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Known and unknown Black actresses, comediennes, dancers, sports figures, and musicians that are alive or deceased. They made many contributions and accomplishments to motion pictures and the stage. Check out the Documents section for photos and posters. See below for bios, filmographies and our Links section for more info on these legends. Join us as we pay tribute to these fabulous and often unheralded women.
Some names were taken from the State Farm Insurance Presents A Journey into 366 Days of Black History, 2000 Calendar. Published by 10KTS Productions.
LEGENDS
(Some Legends already have a Geni profile, for example Bessie Smith, see on right hand of page
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- Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, created specialized hair products for African-American hair and was one of the first American women to become a self-made millionaire.
- Celia Cruz
- Dorothy Dandridge's Life - Dorothy's palace
- Phyllis Hyman Legacy Page - The club devoted to the Sophisticated Lady
- Pam Grier
- Bessie Coleman
- Juanita Moore
- Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993) American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century.
- Mahalia Jackson
- Lena Hayton (Horne)
- Hattie McDaniel
- Ethel Waters
- Diahann Carroll
- Billie Holiday
- Josephine Baker
- Louise Beaver
- Bessie Smith
- Roxie Roker
- Sarah Vaughan
- Fredi Washington
- Isabel Washington Powell
- Butterfly McQueen
- Eartha Kitt
- Odetta
- Phillis Wheatley, born in Senegal, snatched into slavery around the age of seven, and sold into servitude in Boston, exemplified the commitment of literate Africans in the diaspora. She was the first African American to author a full-length book, her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773).
- Dionne Warwick
- Barbara Jordan
- Justina Ford, born Jan. 22, 1871 in Knoxville, Tenn., the first female African American physician in Denver, Colo.
- Willa Brown-Chappell
- Elizabeth D. Koontz
- Dorothy Love Coates
- Ada "Bricktop" Smith
- Angela Yvonne Davis
- Grace Bumbry, opera singer
- Zora Neale Hurston
- Gloria Naylor
- Rosa Parks
- Alice Walker
- Roberta Flack
- Grace Towns Hamilton
- Leontyne Price
- Anna Hedgeman
- Mary Lucinda Cardwell Dawson
- Mary Frances Berry
- Toni Morrison
- Dorothy Maynor
- Lucille Dixon Robertson
- Vivian Gordon Harsh
- Ida B. Wells-Barnett
- Pearl Bailey
- Carol Channing
- Aretha Franklin
- Toni Cade Bambera
- LaWanda Page
- Isabel Sanford
- Clara Ward
- Phoebe Snow, who sang 1975 hit 'Poetry Man,' dies.
- Mabel King
- Shirley Hemphill
- Theresa Merritt
- Nellie Lutcher
- Sister Rosetta Tharpe
- Betsey Stockton
- Evelyn Preer
- Kathleen Noisette
- Mildred Washington
- Daisy Bufford
- Etta Moten
- Theresa Harris
- Mildred Boyd
- Ethel Moses
- Dorothy Van Engle
- Louise Ritchie
- Vivian Dandridge
- Louise Franklin
- Marguerite Whitten
- Francine Everett
- Florence O'Brien
- Suzette Harbin
- Millie Monroe
- Doris Ake
- Avanelle Harris
- Maggie Hathaway
- Josephine Edwards
- Sybil Lewis
- Tommie Moore
- Izinetta Wilcox
- Emily Santos
- Kathleen Hartsfield
- Juliette Ball
- Sheila Guyse
- Artie Young
- Hilda Simms
- Olga James
- Carolle Drake
- Ellen Holly
- Biddy Mason
- Annie Minerva Turnbo Pope Malone, Millionairess, Business woman, Entrepreneur, First door to door Sales person, Hair care products line, Philanthropist, Grand woman of many first.
- Starletta DuPois
- Edith Sampson (1898-1979) Lawyer, Judge, United Nations Edith Spurlock geni profile
- Joyce Bryant Great singer that should be remembered.
- Shirley Verrett One of the best operatic mezzo-sopranos ever. Her vocal abilities made her one of the best sopranos, too!
LINKS
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- Most Beautiful Classic Black Actresses
- Shirley Hemphill - Find A Grave
- Mabel King - Find A Grave
- Pam Grier Fan
- Nellie Lutcher search on Flickr
- Extravagant Crowd: Fredi Washington
- BLACK CELEBRITIES WHO DIED WITH LITTLE OR NO FANFARE-PART I
- Living St. Louis
- Black Women Who Were Lynched In America
- Gone, but never forgotten ....2013
- Gone, but never forgotten ....2012
- Gone but never forgotten....2014
- IN MEMORIAM 2014 (Vol.1)
- Pioneers of Black Hollywood
- African-American Film Pioneers
- Old Black Hollywood