We’re not new to this.
Diahann Carroll in 1955
All hail queen mother Diahann, who paved the way for every single black actress we love now when she became the first black woman to be the star of a network television show in Julia. Another black women wouldn't go on to do that again until 2012 when Kerry Washington got cast as Olivia Pope in Scandal.
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Dorothy Dandridge in 1956
This goddess made history when she became the first black woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Carmen Jones. Coincidentally, the first black woman to actually win an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role — Halle Berry — would go on to play Dandridge in her biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.
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Diana Ross in 1968
The original diva! The blueprint! We are not worthy of her greatness! You'd be hard pressed to find a music artist who wasn't influenced by this living legend. The 12-time Grammy nominee was Motown's darling, the lead singer of the Supremes, the star of classic films like Mahogany, and so much more.
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Lena Horne in the 1950s
This Brooklyn belle appeared in film, television, and on Broadway for 70 years. But what really made her stand out from the pack was her political activism which also got her blacklisted in Hollywood for some time.
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