Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American film and theatre
actress,
singer and
dancer. She is perhaps best known for being the first
African-American actress to be nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1954 film
Carmen Jones. Dandridge performed as a vocalist in venues such as the
Cotton Club and the
Apollo Theater. 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. In 1959, she was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award for
Porgy and Bess. She is the subject of the 1999
HBO biographical film,
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. 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 the age of 42.