dean
Actress | Georgia Rose
Dora Dean was born on August 4, 1874 in Cloverport, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress, known for Georgia Rose (1930), Time Lock No. 776 (1915) and Silver Threads Among the Gold (1915). She was married to Charles E. Johnson. She died on December 12, 1949 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
7 credits, '15-'30.
1874-1949, 75
36. Dorothea Durham
Strikingly beautiful Dorothea Durham was a popular dancer in the 1930's and 1940's, who also appeared in Hollywood films. Dorothea's beauty and graceful, sensual dancing style was often written about in African American newspapers of the time. She headlined at popular clubs such as Sebastian's ...
6 credits.
1912-1990, 78
37. Frances Foster
Actress | Clockers
Frances Foster was born on June 11, 1924 in Yonkers, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Clockers (1995), Malcolm X (1992) and Crooklyn (1994). She was married to Robert Stansfield Foster and Morton Goldsen. She died on June 17, 1997 in Fairfax, Virginia, USA.
1924-1997. (73).
43 credits, 1952-1996.
2 self credits, 1986, 1989.
Co-founder, Negro Ensemble Company.
38. Bee Freeman
Actress | Underworld
Bee Freeman was known as "the sepia Mae West" because of her sexy voice and innuendo-laden manner of delivering her lines. Bee had a style all her own, though--cool, calm and collected with a lot of sex appeal. Bee Freeman was one of Oscar Micheaux's favorite ladies, appearing in his best films: ...
5 credits, '24-'37
1899-1986, 87
39. Mercedes Gilbert
Actress | Lights Out
Mercedes Gilbert was born on July 26, 1894 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. She was an actress, known for Lights Out (1946), The Call of His People (1921) and Moon Over Harlem (1939). She was married to Arthur J. Stevenson. She died on March 1, 1952 in New York City, New York, USA.
5 credits, '21-'25
1894-1952,57
40. Eloyce Gist
Director | Hell-Bound Train
Eloyce Gist was born on October 21, 1892 in Hitchcock, Texas, USA. She was a director and actress, known for Hellbound Train (1930), Verdict Not Guilty (1933) and Heaven-Bound Traveler (1935). She was married to John William Slaughter, Arthur C. Wood, James Gist and Roscoe C. Patrick. She died in ...
1892 - 1974, (81).
41. Sally Gooding
Actress | The Notorious Elinor Lee
Sally Gooding was born in 1916 in South Carolina, USA. She was an actress, known for The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940), Mills Blue Rhythm Band (1934) and Hits of Today (1934). She died on January 29, 1952 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
3 credits, '34-'40
42. Willor Lee Guilford
Actress | Veiled Aristocrats
Willor Lee Guilford was one of Oscar Micheaux's early leading ladies, a pretty, curvacious actress who usually played the "troubled girl," no matter where or what she did...trouble seemed to follow her.
Willor Lee was a good dramatic actress. Never one to under act or over act. She was warm, ...
1912 -
4 credits, '40-'42
43. Suzette Harbin
Actress | Look-Out Sister
Suzette Harbin won a beauty contest which gained the way for a movie career. Suzette started out appearing in many Hollywood films that had African American musical numbers, she either sang, danced, or just looked pretty. She also appeared in the iconic films, Cabin in the Sky (1943), (where she ...
18 credits, '41-'55
1911-1994, 83
44. Avanelle Harris
Actress | Up Jumped the Devil
Avanelle Harris was born on February 18, 1917 in Wisconsin, USA. She was an actress, known for Up Jumped the Devil (1941) and Lucky Ghost (1942). She died on February 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
17 credits, '36-'45
1917-
45. Edna Mae Harris
Actress | Lying Lips
Edna Mae Harris was one of the best actresses of the Black race in the 1930s and 1940s. She starred in some of the best all black cast independently produced movies in the 1930s and 1940s. An attractive woman who had a soulful voice, personality, sex appeal, she was a triple threat to show business...
14 credits, '36-'94.
1910-1997, 86
46. Vivian Harris
Actress | Disco Godfather
Vivian Harris was born on November 23, 1902 in Harlem, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Disco Godfather (1979) and Burlesque in Harlem (1949). She died on February 18, 2000 in Englewood, New Jersey, USA.
1902 - 2000, 97.
47. Kathleen Hartsfield
In the 1940s, strikingly beautiful Kathleen Hartsfield was a model and movie dancer in Cabin in the Sky (1943), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), Stormy Weather (1943), and Broadway Rhythm (1944). She appeared as a dancer in two of Lena Horne's biggest movies, "Cabin In The Sky" and "Stormy Weather," ...
4 acting credits.
1921-1990, 69
48. Shirley Haven
Actress | No Time for Romance
Pretty and charming as ever Shirley Haven. Shirley Haven was another versatile black actress who should be added to the top of the class of many appealing actresses. Shirley certainly was in a class of her own. She was one of the few actresses who was like a breath of fresh air on sight. She was as...
6 credits, ''48-'57
49. Lillian Hayman
Actress | Mandingo
Lillian Hayman was born on July 17, 1922 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She was an actress, known for Mandingo (1975), Drum (1976) and One Life to Live (1968). She died on October 25, 1994 in Hollis, New York, USA.
1922-1994. (72).
9 credits, 1968-1986.
1968 Tony - Best Performance By a Featured Actress in a Musical.
50. Shingzie Howard
Actress | The House Behind the Cedars
Shingzie Howard was born on November 2, 1902 in Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for The House Behind the Cedars (1927), A Son of Satan (1924) and Uncle Jasper's Will (1922). She was married to Charles Paul McClane. She died in July 1992 in Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA.
10 credits, 1922-1994
1902-1992, 89
51. Zora Neale Hurston
Writer | She's Gotta Have It
Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama, USA. She was a writer and director, known for She's Gotta Have It (1986), Hands Upon the Heart (1991) and Barracoon. She was married to James Howell Pitts, Albert Price III and Herbert Sheen. She died on January 28, 1960 in Saint...
1891 - 1960, (69).
52. Roberta Hyson
Actress | Georgia Rose
Roberta Hyson was an actress and nightclub dancer. She was in the first black talkie shorts made in Hollywood, co-starring with Evelyn Preer, and they formed a great comedy duo. Roberta had a real flair for physical comedy, too, which she utilized in her singing and dancing.
She was the ultimate ...
6 credits, '29-'30
1905-1989, 83
53. Ida James
Actress | Trocadero
Delicate beauty Ida James was a sweet, honey-voiced singer whose singing could rival the birds. She gained popularity in the 1940s for her beauty, high, bird-like voice, grace, and glamour. She was the definition of daintiness and winsomeness. She gained stardom by singing her trademark song, "Shoo...
3 acting credits
54. Yvonne Junior
Actress | A Reckless Rover
Yvonne Junior is known for A Reckless Rover (1918), Spying the Spy (1918) and The Bully (1918).
2 credits, '18
55. Sybil Lewis
Actress | Mystery in Swing
Attractive Sybil Lewis was one of the best, most convincing actresses of Black Cinema. Her sophisticated, sometimes snooty presence was one of many but her more popular approach to acting always worked whether in drama, straight, romance or comedy roles and always remained likable. Sybil's acting ...
10 credits, '40-'48
56. Rosalie Lincoln
Actress | Husband's Holiday
Rosalee Lincoln was one of the most beautiful dancers/actresses of the West Coast in the 1930's. She enjoyed popularity dancing at some of the most premier African American nightclubs in California, such as The Cotton Club. Her beauty, shapely figure, charm, beautiful-dimpled smile, and sexy ...
11 credits, '28-'43
1909-1992, 82
57. Henrietta Loveless
Actress | Murder in Harlem
Henrietta Loveless was born on August 26, 1903 in Polk County, Georgia, USA. She was an actress, known for Murder in Harlem (1935) and The Spider's Web (1927). She was married to Melvin Anderson. She died on January 15, 1934 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
2 credits, '27,'28
58. Bessie Lyle
Actress | The Littlest Rebel
Bessie Lyle is known for The Littlest Rebel (1935) and Illusion (1929).
7 credits, '29-'36
59. Julia Mason
Actress | Devil for a Day
Julia Mason is known for Devil for a Day (1917), Wrong All Around (1917) and A Milk Fed Hero (1918).
9 acting credits, '17-'18
60. Florence McClain
Actress | Money Talks in Darktown
Florence McClain is known for Money Talks in Darktown (1915), A Natural Born Shooter (1917) and Aladdin Jones (1915).
5 acting credits, '14-'17
61. Arline Mickey
Actress | Ten Nights in a Bar Room
Arline Mickey was born on November 3, 1910 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926), The Prince of His Race (1926) and Children of Fate (1928). She was married to Nathan G. Chaney. She died on September 2, 1988 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
3 credits, '26-'28
62. Millie Monroe
Actress | Up Jumped the Devil
Gorgeous, vivacious, glamour girl Millie Monroe was another black beauty that contributed her talent and beauty to films but didn't get the fair chance she so deserved in films. Millie Monroe was a California based dancer, singer, and actress who appeared in many Hollywood and race films in the ...
9 credits, '40-'47
63. Katherine Moore
Actress | Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
Katherine Moore appeared in only three films directed and produced by Spencer Williams - the pioneer Black filmmaker. Not much is known about her but she was a talent to say the least and anyone who sees her wants to know more. Katherine Moore appeared in independently produced black cast films or ...
2 credits, '46-'47
64. Tommie Moore
Actress | Band of Angels
Pretty Tomiwitta Moore, who shortened her name to Tommie Moore was the bright, sweet, girl next door ingénue of Black Cinema. She was small in size but had a big presence on screen. To look at her in her early films, Tommie, looked like a young teenage girl but she was really an adult woman in her ...
13 acting credits.
1917-2004, 86.
65. Marcella Moreland
Actress | Am I Guilty?
Marcella Moreland was born on April 5, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Am I Guilty? (1940) and Mokey (1942). She died on March 3, 2019 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
3 credits, '40-'42
66. Dorothy Morrison
Actress | Hearts in Dixie
Dorothy Morrison was born on January 3, 1919 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Hearts in Dixie (1929), Sleepless Hollow (1936) and The Champeen (1923). She died on October 18, 2017 in the USA.
6 credits, '23-'36.
1919, --
67. Edna Morton
Actress | Spitfire
Edna Morton was born on April 2, 1894 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. She was an actress, known for Spitfire (1922), Easy Money (1922) and A Son of Satan (1924). She was married to Edward R. DeGrant and Samuel A. Wilson. She died on July 31, 1980 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
11 credits, '21-'25
1894-1980, 86
68. Etta Moten
Actress | Flying Down to Rio
In addition to her vocal dubbing and on-screen film credits, Etta Moten played the role of Bess in the 1943 revival of "Porgy and Bess" at the personal request of Ira Gershwin (not George, who had died in 1937). Etta and husband Claude Barnett, founder of the Negro Associated Press, served as US ...
7 credits
1901-2004, 102.
69. Inez Newell
Actress | Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
Inez Newell is known for Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. (1946) and Juke Joint (1947).
2 credits, '46, '47
70. Kathleen Noisette
Actress | A Daughter of the Congo
Catherine Noisette was one of Oscar Micheaux's beautiful and most glamorous actress. She was one of Oscar Micheaux's leading ladies in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Catherine starred in "Wages of Sin," "The Daughter of Congo," and "The Exile." She usually played the femme fatale, the vamp, the ...
5 credits, '28-'32
71. Alberta Perkins
Actress | Sunday Sinners
Alberta Perkins was born in 1898 in Tennessee, USA. She was an actress, known for Sunday Sinners (1940), Murder on Lenox Avenue (1941) and Drums o' Voodoo (1934). She was married to Buddy Johnson. She died on October 2, 1951 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA.
3 credits, '34-'41
72. Evelyn Preer
Actress | Within Our Gates
Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, pioneering black actress Evelyn Preer was educated in Chicago, where she and her mother moved after the death of her father. She entered show business vis vaudeville and the "chitlin' circuit" of minstrel shows that served the country's strictly segregated black ...
1896-1932, 36.
74. Madame Robinson
Actress | Body and Soul
Madame Robinson was born in 1879 in Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for Body and Soul (1925), A Daughter of the Congo (1930) and Thirty Years Later (1928). She was married to Walter Cornick. She died on April 24, 1939 in New York City, New York, USA.
3 credits, '25-'30
75. Carmencita Romero
Actress | The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Carmencita Romero was born on January 2, 1914 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) and Great Performances: Dance in America (1976). She died on May 6, 2001 in New York City, New York, USA.
3 credits, '43, '54,'65.
Choreographer, taught dance, performing in her 80s.
1914-2001, 87
76. Alma Sewell
Actress | The Conjure Woman
Alma Sewell was born in July 1893 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. She was an actress, known for The Conjure Woman (1926), The House Behind the Cedars (1927) and The Dungeon (1922). She was married to James Harvey Sewell. She died on May 30, 1977 in Roanoke, Virginia, USA.
3 credits, '22-'27
3 credits, '47-'50
1893-1977, 83
78. Grace Smith
Actress | The Girl from Chicago
Grace Smith is known for The Girl from Chicago (1932), The Millionaire (1927) and The Spider's Web (1927).
3 credits, '27-'32
79. Vivian Smith
Actress | Hearts in Dixie
Vivian Smith is known for Hearts in Dixie (1929) and Thin Ice (1981).
2 credits, '29,'81
80. Gertrude Snelson
Actress | A Daughter of the Congo
Gertrude Snelson is known for A Daughter of the Congo (1930), Wages of Sin (1929) and Thirty Years Later (1928).
5 credits, '27-'30
81. Tressie Souders
Director | A Woman's Error
Little is known about Theresa "Tressie" Souders, who in 1922, became the first known African-American female director, when the Afro-American Film Exhibitors Company of Baltimore and Dallas, Texas, contracted with her to distribute her film "A Woman's Error." Billboard Magazine for January 28, 1922...
1897 - 1995, (97).
credits, 1922.
82. Zerita Steptean
Actress | Moon Over Harlem
Zerita Steptean was born in 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She is an actress, known for Moon Over Harlem (1939) and Mr. Washington Goes to Town (1941). She was previously married to Lewis Matthew Mitchell Jr..
2 credits, '39-'40
83. Susie Sutton
Actress | The Brute
Susie Sutton was an actress, known for The Brute (1920) and The Midnight Ace (1928). She was married to Tom Brown. She died on February 2, 1956 in New York City, New York, USA.
2 credits, '20,'28
84. Blanche Thompson
Actress | The Vagabond King
Blanche Thompson was born on February 17, 1897 in Calhoun County, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for The Vagabond King (1930), A Son of Satan (1924) and As the World Rolls On (1921). She was married to Pierre-Adolphe Jaureguiberry, Irvin C. Miller and J. Homer Tutt. She died on May 5, 1987 ...
4 credits, '21-'24
1897-1987, 90
85. Royce Wallace
Actress | Immediate Family
Royce Wallace was born on May 9, 1925 in Pleasanton, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for Immediate Family (1989), ABC Afterschool Specials (1972) and Crossroads (1986). She died on November 24, 1992 in Ventura, California, USA.
1925-1992. (67).
63 credits, 1959-1993.
86. Mary Jane Watkins
Actress | Deceit
Mary Jane Watkins was born on September 27, 1902 in Columbia, Tennessee, USA. She was an actress, known for Deceit (1923) and The Black King (1932). She died on January 11, 1977 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
2 credits, '23,'32
87. Izinetta Wilcox
Actress | Moon Over Harlem
Izenetta Tears was born in Austin, Texas, the daughter of a funeral director and a schoolteacher; she was named for her paternal grandmother. A 1936 graduate of Wiley College, she pursued further study in New York City at Juilliard, and also briefly taught school in Austin before marrying Eddie ...
1 acting credit 1 soundtrack credit.
88. Elisabeth Welch
Actress | Big Fella
In British films of the 1930s and 1940s, American-born singer Elisabeth Welch made several memorable guest appearances in cabaret sequences, and starred opposite Paul Robeson in two features. Sophisticated, glamorous and charming, her appearances were a refreshing departure from the stereotype of ...
24 credits, '34-'79
soundtrack, 9 credits.
1904-2003, 99
89. Maria P. Williams
Director | Flames of Wrath
Maria P. Williams was a Kansas City schoolteacher who entered the political arena in the 1890s as a lecturer who traveled through the state of Kansas giving speeches for political candidates and delivering lectures on the "topics of the day." From 1891 to 1894, she was editor-in-chief of a weekly ...
Flames of Wrath (1923). 1923. Director. Producer.
1866 - 1932, (66).
90. Mattie Wilkes
Actress | The Symbol of the Unconquered
Mattie Wilkes was born on February 14, 1875 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920), The Gunsaulus Mystery (1921) and For His Mother's Sake (1922). She was married to Ernest Hogan. She died on July 9, 1927 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.
3 credits, '20-'22
1885-1927, 42
91. Beatrice Winde
Actress | The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Beatrice Winde was born on January 5, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Lone Star (1996) and Sparkle (1976). She was married to Raymond Ward Stough Jr.. She died on January 3, 2004 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
1924-2004. (79).
34 credits, 1974-2001.
92. Artie Young
Actress | The Bronze Buckaroo
Statuesque beauty Artie Young was one of the premier dancers of her day. From the late 1930's to the 1950's, no show was complete without Artie's beauty and divine dancing.
Artie was a popular nightclub and stage dancer in California. She was a dancer in Duke Ellington's revue "Jump For Joy" (1941),...
9 credits, '38-'52
93. Mabel Young
Actress | Deceit
Mabel Young is known for Deceit (1923), The Gunsaulus Mystery (1921) and The Burden of Race (1921).
5 acting credits, 1920-1923
Tell Your Friends